Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, co-chair of the Assisting Caregivers Today Caucus, introduced the Credit for Caring Act along with Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to provide up to a $3,000 nonrefundable tax credit to working family caregivers for qualified expenses.
According to AARP, there are an estimated 40 million family caregivers in the United States, and more than 584,000 in Colorado. Most of these caregivers spend approximately 18 hours per week providing critical support to a family member.
“Family caregivers in Colorado and around the country provide billions of hours of unpaid care to ensure that loved ones can perform daily activities and continue to live independently,” Bennet said. “And as the population continues to age, the need for family care will only increase, adding to the physical, emotional, and financial stress on caregivers. This bipartisan tax credit will help family caregivers afford the costs of caring for a loved one.”
The bipartisan Credit for Caring Act recognizes the essential role that family caregivers play in supporting aging parents or grandparents, and family members with a long-term illness or disability. Importantly, these caregivers help folks needing care stay in their homes, rather than entering a nursing or long-term care facility.
This tax credit helps alleviate some of the out of pocket financial expenses that caregivers often take on, all while balancing full or part-time employment. The credit would be available to family caregivers to provide some relief for the added costs caregivers incur, such as travel costs for transporting a loved one, home modifications to accommodate a family member’s special needs, medication management services, and more.
To ensure appropriate taxpayer protections are in place, this credit would also phase out at higher income levels and contains important provisions to prevent double dipping.
The Credit for Caring Act is the companion to H.R. 4708 introduced by Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY) in March.
Bennet has also introduced several other bills to provide tax relief to Colorado’s working families. He authored the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act to index the child tax credit to inflation, increase the value of the credit for families with young children, and allow families to receive a larger refund from the credit on their tax returns. He also cosponsored the Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act, which would help families pay for the increasing cost of child care by expanding and increasing the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC).
About the Credit for Caring Act:
- Creates up to a $3,000 nonrefundable tax credit adjusted to inflation for family caregivers
- Applies to incurred family caregiving expenses greater than $2,000
- Qualified care recipients must have been certified by a health care practitioner to be in need of long-term care for at least 180 consecutive days
- Eligibility is limited to a caregiver of a qualified care recipient who must pay for caregiving expenses and has earned income in excess of $7,500
- Credit is phased out when income exceeds $150,000 for joint filers or $75,000 for individual filers
Family caregivers in Colorado:
- According to AARP, there are more than 584,000 family caregivers in Colorado
- AARP also found that the unpaid contributions of family caregivers in Colorado are valued at $7.4 billion