I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1947
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make the dependent care
credit refundable, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 29, 1993
Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make
the dependent care credit refundable, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEPENDENT CARE TAX CREDIT.
(a) DEPENDENT CARE SERVICES.—Subpart C of
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Reve-
nue Code of 1986 (relating to refundable credits) is
amended by redesignating section 35 as section 36 and
by inserting after section 34 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 35. DEPENDENT CARE SERVICES.
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—
such calendar year determined by sub-
stituting ‘‘1993’’ for ‘‘1989’’ in subpara-
graph (B) of section 1(f)(3).
‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If any increase de-
termined under clause (i) is not a multiple
of $10, such increase shall be rounded to
the nearest multiple of $10 (or if such in-
crease is a multiple of $15, such increase
shall be increased to the next highest mul-
tiple of $10).
‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT-RELATED EXPENSES.—For pur-
poses of this section—
‘‘(1) 
DETERMINATION
OF
ELIGIBLE
EX-
PENSES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘employ-
ment-related expenses’ means amounts paid for
the following expenses, but only if such ex-
penses are incurred to enable the taxpayer to be
gainfully employed for any period for which
there are 1 or more qualifying individuals with
respect to the taxpayer:
‘‘(i) expenses for household services,
and
‘‘(ii) expenses for the care of a quali-
fying individual.
Such term shall not include any amount paid
for services outside the taxpayer’s household at
a camp where the qualifying individual stays
overnight and shall not include any respite care
expense taken into account under subsection
(a).
‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTION.—Employment-related
expenses described in subparagraph (A) which
are incurred for services outside the taxpayer’s
household shall be taken into account only if in-
curred for the care of—
‘‘(i) a qualifying individual described
in subsection (d)(1), or
‘‘(ii) a qualifying individual (not de-
scribed in subsection (d)(1)) who regularly
spends at least 8 hours each day in the
taxpayer’s household.
‘‘(C) DEPENDENT
CARE
CENTERS.—Em-
ployment-related expenses described in subpara-
graph (A) which are incurred for services pro-
vided outside the taxpayer’s household by a de-
pendent care center (as defined in subpara-
graph (D)) shall be taken into account only if—
‘‘(i) such center complies with all ap-
plicable laws and regulations of a State or
unit of local government, and
‘‘(ii) the requirements of subpara-
graph (B) are met.
‘‘(D) DEPENDENT
CARE
CENTER
DE-
FINED.—For purposes of this paragraph, the
term ‘dependent care center’ means any facility
which—
‘‘(i) provides care for more than 6 in-
dividuals (other than individuals who re-
side at the facility), and
‘‘(ii) receives a fee, payment, or grant
for providing services for any of the indi-
viduals (regardless of whether such facility
is operated for profit).
‘‘(2) 
DOLLAR
LIMIT
ON
AMOUNT
CRED-
ITABLE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The amount of the
employment-related expenses incurred during
any taxable year which may be taken into ac-
count under subsection (a) shall not exceed—
‘‘(i) $2,400 if there is 1 qualifying in-
dividual with respect to the taxpayer for
such taxable year, or
‘‘(ii) $4,800 if there are 2 or more
qualifying individuals with respect to the
taxpayer for such taxable year.
The amount determined under clause (i) or (ii)
(whichever is applicable) shall be reduced by the
aggregate amount excludable from gross income
under section 129 for the taxable year.
‘‘(B) REDUCTION IN LIMIT FOR AMOUNT
OF RESPITE CARE EXPENSES.—The limitation
of subparagraph (A) shall be reduced by the
amount of the respite care expenses taken into
account by the taxpayer under subsection (a)
for the taxable year.
‘‘(3) EARNED INCOME LIMITATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise
provided in this paragraph, the amount of the
employment-related expenses incurred during
any taxable year which may be taken into ac-
count under subsection (a) shall not exceed—
‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who
is not married at the close of such year,
such individual’s earned income for such
year, or
‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who
is married at the close of such year, the
lesser of such individual’s earned income or
the earned income of his spouse for such
year.
‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR SPOUSE WHO IS
A
STUDENT
OR
INCAPABLE
OF
CARING
FOR
HIMSELF.—In the case of a spouse who is a
student or a qualified individual described in
subsection (d)(3), for purposes of subparagraph
(A), such spouse shall be deemed for each
month during which such spouse is a full-time
student at an educational institution, or is such
a qualifying individual, to be gainfully employed
and to have earned income of not less than—
‘‘(i) $200 if paragraph (2)(A)(i) ap-
plies for the taxable year, or
‘‘(ii) $400 if paragraph (2)(A)(ii) ap-
plies for the taxable year.
In the case of any husband and wife, this sub-
paragraph shall apply with respect to only one
spouse for any one month.
‘‘(c) RESPITE CARE EXPENSES.—For purposes of
this section—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘respite care ex-
penses’ means expenses paid (whether or not to en-
able the taxpayer to be gainfully employed) for—