Senator Joni Ernst Introduces Credit for Caring Act

Last week on April 7, 2016, Senator Joni Ernst, along with others, introduced the Credit for Caring Act, which provides working family caregivers with up to a $3,000 nonrefundable tax credit for qualified expenses.

This support from Sen. Ernst is vitally important, particularly for Iowans. Iowa has over 317,000 caregivers every year. These men and women contribute approximately $3.86 billion worth of unpaid care.

The bill, beyond the $3,000 refund, has the following guidelines:

• Applicable for family caregiver expenses over $2,000.
• Credit does not apply when income exceeds $150,000 for joint filers or $75,000 for individual filers, this is to ensure that those who truly need the help are the ones receiving it.
• To be eligible, recipient must be a caregiver to a qualified care recipient who pays caregiving expenses and a yearly income greater than $7,500.
• Care recipients that qualify must be approved by a health care practitioner as "needing long-term care for at least 180 consecutive days."

Thank you to Sen. Ernst for caring for Iowa's caregivers, a little bit of help goes a long way.