I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 172
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore the deduction
for two-earner married couples.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARYY 5, 1993
Mr. DUNCAN 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 restore
the deduction for two-earner married couples.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That (a) part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to additional
itemized deductions for individuals) is amended by redes-
ignating section 220 as section 221 and by inserting after
section 219 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 220. DEDUCTION FOR TWO-EARNER MARRIED COU-
PLES.
‘‘(a) DEDUCTION ALLOWED.—In the case of a joint
return under section 6013 for the taxable year, there shall
be allowed as a deduction an amount equal to 10 percent
of the lesser of—
‘‘(1) $30,000, or
‘‘(2) the qualified earned income of the spouse
with the lower qualified earned income for such tax-
able year.
‘‘(b) PHASEOUT.—The amount allowed as a deduc-
tion under subsection (a) shall be reduced (but not below
zero) by 12 percent of so much of the adjusted gross in-
come of the taxpayer for the taxable year (determined
without regard to this section) as exceeds $75,000.
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED EARNED INCOME DEFINED.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘qualified earned income’ means an
amount equal to the excess of—
‘‘(A) the earned income of the spouse for
the taxable year, over
‘‘(B) an amount equal to the sum of the
deductions described in paragraphs (1), (2),
(6), (7), (11), and (13) of section 62(a) to the
extent such deductions are properly allocable to
or chargeable against earned income described
in subparagraph (A).
The amount of qualified earned income shall be de-
termined without regard to any community property
laws.
‘‘(2) EARNED INCOME.—For purposes of para-
graph (1), the term ‘earned income’ means income
which is earned income within the meaning of sec-
tion 911(d)(2) or 401(c)(2)(C), except that—
‘‘(A) such term shall not include any
amount—
‘‘(i) not includible in gross income,
‘‘(ii) received as a pension or annuity,
‘‘(iii) paid or distributed out of an in-
dividual retirement plan (within the mean-
ing of section 7701(a)(37)),
‘‘(iv) received as deferred compensa-
tion, or
‘‘(v) received for services performed
by an individual in the employ of his
spouse (within the meaning of section
3121(b)(3)(A)), and
‘‘(B) section 911(d)(2)(B) shall be applied
without regard to the phrase ‘not in excess of
30 percent of his share of net profits of such
trade or business’.
‘‘(d) DEDUCTION DISALLOWED
FOR INDIVIDUAL
CLAIMING BENEFITS OF SECTION 911 OR 931.—No de-
duction shall be allowed under this section for any taxable
year if either spouse claims the benefits of section 911
or 931 for such taxable year.’’
(b)(1) Subsection (a) of section 62 of such Code (de-
fining adjusted gross income) is amended by inserting
after paragraph (13) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(14) DEDUCTION FOR TWO-EARNER MARRIED
COUPLES.—The deduction allowed by section 220.’’
(2) Subparagraph (A) of section 86(b)(2) of such
Code is amended by inserting ‘‘220,’’ after ‘‘135,’’.
(3) Subsection (f) of section 86 of such Code is
amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (3),
by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (4), and by in-
serting at the end of paragraph (4) the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(5) section 220(c)(2) (defining earned in-
come),’’.
(4) 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 220 and inserting the following:
‘‘Sec. 220. Deduction for two-earner married couples.
‘‘Sec. 221. Cross reference.’’
(c) The amendments made by this section shall apply
to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1991.
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