II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 905 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 23, 2021 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. BRAUN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. BALDWIN, 

Ms. DUCKWORTH, and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

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 (A), and 

24 ‘‘(II) fees required to obtain or 

25 maintain a recognized postsecondary 

26 credential, including testing and other 


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1 fees required by the organization 

2 issuing the recognized postsecondary 

3 credential as a condition of maintain4 ing or obtaining the credential. 

5 ‘‘(ii) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY

6 CREDENTIAL PROGRAM.—For purposes of 

7 this subparagraph, the term ‘recognized 

8 postsecondary credential program’ means a 

9 program to obtain a recognized postsec10 ondary credential if such program is in11 cluded on a list prepared under section 

12 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and 

13 Opportunity Act or meets the training or 

14 educational prerequisites to qualify an indi15 vidual to take an examination developed or 

16 administered by an organization widely 

17 recognized as providing reputable creden18 tials in the occupation, where such exam19 ination is required to obtain or maintain a 

20 recognized postsecondary credential. 

21 ‘‘(iii) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY

22 CREDENTIAL.—For purposes of this sub23 paragraph, the term ‘recognized postsec24 ondary credential’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a recognized postsecondary 

2 credential, as such term is defined in 

3 section 3(52) of the Workforce Inno4 vation and Opportunity Act (29 

5 U.S.C. 3102) (but an industry-recog6 nized credential shall be for a pro7 gram for which a provider is eligible 

8 under section 122 of that Act (29 

9 U.S.C. 3152)), including a credential 

10 from a certificate or certification pro11 gram that is accredited by the Na12 tional Commission for Certifying 

13 Agencies or the American National 

14 Standards Institute, or 

15 ‘‘(II) any other postsecondary 

16 credential recognized for purposes of 

17 this subparagraph under regulations 

18 or guidance provided by the Secretary, 

19 in consultation with the Secretary of 

20 Labor.’’. 

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

22 this section shall apply to expenses paid or incurred in 

23 taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act. 

Æ 


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