I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5339 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit certain expenses 

associated with obtaining or maintaining recognized postsecondary credentials to be treated as qualified higher education expenses for purposes 

of 529 accounts. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2019 

Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself and Mr. WITTMAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit 

certain expenses associated with obtaining or maintaining 

recognized postsecondary credentials to be treated as 

qualified higher education expenses for purposes of 529 

accounts. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom To Invest 

5 in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CERTAIN CAREER TRAINING AND CREDENTIALING 

2 EXPENSES TREATED AS QUALIFIED HIGHER 

3 EDUCATION EXPENSES FOR PURPOSES OF 

4 529 ACCOUNTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 529(e)(3) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN CAREER TRAINING AND

9 CREDENTIALING EXPENSES.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘quali11 fied higher education expenses’ includes— 

12 ‘‘(I) tuition, fees, books, supplies, 

13 and equipment required for the enroll14 ment or attendance of an individual in 

15 a recognized postsecondary credential 

16 program, or any other expense in17 curred in connection with enrollment 

18 in or attendance at a recognized post19 secondary credential program if such 

20 expense would, if incurred in connec21 tion with enrollment or attendance at 

22 an eligible educational institution, be 

23 covered under subparagraph 

24 (e)(3)(A), and 

25 ‘‘(II) fees required to obtain or 

26 maintain a recognized postsecondary 


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1 credential (as such term is defined in 

2 section 3(52) of the Workforce Inno3 vation and Opportunity Act), includ4 ing testing and other fees required by 

5 the organization issuing the recog6 nized postsecondary credential as a 

7 condition of maintaining or obtaining 

8 the credential. 

9 ‘‘(ii) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY

10 CREDENTIAL PROGRAM.—For purposes of 

11 this paragraph, the term ‘recognized post12 secondary credential program’ means a 

13 program to obtain a recognized postsec14 ondary credential if such program is in15 cluded on a list prepared under section 

16 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and 

17 Opportunity Act or meets the training or 

18 educational prerequisites to qualify an indi19 vidual to take an examination developed or 

20 administered by an organization widely 

21 recognized as providing reputable creden22 tials in the occupation, where such exam23 ination is required to obtain or maintain a 

24 recognized postsecondary credential.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 this section shall apply to expenses paid or incurred in 

3 taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act. 

Æ 


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