A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 with respect to the income tax treatment of earned income of citizens or residents of the United States earned abroad.
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the earned income exclusion for United States citizens working abroad, who are bona fide residents of a foreign country, from an annual rate of $20,000 to: (1) $50,000; or (2) $65,000, if such persons have been working abroad for more than two years. Allows separate exclusions to married individuals who are both working overseas, although one's excess exclusion cannot be used against income earned by the other. Allows an exclusion from gross income for housing allowances or housing expenses which exceed 20 percent of earned income (determined without regard to such allowance). Repeals current provisions of the Code allowing tax deductions to such persons for certain living expenses abroad.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 8, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 8, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN CHAFEE (R-RI) introduced it on February 8, 1980, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 9 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 8, 1980, 17016 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17016 days ago, on February 8, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers