[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3501 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3501

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for pet 
                             care expenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2009

 Mr. McCotter 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 deduction for pet 
                             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 ``Humanity and Pets Partnered Through 
the Years (HAPPY) Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey, 
        63 percent of United States households own a pet.
            (2) The Human-Animal Bond has been shown to have positive 
        effects upon people's emotional and physical well-being.

SEC. 3. DEDUCTION FOR PET CARE EXPENSES.

    (a) In General.--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 redesignating section 224 as 
section 225 and by inserting after section 223 the following new 
section:

``SEC. 224. PET CARE EXPENSES.

    ``(a) Allowance of Deduction.--In the case of an individual, there 
shall be allowed as a deduction for the taxable year an amount equal to 
the qualified pet care expenses of the taxpayer during the taxable year 
for any qualified pet of the taxpayer.
    ``(b) Maximum Deduction.--The amount allowable as a deduction under 
subsection (a) to the taxpayer for any taxable year shall not exceed 
$3,500.
    ``(c) Qualified Pet Care Expenses.--For purposes of this section, 
the term `qualified pet care expenses' means amounts paid in connection 
with providing care (including veterinary care) for a qualified pet 
other than any expense in connection with the acquisition of the 
qualified pet.
    ``(d) Qualified Pet.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Qualified pet.--The term `qualified pet' means a 
        legally owned, domesticated, live animal.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--Such term does not include any animal--
                    ``(A) used for research or owned or utilized in 
                conjunction with a trade or business, or
                    ``(B) with respect to which the taxpayer has 
                claimed a deduction under section 162 or 213 in any of 
                the preceding 3 taxable years.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for part VII of 
subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by striking the last 
item and inserting the following new items:

``Sec. 224. Pet care expenses.
``Sec. 225. Cross reference.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.
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