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ERIC Number: ED626315
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Dec-21
Pages: 18
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Higher Education Tax Benefits: Brief Overview and Budgetary Effects. CRS Report R41967, Version 54. Updated
Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.; McDermott, Brendan
Congressional Research Service
Since 1997, education tax benefits have become an increasingly important component of federal higher education policy. For 2023, 11 higher education-related tax benefits are available. After 2025, absent legislative action, this number will effectively increase to 13. Two provisions that are temporarily suspended are scheduled to be reinstated--the personal exemption for dependents (including college-age dependents) and miscellaneous itemized deductions (including for unreimbursed work-related education expenses)--while the exclusion for discharged or forgiven student loan debt will only be available in limited circumstances. The available tax benefits are a mixture of credits, deductions, exclusions, and other incentives. The benefits can be placed into one of three general categories: (1) incentives for current year expenses; (2) preferential tax treatment of student loans; and (3) incentives for saving for college. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates currently available higher-education tax benefits will cost an average of $25 billion per year over the FY2020-FY2024 budgetary window. This report provides a brief overview of the higher education tax benefits that are currently available to students and their families. The report contrasts higher education tax benefits with traditional student aid; presents a brief history of higher education tax policy over the past 60 years, including recent legislative proposals to modify these tax incentives; summarizes key features of the available tax benefits; and provides JCT estimates of revenue losses resulting from individual tax provisions. The summary is contained in Table 1 and provides information on various aspects of each tax benefit including the type of benefit (credit, deduction, etc.), the annual dollar amount of the benefit, what expenses qualify for the benefit, what level of education the benefit can be claimed for, income levels at which the benefit phases out, and, if the provision is temporary, when it expires. Table 2 contains estimates of the annual forgone federal revenue attributable to each provision.
Congressional Research Service. Web site: https://crsreports.congress.gov/
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A