I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1260 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and modify the 
American Opportunity Tax Credit, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 4, 2015 
Mr. DOGGETT (for himself, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. BLU-
MENAUER, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. KIND, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. 
LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. NEAL, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. 
RANGEL, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. YAR-
MUTH, Ms. BASS, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BRADY of 
Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mrs. 
BUSTOS, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CA´RDENAS, 
Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. 
CASTRO of Texas, Ms. CHU of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE 
of New York, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 
CONNOLLY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. CUM-
MINGS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. 
DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. MICHAEL 
F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. ENGEL, 
Ms. ESTY, Mr. FARR, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. 
FUDGE, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GENE GREEN 
of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Ms. HAHN, Mr. HASTINGS, 
Mr. HECK of Washington, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HONDA, 
Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE 
JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KELLY 
of Illinois, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. 
LEE, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA´N of New 
Mexico, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. LYNCH, 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, 
Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NOLAN, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAL-
LONE, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. PIERLUISI, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 
POCAN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. ROYBAL- 
ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of Cali-
fornia, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHA-
KOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Geor-
gia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SIRES, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. 
SPEIER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of 
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Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Mr. TONKO, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. 
VEASEY, Mr. VELA, Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California, Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. 
GALLEGO, Mr. MURPHY of Florida, Mrs. TORRES, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 
LARSEN of Washington, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. RUIZ, Miss RICE 
of New York, and Mr. RUPPERSBERGER) 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 extend 
and modify the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Opportunity 
Tax Credit Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF AMERICAN OP-
PORTUNITY TAX CREDIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 25A of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 25A. AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an in-
dividual who is an eligible student for any taxable year, 
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed 
by this chapter for such taxable year the amount deter-
mined under subsection (b) with respect to such indi-
vidual. 
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‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.— 
‘‘(1) STUDENT ENROLLED AT LEAST 1⁄2 TIME.— 
In the case of an eligible student who is carrying at 
least 1⁄2 the normal full-time workload for the course 
of study the student is pursuing, the amount deter-
mined under this subsection with respect to such in-
dividual is the sum of— 
‘‘(A) 100 percent of so much of the quali-
fied tuition and related expenses paid by the 
taxpayer during the taxable year (for education 
furnished to the eligible student during any 
academic period beginning in such taxable year) 
as does not exceed $2,000, plus 
‘‘(B) 25 percent of such expenses so paid 
as exceeds $2,000 but does not exceed $4,000. 
‘‘(2) OTHER STUDENTS.—In the case of an eli-
gible student not described in paragraph (1), the 
amount determined under this subsection with re-
spect to such individual is 25 percent of so much of 
the qualified tuition and related expenses paid by 
the taxpayer during the taxable year (for education 
furnished to the eligible student during any aca-
demic period beginning in such taxable year) as does 
not exceed $10,000. 
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‘‘(c) LIMITATION BASED ON MODIFIED ADJUSTED 
GROSS INCOME.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount which would 
(but for this paragraph) be taken into account under 
this section for the taxable year shall be reduced 
(but not below zero) by the amount determined 
under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT
OF
REDUCTION.—The amount 
determined under this paragraph is the amount 
which bears the same ratio to the amount which 
would be so taken into account as— 
‘‘(A) the excess of— 
‘‘(i) the taxpayer’s modified adjusted 
gross income for such taxable year, over 
‘‘(ii) $80,000 ($160,000 in the case of 
a joint return), bears to 
‘‘(B) $10,000 ($20,000 in the case of a 
joint return). 
‘‘(3) MODIFIED
ADJUSTED
GROSS
INCOME.— 
For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘modified 
adjusted gross income’ means the adjusted gross in-
come of the taxpayer for the taxable year increased 
by any amount excluded from gross income under 
section 911, 931, or 933. 
