I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1954 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make higher education 

more affordable by providing a full tax deduction for higher education 

expenses and interest on student loans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2009 

Mr. PAUL (for himself and Mr. MILLER of Florida) 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 make 

higher education more affordable by providing a full tax 

deduction for higher education expenses and interest on 

student loans. 

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 ‘‘Make College Afford5 able Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEDUCTION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES. 

2 (a) DEDUCTION ALLOWED.—Section 221 of the In3 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 221. HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES. 

6 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF DEDUCTION.—In the case of an 

7 individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction an 

8 amount equal to the sum of— 

9 ‘‘(1) the qualified higher education expenses, 

10 plus 

11 ‘‘(2) interest on qualified education loans, 

12 paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year. 

13 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES.— 

14 For purposes of this section— 

15 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED HIGHER EDUCATION EX16 PENSES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

18 higher education expenses’ means— 

19 ‘‘(i) tuition and fees charged by an 

20 educational institution and required for the 

21 enrollment or attendance of— 

22 ‘‘(I) the taxpayer, 

23 ‘‘(II) the taxpayer’s spouse, 

24 ‘‘(III) any dependent of the tax25 payer with respect to whom the taxVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Apr 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1954.IH H1954

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1 payer is allowed a deduction under 

2 section 151, or 

3 ‘‘(IV) any grandchild of the tax4 payer, 

5 as an eligible student at an institution of 

6 higher education, and 

7 ‘‘(ii) reasonable living expenses for 

8 such an individual while away from home 

9 and attending such institution. 

10 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE COURSES.—Amounts paid 

11 for qualified higher education expenses of any 

12 individual shall be taken into account under 

13 subsection (a) only to the extent such ex14 penses— 

15 ‘‘(i) are attributable to courses of in16 struction for which credit is allowed toward 

17 a baccalaureate degree by an institution of 

18 higher education or toward a certificate of 

19 required course work at a vocational 

20 school, and 

21 ‘‘(ii) are not attributable to any grad22 uate program of such individual. 

23 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—For purposes 

24 of subparagraph (A), the term ‘eligible student’ 

25 means a student who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements of section 

2 484(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(1)), as in effect 

4 on the date of the enactment of this sec5 tion, and 

6 ‘‘(ii) is carrying at least one-half the 

7 normal full-time work load for the course 

8 of study the student is pursuing, as deter9 mined by the institution of higher edu10 cation. 

11 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

12 The term ‘institution of higher education’ is as de13 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 

14 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

15 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED EDUCATION LOAN.—For purposes 

16 of this section— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified edu18 cation loan’ means a loan which is— 

19 ‘‘(A) made, insured, or guaranteed by the 

20 Federal Government, 

21 ‘‘(B) made by a State or a political sub22 division of a State, 

23 ‘‘(C) made from the proceeds of a qualified 

24 student loan bond under section 144(b), or 


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1 ‘‘(D) made by an institution of higher edu2 cation. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The amount of interest on 

4 a qualified education loan which is taken into ac5 count under subsection (a)(2) shall not exceed the 

6 amount which bears the same ratio to such amount 

7 of interest as— 

8 ‘‘(A) the proceeds from such loan used for 

9 qualified higher education expenses, bears to 

10 ‘‘(B) the total proceeds from such loan. 

11 For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term 

12 ‘qualified higher education expenses’ shall be deter13 mined without regard to subsection (c)(1)(A)(i)(IV). 

14 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be 

17 allowed under subsection (a) for any expense 

18 for which a deduction is allowable to the tax19 payer under any other provision of this chapter 

20 unless the taxpayer irrevocably waives his right 

21 to the deduction of such expense under such 

22 other provision. 

23 ‘‘(B) DENIAL OF DEDUCTION IF CREDIT

24 ELECTED.—No deduction shall be allowed 

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1 spect to the qualified higher education expenses 

2 of an individual if the taxpayer elects to have 

3 section 25A apply with respect to such indi4 vidual for such year. 

