Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010

Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 - Title I: Temporary Extension of Tax Relief - Extends through December 31, 2012: (1) the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), Public Law 107-16; (2) provisions of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, Public Law 108-27, reducing income tax rates on dividend and capital gain income; (3) increases in the Hope Scholarship tax credit, the child tax credit, and the earned income tax credit; and (4) increases in the tax credit for adoption expenses and the tax exclusion for employer-provided adoption assistance.

Title II: Temporary Extension of Individual AMT Relief - (Sec. 201) Extends through 2011 the increased exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for married and single taxpayers. Repeals the terminating date in EGTRRA (i.e., December 31, 2010) applicable to increases in the AMT exemption amounts.

(Sec. 202) Extends through 2011 the offset against regular and AMT tax liability of certain nonrefundable income tax credits.

Title III: Temporary Estate Tax Relief - (Sec. 301) Reinstates the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax, subject to modifications to such tax made by this Act. Allows estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2009, and before January 1, 2011, an election to apply current estate tax provisions of EGTRRA.

Extends for nine months after the enactment of this Act filing deadlines for estate tax returns of decedents who die after December 31, 2009, and for generation-skipping transfers made after such date.

(Sec. 302) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an estate tax exclusion of $5 million, adjusted for inflation for estates of decedents who die in a calendar year after 2011; and (2) establish a maximum estate tax rate of 35%.

(Sec. 303) Increases the estate tax exclusion amount of a surviving spouse by the unused portion of a deceased spouse's exclusion amount.

(Sec. 304) Terminates the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer provisions of EGTRRA and the provisions of this title after December 31, 2012.

Title IV: Temporary Extension of Investment Incentives - (Sec. 401) Extends through 2012: (1) the additional depreciation allowance for business and investment property; (2) the 100% expensing allowance for business and investment property; and (3) the election to accelerate the AMT and research tax credits in lieu of bonus depreciation.

(Sec. 402) Extends through 2012 the increased expensing allowance (i.e., $125,000) for depreciable business and investment property and the adjusted gross income threshold (i.e., $500,000) for calculating reductions in such allowance. Allows an inflation adjustment to such increased amounts beginning in 2012. Extends through 2012 the designation of certain computer software as depreciable property for purposes of such allowance.

Title V: Temporary Extension of Unemployment Insurance and Related Matters - (Sec. 501) Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account. Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through January 3, 2012. Postpones the termination of the program until June 9, 2012.

Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until January 4, 2012, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC.

Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 10, 2012, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment (thus allowing temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period).

(Sec. 502) Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to authorize a state to apply certain requirements of the Act, with specified substitutions, for determining an extended unemployment compensation period. Requires the state's "on" and "off" indicators to be based on its rate of insured unemployment and rate of total unemployment for the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act (or, if later, the date established pursuant to state law) and ending on or before December 31, 2011.

(Sec. 503) Amends the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Claims Resolutions Act of 2010, to make a technical correction to the definition of a "covered unemployment compensation debt" relating to the amount that states may receive from a reduction of an overpayment otherwise payable to a person who owes such debt.

(Sec. 504) Amends the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 to make a technical correction regarding the limitation on distributions relating to repeal of a continued dumping and subsidy offset. Requires that no payments be distributed under certain provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to entries of any goods that are: (1) unliquidated; (2) not in litigation; and (currently, or) (3) under an order of liquidation from the Department of Commerce.

(Sec. 505) Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2011, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits for employees with 10 or more years of service and for those with less than 10. Makes pre-existing appropriated funds under such Act available to cover the cost of such extended unemployment benefits as well as the costs of current benefits.

Title VI: Temporary Employee Payroll Tax Cut - Reduces by 2% in calendar year 2011 (the payroll tax holiday period) employment and self-employment tax rates. Requires a transfer of amounts from the Treasury to the Federal Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, and the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account to compensate for revenue lost as a result of such reduction in the employment and self-employment tax rates.

Title VII: Temporary Extension of Certain Expiring Provisions - Subtitle A: Energy - (Sec. 701) - Extends through 2011 expiring tax provisions related to energy production and conservation, including: (1) income and excise tax credits (and outlay payments) for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel; (2) the tax credit for investment in refined coal facilities; and (3) the new energy efficient home tax credit.

(Sec. 704) Extends through 2011 the excise tax credits and outlay payments for alternative fuel and alternative fuel mixtures. Denies such credit for any fuel (including lignin, wood residues, or spent pulping liquors) derived from the production of paper or pulp.

(Sec. 705) Extends through 2011 the deferral of gain, for income tax purposes, on sales of electric transmission property by vertically integrated electric utilities to independent transmission companies approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

(Sec. 706) Extends through 2011 the suspension of the taxable income limitation for purposes of percentage depletion of oil and gas from marginal properties.

(Sec. 707) Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to extend through 2011 the programs of grants for renewable and alternative energy property in lieu of tax credits for such property.

