Forwarding this update from ACCT. Tax bill details are a big focus of attention in the higher ed and K12 communities. I’m just not up enough on this stuff to comment, but the ACCT alert has some interesting details that maybe we should pay attention to? Here is a sample K12 response - a statement from AASA: http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=41771 Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: "ACCT Government Affairs Office" <publicpolicy@acct.org> > Subject: LAW E-Alert: Newly Released Tax Bill Includes Changes for Higher Ed > Date: November 2, 2017 at 3:53:12 PM EDT > To: "Jeff Carter" <jcarter@literacypolicy.org> > Reply-To: publicpolicy@acct.org > > > > November 2, 2017 > > Newly Released Tax Bill Includes Changes for Higher Ed > > Today, House Republicans released their tax reform package aimed at simplifying current tax code while lowering some individual and corporate tax rates. The bill is scheduled to be marked up by the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday, with the goal of considering the tax package on the House floor in the coming weeks. > > The following higher education related items are eliminated under the House bill: > • Section 127 employer tuition assistance - Exclusion from income of employer-provided education assistance, currently up to $5,250 per year. > • Above-the-line deduction of tuition and fees – Qualified individuals can deduct up to $4,000 (depending on adjusted gross income) of qualified expenses. > • Student loan interest deduction - Existing deduction of up to $2,500 for interest on education loans. > • Section 117 tuition benefits - Exclusion from income of qualified tuition reductions provided by educational institutions to their employees, spouses, or dependents. > • Lifetime Learning Tax Credit (LLC) – The LLC provides a credit for 20 percent of up to $10,000 of qualified education expenses for postsecondary education. The LLC is not refundable. There is no limit on the number of years the LLC may be claimed. > > Other notable changes in the bill: > > American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) - Under the bill, the LLC is consolidated into the existing AOTC. The AOTC retains the same initial income thresholds and benefits under the proposal. The AOTC would continue to provide a 100 percent tax credit for the first $2,000 of certain higher education expenses and a 25 percent tax credit for the next $2,000 of such expenses. Refundability would remain at 40 percent. The ‘new’ AOTC would also be available for a fifth year of post-secondary education at half the rate as the first four years, with up to $500 of such credit being refundable. Additionally, under the bill AOTC qualifying income thresholds would increase based on the consumer price index starting in 2018. > State and local income and sales tax deductions – Under the bill, individuals would not be allowed an itemized deduction for state and local income or sales taxes, but would continue to be entitled to a deduction for state and local income or sales taxes paid or accrued in carrying on a trade or business or producing income. Individuals would continue to be allowed to claim an itemized deduction for real property taxes paid up to $10,000. > Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) – The proposal seeks to clarify how UBIT applies to the treatment of entities exempt from taxation under section 501(a). Under the bill, all entities exempt from tax under section 501(a) would be subject to the UBIT rules. This includes state and local entities, such as public pension plans. > > Endowments – Some private colleges and universities with large endowments would be subject to a 1.4 percent excise tax on net investment incomes. > Student loan discharges – Benefits from student loans discharged due to death or disability would not be considered as taxable income. > College savings accounts – Coverdell savings accounts would be eliminated, with the ability to roll existing funds into a 529 savings account. The bill expands 529s to allow savings of up to $10,000 for qualified expenses at private elementary and secondary schools. Unborn children may also be designated as 529 beneficiaries under the bill. > > > > >