[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2259 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2259

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the dependent care 
                                credit.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 17, 1999

 Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. Shows, Mr. Abercrombie, 
Mr. Hilliard, and Mr. Serrano) 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 expand the dependent care 
                                credit.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tax Relief for Parents Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF DEPENDENT CARE TAX CREDIT.

    (a) Increase in Amount of Employment-Related Expenses Eligible for 
Credit.--
            (1) In general.--Section 21(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 
        of 1986 (relating to dollar limit on amount creditable) is 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking ``$2,400'' in paragraph (1) and 
                inserting ``$4,000'', and
                    (B) by striking ``$4,800'' in paragraph (2) and 
                inserting ``$8,000''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Paragraph (2) of section 21(d) 
        of such Code is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``$200'' in subparagraph (A) and 
                inserting ``\1/12\ of the amount contained in 
                subsection (c)(1)'', and
                    (B) by striking ``$400'' in subparagraph (B) and 
                inserting ``\1/12\ of the amount contained in 
                subsection (c)(2)''.
    (b) Increase in Percentage of Employment-Related Expenses Allowed 
as Credit.--Paragraph (2) of section 21(a) of such Code (defining 
applicable percentage) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Applicable percentage defined.--For purposes of 
        paragraph (1), the term `applicable percentage' means 50 
        percent reduced (but not below zero) by 1 percentage point for 
        each $1,500, or fraction thereof, by which the taxpayers's 
        adjusted gross income for the taxable year exceeds $30,000.''.
    (c) Minimum Credit Allowed for Stay-at-Home Parents.--Subsection 
(e) of section 21 of such Code (relating to special rules) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) Minimum credit allowed for stay-at-home parents.--
        Notwithstanding subsection (d), in the case of any taxpayer 
        with one or more qualifying individuals described in subsection 
        (b)(1)(A) under the age of 4 at any time during the taxable 
        year, such taxpayer shall be deemed to have employment-related 
        expenses with respect to such qualifying individuals in an 
        amount equal to the greater of--
                    ``(A) the amount of employment-related expenses 
                incurred for such qualifying individuals for the 
                taxable year (determined under this section without 
                regard to this paragraph), or
                    ``(B) with respect to each such qualifying 
                individual, \1/12\ of the amount contained in 
                subsection (c)(1) for each month in such taxable year 
                during which such qualifying individual is under the 
                age of 4.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section apply to 
taxable years beginning after December 31, 1999.
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