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‘‘(d) OTHER LIMITATIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.— 
For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) LIFETIME
DOLLAR
LIMITATION.—In the 
case of qualified tuition and related expenses with 
respect to any eligible student, the aggregate 
amount of the credits allowed in the taxable year 
and any prior taxable year for such eligible student 
(whether beginning before or after American Oppor-
tunity Tax Credit Act of 2015) shall not exceed 
$15,000, determined without regard to whether— 
‘‘(A) such credits are claimed on the re-
turn of tax filed by the eligible student or by 
another taxpayer, or 
‘‘(B) such expenses are treated as paid by 
the eligible student or by another taxpayer. 
If, in any taxable year, the aggregate amount of 
such credits equals or exceeds $15,000, the amount 
allowed as a credit under subsection (a) in any sub-
sequent taxable year with respect to such student 
shall be zero. 
‘‘(2) 
IDENTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT.—No 
credit shall be allowed under this section to a tax-
payer with respect to the qualified tuition and re-
lated expenses of an eligible student unless the tax-
payer includes the name and taxpayer identification 
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number of such eligible student on the return of tax 
for the taxable year. 
‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT
FOR
CERTAIN
SCHOLAR-
SHIPS, ETC.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of quali-
fied tuition and related expenses otherwise 
taken into account under this section with re-
spect to an individual for an academic period 
shall be reduced (before the application of sub-
sections (b) and (c)) by the sum of any 
amounts paid for the benefit of such individual 
which are allocable to such period as— 
‘‘(i) a qualified scholarship which is 
excludable from gross income under section 
117, 
‘‘(ii) an educational assistance allow-
ance under chapter 30, 31, 32, 34, or 35 
of title 38, United States Code, or under 
chapter 1606 of title 10, United States 
Code, and 
‘‘(iii) a payment (other than a gift, 
bequest, devise, or inheritance within the 
meaning of section 102(a)) for such indi-
vidual’s educational expenses, or attrib-
utable to such individual’s enrollment at an 
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eligible educational institution, which is ex-
cludable from gross income under any law 
of the United States. 
‘‘(B) COORDINATION WITH PELL GRANTS 
NOT USED FOR QUALIFIED TUITION AND RE-
LATED
EXPENSES.—Any amount determined 
with respect to an individual under subpara-
graph (A) which is attributable to a Federal 
Pell Grant under section 401 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 shall be reduced (but 
not below zero) by the amount of the expenses 
(other than qualified tuition and related ex-
penses) which are taken into account in deter-
mining the cost of attendance (as defined in 
section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 
1965, as in effect on the date of the enactment 
of the American Opportunity Tax Credit Act of 
2015) of such individual at an eligible edu-
cational institution for the academic period for 
which the credit under this section is being de-
termined. 
‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF EXPENSES PAID BY DE-
PENDENT.—If a deduction under section 151 with 
respect to an individual is allowed to another tax-
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payer for a taxable year beginning in the calendar 
year in which such individual’s taxable year begins— 
‘‘(A) no credit shall be allowed under this 
section to such individual for such individual’s 
taxable year, and 
‘‘(B) qualified tuition and related expenses 
paid by such individual during such individual’s 
taxable year shall be treated for purposes of 
this section as paid by such other taxpayer. 
‘‘(5) 
TREATMENT
OF
CERTAIN
PREPAY-
MENTS.—If qualified tuition and related expenses 
are paid by the taxpayer during a taxable year for 
an academic period which begins during the first 3 
months following such taxable year, such academic 
period shall be treated for purposes of this section 
as beginning during such taxable year. 
‘‘(6) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No credit 
shall be allowed under this section for any expense 
for which a deduction is allowed under any other 
provision of this chapter. 
‘‘(7) NO
CREDIT
FOR
MARRIED
INDIVIDUALS 
FILING SEPARATE RETURNS.—If the taxpayer is a 
married individual (within the meaning of section 
7703), this section shall apply only if the taxpayer 
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and the taxpayer’s spouse file a joint return for the 
taxable year. 
‘‘(8) NONRESIDENT ALIENS.—If the taxpayer is 
a nonresident alien individual for any portion of the 
taxable year, this section shall apply only if such in-
dividual is treated as a resident alien of the United 
States for purposes of this chapter by reason of an 
election under subsection (g) or (h) of section 6013. 
