I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 953 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for a deduction 
for travel expenses to medical centers of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in connection with examinations or treatments relating to service- 
connected disabilities. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 10, 2009 
Mr. HELLER (for himself and Mr. HASTINGS of Washington) 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 provide 
for a deduction for travel expenses to medical centers 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs in connection 
with examinations or treatments relating to service-con-
nected disabilities. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Travel Tax 
Relief Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEDUCTION FOR TRAVEL EXPENSES OF VETERANS 
FOR HEALTH CARE FROM MEDICAL CENTERS 
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part VII of subchapter B of chap-
ter I of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
additional itemized deductions for individuals) is amended 
by redesignating section 224 as section 225, and by insert-
ing after section 223 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 224. TRAVEL EXPENSES OF VETERANS FOR HEALTH 
CARE AT MEDICAL CENTERS OF THE DE-
PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF DEDUCTION.—In the case of an 
individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction the quali-
fied travel expenses for the taxable year. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) DOLLAR
LIMITATION.—The amount al-
lowed as a deduction under subsection (a) for a tax-
able year shall not exceed $400. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS 
INCOME.—The amount allowable as a deduction 
under subsection (a) shall be reduced (but not below 
zero) by an amount which bears the same ratio to 
the amount so allowable (determined without regard 
to this paragraph but with regard to paragraph (1)) 
as— 
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‘‘(A) the amount (if any) by which the tax-
payer’s adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 
($150,000 in the case of a joint return), bears 
to 
‘‘(B) $10,000 ($20,000 in the case of a 
joint return). 
‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS
FOR
INFLATION.—In the 
case of a taxable year beginning after 2009, each of 
the dollar amounts in paragraph (2) shall be in-
creased by an amount equal to— 
‘‘(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by 
‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter-
mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 
year in which the taxable year begins, deter-
mined by substituting ‘calendar year 2008’ for 
‘calendar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 
thereof. 
If any amount as increased under the preceding sen-
tence is not a multiple of $100, such amount shall 
be rounded to the nearest multiple of $100. 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED TRAVEL EXPENSES.—For purposes 
of this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified travel 
expenses’ means amounts paid for travel expenses of 
a veteran and a family member of the veteran to a 
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medical center of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs for— 
‘‘(A) treatment relating to a service-con-
nected disability, or 
‘‘(B) examination conducted by the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs relating to a claim 
for disability compensation or pension under 
the laws administered by the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs. 
‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENTS
BY
DEPARTMENT
OF 
VETERANS AFFAIRS.—The term ‘qualified travel ex-
penses’ does not include any travel expense which is 
reimbursed by the Department of Veterans Affairs 
or any other insurance plan. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Travel expenses incurred by 
a veteran shall not be taken into account under 
paragraph (1) unless— 
‘‘(A) the principal place of abode of the 
veteran is more than 25 miles from the medical 
center in which the treatment is provided or ex-
amination conducted, and 
‘‘(B) such medical center is the nearest 
medical center of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs to such place of abode. 
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‘‘(4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The term ‘travel ex-
penses’ includes transportation, food, and lodging. 
‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 
section— 
‘‘(1) VETERAN.—The term ‘veteran’ has the 
meaning given such term by section 101(2) of title 
38, United States Code. 
‘‘(2) SERVICE-CONNECTED
DISABILITY.—The 
term ‘service-connected disability’ has the meaning 
given such term under section 101(13) of such Code. 
‘‘(3) FAMILY MEMBER.—The members of an in-
dividual’s family shall be determined under section 
4946(d); except that such members also shall in-
clude the brothers and sisters (whether by the whole 
or half blood) of the individual and their spouses.’’. 
(b) DEDUCTION ALLOWED WHETHER OR NOT TAX-
PAYER ITEMIZES OTHER DEDUCTIONS.—Subsection (a) 
of section 62 of such Code (defining adjusted gross in-
come) is amended by inserting before the last sentence the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(22) TRAVEL EXPENSES OF VETERANS FOR 
HEALTH CARE AT MEDICAL CENTERS OF THE DE-
PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—The deduction 
allowed by section 224.’’. 
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(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 
for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 
is amended by striking the item relating to section 224 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘Sec. 224. Travel expenses of veterans for health care at medical centers of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. 
‘‘Sec. 225. Cross reference.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2008. 
Æ 
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