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S. 3542 116th Congress Senate

COVID-19 Earned Income Act

Official title: A bill to provide COVID-19 related assistance through a special earned income rule for purposes of the refundable child and earned income credits for taxable year 2020.

Introduced: March 19, 2020 See on congress.gov
Taxation Income tax creditsPoverty and welfare assistanceTax treatment of familiesWages and earnings
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 19, 2020
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mar 19, 2020
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action March 19, 2020

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

COVID-19 Earned Income Act

This bill sets forth a special rule for determining the amount of the earned income tax credit and the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Specifically, the bill allows a taxpayer to use the earned income of the preceding taxable year in computing such credits if such income is greater than the income for the current taxable year (i..e., 2020).

 Related & companion bills 2
  • HR 6762 Identical bill COVID-19 Earned Income Act
  • HR 8440 Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Republican 1
R
Cassidy, Bill
Louisiana · Mar 19, 2020
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 3542: COVID-19 Earned Income Act. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-3542/
MLA
"S. 3542: COVID-19 Earned Income Act." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-3542/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 3542, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-3542/.
Markdown link
[S. 3542: COVID-19 Earned Income Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-3542/)
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