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AB-856 Personal income tax: credit: home care services.(2019-2020)



Current Version: 02/20/19 - Introduced

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AB856:v99#DOCUMENT

Revised  April 04, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 856

Introduced by Assembly Member Brough
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Choi, Diep, Flora, and Patterson)
(Coauthors: Senators Bates, Chang, and Nielsen)

February 20, 2019

An act to add and repeal Section 17059 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 856, as introduced, Brough. Personal income tax: credit: home care services.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law.
This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2024, in an amount equal to 25% of the amount paid or incurred during the taxable year, not compensated for by insurance or otherwise, by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, for home care services, not to exceed $5,000. The bill would define “home care services” to mean specified nonmedical services and assistance provided by a registered home care aide, as defined, a licensed home health agency, or a licensed hospice to a qualified taxpayer who, because of advanced age or physical or mental disability, cannot perform these services that enable the qualified taxpayer to remain in the qualified taxpayer’s residence.
This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Home care professionals or caregivers work with family members, community agencies, and medically trained professionals to ensure senior safety by recognizing potential signs of declining health and dangerous falls.
(b) The home care industry helps seniors to live with dignity and self-respect and helps seniors maintain healthy and active lifestyles for as long as possible in the comfort of their own home.
(c) Nine out of 10 Americans 65 years of age or older want to stay in their home as long as possible.
(d) Elderly Americans receiving home care generally need fewer trips to doctors and hospitals. As a result, home care reduced overall health care costs while also creating jobs.

SEC. 2.

 Section 17059 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

17059.
 (a) For each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2024, there shall be allowed as a credit against the “net tax,” as defined in Section 17039, an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount paid or incurred during the taxable year, not compensated for by insurance or otherwise, by a qualified taxpayer for home care services, not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Home care services” means nonmedical services and assistance provided by a registered home care aide, a home health agency licensed under Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 1725) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, or a hospice licensed under Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 1745) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code to a qualified taxpayer who, because of advanced age or physical or mental disability, cannot perform these services. These services enable the qualified taxpayer to remain in the qualified taxpayer’s residence and include, but are not limited to, assistance with the following: bathing, dressing, feeding, exercising, personal hygiene and grooming, transferring, ambulating, positioning, toileting and incontinence care, assisting with medication that the client self-administers, housekeeping, meal planning and preparation, laundry, transportation, correspondence, making telephone calls, shopping for personal care items or groceries, and companionship. This paragraph shall not authorize a registered home care aide to assist with medication that the qualified taxpayer self-administers that would otherwise require administration or oversight by a licensed health care professional.
(2) “Qualified taxpayer” means a single individual, or a spouse filing a separate return, whose gross income is eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) or less or a married couple filing a joint return, whose gross income is one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000) or less.
(3) “Registered home care aide” means the same as defined in subdivision (o) of Section 1796.12 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) In the case where the credit allowed by this section exceeds the “net tax,” the excess may be carried over to reduce the “net tax” in the following taxable year.
(d) For the purposes of complying with Section 41, the Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) The specific goal of this tax credit is to reduce health care costs by encouraging cost-effective home care services and to avoid costly nursing home and assisted living facilities.
(2) The baseline used to determine the progress of this tax credit is the number of Californians using home care services and the number of Californians in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in 2016.
(3) The Franchise Tax Board shall collect data relating to the number of Californians using home care services and the number of Californians in nursing homes and assisted living facilities annually.
(4) Taxpayers utilizing the tax credit shall submit a receipt or other proof of costs paid or incurred in connection with home care services to the Franchise Tax Board.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until December 1, 2024, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

  This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.
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REVISIONS:
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