I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 401 
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 
JANUARY 26, 2005 
Mr. PAUL 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. 
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 ‘‘Make College Afford-
able Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. DEDUCTION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES. 
(a) DEDUCTION ALLOWED.—Section 221 of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘SEC. 221. HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF DEDUCTION.—In the case of an 
individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction an 
amount equal to the sum of— 
‘‘(1) the qualified higher education expenses, 
plus 
‘‘(2) interest on qualified education loans, 
paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES.— 
For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) QUALIFIED
HIGHER
EDUCATION
EX-
PENSES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 
higher education expenses’ means— 
‘‘(i) tuition and fees charged by an 
educational institution and required for the 
enrollment or attendance of— 
‘‘(I) the taxpayer, 
‘‘(II) the taxpayer’s spouse, 
‘‘(III) any dependent of the tax-
payer with respect to whom the tax-
payer is allowed a deduction under 
section 151, or 
‘‘(IV) any grandchild of the tax-
payer, 
as an eligible student at an institution of 
higher education, and 
‘‘(ii) reasonable living expenses for 
such an individual while away from home 
and attending such institution. 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE COURSES.—Amounts paid 
for qualified higher education expenses of any 
individual shall be taken into account under 
subsection (a) only to the extent such ex-
penses— 
‘‘(i) are attributable to courses of in-
struction for which credit is allowed toward 
a baccalaureate degree by an institution of 
higher education or toward a certificate of 
required course work at a vocational 
school, and 
‘‘(ii) are not attributable to any grad-
uate program of such individual. 
‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—For purposes 
of subparagraph (A), the term ‘eligible student’ 
means a student who—
‘‘(i) meets the requirements of section 
484(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(1)), as in effect 
on the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, and 
‘‘(ii) is carrying at least one-half the 
normal full-time work load for the course 
of study the student is pursuing, as deter-
mined by the institution of higher edu-
cation. 
‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
The term ‘institution of higher education’ is as de-
fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED EDUCATION LOAN.—For purposes 
of this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified edu-
cation loan’ means a loan which is— 
‘‘(A) made, insured, or guaranteed by the 
Federal Government, 
‘‘(B) made by a State or a political sub-
division of a State, 
‘‘(C) made from the proceeds of a qualified 
student loan bond under section 144(b), or