5 ‘‘(C) DEPENDENTS.—No deduction shall 

6 be allowed under subsection (a) to any indi7 vidual with respect to whom a deduction under 

8 section 151 is allowable to another taxpayer for 

9 a taxable year beginning in the calendar year in 

10 which such individual’s taxable year begins. 

11 ‘‘(D) COORDINATION WITH EXCLUSIONS.— 

12 A deduction shall be allowed under subsection 

13 (a) for qualified higher education expenses only 

14 to the extent the amount of such expenses ex15 ceeds the amount excludable under section 135 

16 or 530(d)(2) for the taxable year. 

17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON TAXABLE YEAR OF DE18 DUCTION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A deduction shall be 

20 allowed under subsection (a) for qualified high21 er education expenses for any taxable year only 

22 to the extent such expenses are in connection 

23 with enrollment at an institution of higher edu24 cation during the taxable year. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN PREPAYMENTS ALLOWED.— 

2 Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to qualified 

3 higher education expenses paid during a taxable 

4 year if such expenses are in connection with an 

5 academic term beginning during such taxable 

6 year or during the first 3 months of the next 

7 taxable year. 

8 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT FOR CERTAIN SCHOLAR9 SHIPS AND VETERANS BENEFITS.—The amount of 

10 qualified higher education expenses otherwise taken 

11 into account under subsection (a) or (d)(2) with re12 spect to the education of an individual shall be re13 duced (before the application of subsection (b)) by 

14 the sum of the amounts received with respect to 

15 such individual for the taxable year as— 

16 ‘‘(A) a qualified scholarship which under 

17 section 117 is not includable in gross income, 

18 ‘‘(B) an educational assistance allowance 

19 under chapter 30, 31, 32, 34, or 35 of title 38, 

20 United States Code, or 

21 ‘‘(C) a payment (other than a gift, be22 quest, devise, or inheritance within the meaning 

23 of section 102(a)) for educational expenses, or 

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1 cational institution, which is exempt from in2 come taxation by any law of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(4) NO DEDUCTION FOR MARRIED INDIVID4 UALS FILING SEPARATE RETURNS.—If the taxpayer 

5 is a married individual (within the meaning of sec6 tion 7703), this section shall apply only if the tax7 payer and the taxpayer’s spouse file a joint return 

8 for the taxable year. 

9 ‘‘(5) NONRESIDENT ALIENS.—If the taxpayer is 

10 a nonresident alien individual for any portion of the 

11 taxable year, this section shall apply only if such in12 dividual is treated as a resident alien of the United 

13 States for purposes of this chapter by reason of an 

14 election under subsection (g) or (h) of section 6013. 

15 ‘‘(6) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may pre16 scribe such regulations as may be necessary or ap17 propriate to carry out this section, including regula18 tions requiring recordkeeping and information re19 porting.’’. 

20 (b) DEDUCTION ALLOWED IN COMPUTING AD21 JUSTED GROSS INCOME.—Paragraph (17) of section 

22 62(a) of such Code is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(17) HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES.—The 

24 deduction allowed by section 221.’’. 

25 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) Part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of 

2 such Code is amended— 

3 (A) by striking section 222, and 

4 (B) in the table of sections for such part 

5 by striking the item relating to section 222. 

6 (2) The following sections of such Code are 

7 each amended by striking ‘‘222,’’: sections 

8 86(b)(2)(A), 135(c)(4)(A), 137(b)(3)(A), 

9 199(d)(2)(A), and 219(g)(3)(A)(ii). 

10 (3) Section 469(i)(3)(F)(iii) of such Code is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘221, and 222’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘and 221’’. 

13 (4) Section 6050S(e) of such Code is amended 

14 by striking ‘‘section 221(d)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec15 tion 221(c)(1)’’. 

16 (5) The table of sections for part VII of sub17 chapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by 

18 striking the item relating to section 221 and insert19 ing the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 221. Higher education expenses.’’. 

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall apply to payments made after December 

22 31, 2008. 

Æ 


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