[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1646 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1646

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against 
              income tax for the purchase of hearing aids.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2009

Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
   Thompson of California, Ms. Berkley, Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Larson of 
 Connecticut, Mr. Nunes, Mr. Heller, Mr. Roskam, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Wu, 
 Mr. Paul, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, 
   Mr. Walz, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Wittman, Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, 
Mr. Israel, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California, 
Mr. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Duncan, Mr. 
  Moran of Kansas, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Petri, Mr. Rooney, Mr. 
Minnick, Mr. Carnahan, and Mr. Altmire) 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 allow a credit against 
              income tax for the purchase of hearing aids.

    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 ``Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR HEARING AIDS FOR SENIORS AND DEPENDENTS.

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

``SEC. 25E. CREDIT FOR HEARING AIDS.

    ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--In the case of an individual, there 
shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter an 
amount equal to the amount paid during the taxable year, not 
compensated by insurance or otherwise, by the taxpayer for the purchase 
of any qualified hearing aid.
    ``(b) Qualified Hearing Aid.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `qualified hearing aid' means a hearing aid--
            ``(1) which is described in section 874.3300 of title 21, 
        Code of Federal Regulations, and is authorized under the 
        Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for commercial 
        distribution, and
            ``(2) which is intended for use--
                    ``(A) by the taxpayer, but only if the taxpayer (or 
                the spouse intending to use the hearing aid, in the 
                case of a joint return) is age 55 or older, or
                    ``(B) by an individual with respect to whom the 
                taxpayer, for the taxable year, is allowed a deduction 
                under section 151(c) (relating to deduction for 
                personal exemptions for dependents).
    ``(c) Limitations.--
            ``(1) Maximum amount.--The amount allowed as a credit under 
        subsection (a) shall not exceed $500 per qualified hearing aid.
            ``(2) Limitation based on modified gross income.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of a taxpayer whose 
                modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 for any 
                taxable year, the amount allowed as a credit under 
                subsection (a) for such taxable year shall be zero.
                    ``(B) Modified adjusted gross income.--For purposes 
                of this paragraph, the term `modified adjusted gross 
                income' means the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer 
                for the taxable year increased by any amount excluded 
                from gross income under sections 911, 931, or 933.
    ``(d) Election Once Every 5 Years.--This section shall apply with 
respect to any individual for any taxable year only if there is an 
election in effect with respect to such individual (at such time and in 
such manner as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe) to have this 
section apply for such taxable year. An election to have this section 
apply with respect to any eligible individual may not be made for any 
taxable year if such an election is in effect with respect to such 
individual for any of the 4 taxable years preceding such taxable year.
    ``(e) Denial of Double Benefit.--No credit shall be allowed under 
subsection (a) for any expense for which a deduction or credit is 
allowed under any other provision of this chapter.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--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 25D the following new 
item:

``Sec. 25E. Credit for hearing aids.''.
    (h) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.
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