(Sec. 708) Extends through 2011 the income and excise tax credits for alcohol used as fuel and payments for alcohol fuel mixtures. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend through 2011 the additional tariff on ethyl alcohol blends (ethanol) used as fuel.

(Sec. 709) Extends through 2011 the tax credit for energy efficient appliances (i.e., clothes washers, dishwashers, and refrigerators). Modifies the energy efficiency standards for such appliances.

(Sec. 710) Extends through 2011 the tax credit for nonbusiness energy property. Revises the limitations and standards for such credit.

(Sec. 711) Extends through 2011 the tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures.

Subtitle B: Individual Tax Relief - (Sec. 721) Extends through 2011: (1) the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers; (2) the deduction of state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes; (3) the deduction for contributions of capital gain real property made for conservation purposes; (4) the deduction (from gross income) for qualified tuition and related expenses; and (5) the tax exemption for distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes.

(Sec. 726) Extends through 2011 the tax rule for stock of regulated investment companies (RICs) held in the estate of nonresidents of the United States.

(Sec. 727) Extends through 2011 the equalization of the tax exclusion for employer-provided mass transit and parking benefits.

(Sec. 728) Requires a disregard of any tax refund or advance payment with respect to a refundable tax credit in determining eligibility for benefits or assistance under any federal program or under any federally-assisted state or local program.

Subtitle C: Business Tax Relief - (Sec. 731) Extends through 2011: (1) the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) the Indian employment tax credit; (3) the new markets tax credit; (4) the railroad track maintenance tax credit; (5) the mine rescue team training tax credit; (6) the tax credit for differential payments to employees who are active duty members of the uniformed services; (7) accelerated depreciation (15-year recovery period) of qualified leasehold improvements, qualified restaurant buildings and improvements, and qualified retail improvements; (8) accelerated depreciation (7-year recovery period) for motorsports entertainment complexes; (9) accelerated depreciation for business property on an Indian reservation; (10) the expansion of the tax deductions for charitable contributions of food and book inventories and for charitable deductions for contributions by corporations of computer technology and equipment for educational purposes; (11) the election to expense mine safety equipment; (12) expensing of certain film and television production costs; (13) expensing of environmental remediation costs; and (14) the tax deduction with respect to income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico; and (15) the exclusion from gross income of 100% of the gain from the sale of qualified small business stock held for more than five years.

(Sec. 747) Extends through 2011 the tax rule for the treatment of payments of rents, royalties, annuities, or interest income by a controlled organization to a controlling tax-exempt organization as unrelated business taxable income.

(Sec. 748) Extends through 2011 the tax rule exempting from withholding the interest-related dividends and short term capital gain dividends received from an RIC.

(Sec. 749) Extends through 2011 the inclusion of RICs within the definition of qualified investment entity for income tax purposes.

(Sec. 750) Extends through 2011 the exemption of subpart F income from foreign personal holding company income for active financing income (e.g., income from insurance, banking, financing, or similar businesses) earned on business operations overseas.

(Sec. 751) Extends through 2011 tax rules relating to payments between related controlled foreign corporations.

(Sec. 752) Extends through 2011 the basis adjustment to stock of S corporations making charitable contributions of property.

(Sec. 753) Extends through 2011 the period for designation of empowerment zones for purposes of allowing certain tax incentives for investment in such zones, including wage credits, accelerated depreciation of business equipment, tax-exempt bond financing, and deferral of capital gains on the sale of business and investment property.

(Sec. 754) Extends through 2011 tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia, including tax-exempt bond financing, zero-percent capital gains tax rate, and the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

(Sec. 755) Extends through 2011: (1) the increase in the limit on the amount of distilled spirits covered (paid over) into the treasuries of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and (2) the American Samoa economic development tax credit.

(Sec. 757) Extends through December 31, 2011, the work opportunity tax credit.

(Sec. 758) Extends through 2011 the authority for issuing qualified zone academy bonds and increases the limit on such bonds to $400 million in 2011.

(Sec. 759) Extends through 2011 the tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums.

Subtitle D: Temporary Disaster Relief Provisions - Subpart A: New York Liberty Zone - (Sec. 761) Extends through 2011 tax-exempt bond financing for investment in the New York Liberty Zone.

Subpart B: GO Zone - (Sec. 762) Extends through 2011: (1) the increase in the rehabilitation tax credit in the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone; (2) the placed-in-service deadline for buildings in the GO Zone for purposes of the low-income housing tax credit; (3) tax-exempt financing for GO Zone investments; and (4) bonus depreciation allowances for qualified GO Zone property.

Title VIII: Budgetary Provisions - (Sec. 801) Provides for compliance of the budgetary effects of this Act with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.

(Sec. 802) Designates this Act as an emergency requirement pursuant to provisions of: (1) the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, subject to the current policy adjustments under such Act; and (2) the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2010.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov