[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 835 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 835

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a nonrefundable tax 
                    credit for elder care expenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 18, 2005

 Mr. Craig (for himself and Mr. Burns) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a nonrefundable tax 
                    credit for elder care expenses.

    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 ``Senior Elder Care Relief and 
Empowerment (SECURE) Act''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR ELDER CARE.

    (a) In General.--Subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 
section 25B the following new section:

``SEC. 25C. ELDER CARE EXPENSES.

    ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--In the case of an individual, there 
shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter 50 
percent of so much of the qualified elder care expenses paid or 
incurred by the taxpayer with respect to each qualified senior citizen 
as exceeds $1,000.
    ``(b) Qualified Senior Citizen.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `qualified senior citizen' means an individual--
            ``(1) who has attained normal retirement age (as determined 
        under section 216 of the Social Security Act) before the close 
        of the taxable year,
            ``(2) who is a chronically ill individual (within the 
        meaning of section 7702B(c)(2)(B)), and
            ``(3) who is--
                    ``(A) the taxpayer,
                    ``(B) a family member (within the meaning of 
                section 529(e)(2)) of the taxpayer, or
                    ``(C) a dependent (within the meaning of section 
                152) of the taxpayer.
    ``(c) Qualified Elder Care Expenses.--For purposes of this 
section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualified elder care expenses' 
        means expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer with respect to 
        the qualified senior citizen for--
                    ``(A) qualified long-term care services (as defined 
                in section 7702B(c)),
                    ``(B) respite care, or
                    ``(C) adult day care.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--The term `qualified elder care expenses' 
        does not include--
                    ``(A) any expense to the extent such expense is 
                compensated for by insurance or otherwise, and
                    ``(B) any expense paid to a nursing facility (as 
                defined in section 1919 of the Social Security Act).
    ``(d) Other Definitions and Special Rules.--
            ``(1) Adult day care.--The term `adult day care' means care 
        provided for a qualified senior citizen through a structured, 
        community-based group program which provides health, social, 
        and other related support services on a less than 16-hour per 
        day basis.
            ``(2) Respite care.--The term `respite care' means planned 
        or emergency care provided to a qualified senior citizen in 
        order to provide temporary relief to a caregiver of such senior 
        citizen.
            ``(3) Married individuals.--Rules similar to the rules of 
        paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 21(e) shall apply for 
        purposes of this section.
            ``(4) No double benefit.--No deduction or other credit 
        under this chapter shall take into account any expense taken 
        into account for purposes of determining the credit under this 
        section.
            ``(5) Identifying information required with respect to 
        service provider.--No credit shall be allowed under subsection 
        (a) for any amount paid to any person unless--
                    ``(A) the name, address, and taxpayer 
                identification number of such person are included on 
                the return claiming the credit, or
                    ``(B) if such person is an organization described 
                in section 501(c)(3) and exempt from tax under section 
                501(a), the name and address of such person are 
                included on the return claiming the credit.
        In the case of a failure to provide the information required 
        under the preceding sentence, the preceding sentence shall not 
        apply if it is shown that the taxpayer exercised due diligence 
        in attempting to provide the information so required.
            ``(6) Identifying information required with respect to 
        qualified senior citizens.--No credit shall be allowed under 
        this section with respect to any qualified senior citizen 
        unless the TIN of such senior citizen is included on the return 
        claiming the credit.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 6213(g)(2)(H) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 (relating to mathematical or clerical error) is amended by 
        inserting ``, section 25C (relating to elder care expenses),'' 
        after ``employment)''.
            (2) The table of sections for subpart A of part IV of 
        subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 25B the following new item:

``Sec. 25C Elder care expenses.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to expenses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 
31, 2004.
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