‘‘(e) ELECTION NOT TO HAVE SECTION APPLY.—A 
taxpayer may elect not to have this section apply with re-
spect to the qualified tuition and related expenses of an 
individual for any taxable year. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 
student’ means, with respect to any taxable year, an 
individual who— 
‘‘(A) is enrolled for at least one academic 
period which begins during such taxable year at 
an eligible educational institution, and 
‘‘(B) meets the requirements of section 
484(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 
as in effect on the date of the enactment of the 
American Opportunity Tax Credit Act of 2015. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED
TUITION
AND
RELATED
EX-
PENSES.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 
tuition and related expenses’ means tuition, 
fees, and course materials required for the en-
rollment or attendance of— 
‘‘(i) the taxpayer, 
‘‘(ii) the taxpayer’s spouse, or 
‘‘(iii) any dependent of the taxpayer 
with respect to whom the taxpayer is al-
lowed a deduction under section 151, 
at an eligible educational institution for courses 
of instruction of such individual at such institu-
tion. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR EDUCATION INVOLV-
ING SPORTS, ETC.—Such term does not include 
expenses with respect to any course or other 
education involving sports, games, or hobbies, 
unless such course or other education is part of 
the individual’s degree program. 
‘‘(C) 
EXCEPTION
FOR
NONACADEMIC 
FEES.—Such term does not include student ac-
tivity fees, athletic fees, insurance expenses, or 
other expenses unrelated to an individual’s aca-
demic course of instruction. 
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‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.— 
The term ‘eligible educational institution’ means an 
institution— 
‘‘(A) which is described in section 481 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, as in effect 
on the date of the enactment of the American 
Opportunity Tax Credit Act of 2015, and 
‘‘(B) which is eligible to participate in a 
program under title IV of such Act. 
‘‘(g) PORTION OF CREDIT REFUNDABLE.—The less-
er of— 
‘‘(1) the credit allowed under this section for a 
taxable year (determined after application of sub-
sections (c)(1) and (d) and without regard to this 
subsection and section 26(a)(2), as the case may 
be), or 
‘‘(2) $1,500, 
shall be treated as a credit allowable under subpart C (and 
not allowed under this section). The preceding sentence 
shall not apply to any taxpayer for any taxable year if 
such taxpayer is a child to whom subsection (g) of section 
1 applies for such taxable year. 
‘‘(h) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In the case of any 
taxable year beginning in a calendar year after 2015, each 
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dollar amount in subsections (b) and (c)(2), and (d)(1) 
shall be increased by an amount equal to— 
‘‘(1) such dollar amount, multiplied by 
‘‘(2) the cost-of-living adjustment determined 
under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which 
the taxable year begins, determined by substituting 
‘calendar year 2014’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in sub-
paragraph (B) thereof. 
In the case of subsections (b) and (d)(1), any increase de-
termined under the preceding sentence shall be rounded 
to the nearest multiple of $50. In the case of subsection 
(c)(2), any increase determined under the preceding sen-
tence shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $500. 
‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may prescribe 
such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to 
carry out this section, including regulations providing for 
a recapture of the credit allowed under this section in 
cases where there is a refund in a subsequent taxable year 
of any amount which was taken into account in deter-
mining the amount of such credit.’’. 
(b) RETENTION OF LIMITATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (D) of section 
25A(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 
in effect before the enactment of the American Op-
portunity Tax Credit Act of 2015 hereby transferred 
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SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PELL GRANT EXCLUSION FROM 
GROSS INCOME. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 117(b) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘received by an individual’’ and all that follows and 
inserting ‘‘received by an individual— 
‘‘(1) as a scholarship or fellowship grant to the 
extent the individual establishes that, in accordance 
with the conditions of the grant, such amount was 
used for qualified tuition and related expenses, or 
‘‘(2) as a Federal Pell Grant under section 401 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as in effect 
on the date of the enactment of the American Op-
portunity Tax Credit Act of 2015).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2014. 
Æ 
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