Freedom To Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2171 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit certain expenses associated with obtaining or maintaining recognized postsecondary cre- dentials to be treated as qualified higher education expenses for purposes of 529 accounts. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 23, 2021 Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself, Mr. UPTON, Mr. PHILLIPS, and Mr. WITTMAN) 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 permit certain expenses associated with obtaining or maintaining recognized postsecondary credentials to be treated as qualified higher education expenses for purposes of 529 accounts. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom To Invest 4 in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2171.IH H2171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2171 IH SEC. 2. CERTAIN CAREER TRAINING AND CREDENTIALING 1 EXPENSES TREATED AS QUALIFIED HIGHER 2 EDUCATION EXPENSES FOR PURPOSES OF 3 529 ACCOUNTS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 529(e)(3) of the Internal 5 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 6 the following new subparagraph: 7 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN CAREER TRAINING AND 8 CREDENTIALING EXPENSES.— 9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘quali- 10 fied higher education expenses’ includes— 11 ‘‘(I) tuition, fees, books, supplies, 12 and equipment required for the enroll- 13 ment or attendance of an individual in 14 a recognized postsecondary credential 15 program, or any other expense in- 16 curred in connection with enrollment 17 in or attendance at a recognized post- 18 secondary credential program if such 19 expense would, if incurred in connec- 20 tion with enrollment or attendance at 21 an eligible educational institution, be 22 covered under subparagraph 23 (e)(3)(A), 24 ‘‘(II) fees required to obtain or 25 maintain a recognized postsecondary 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2171.IH H2171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2171 IH credential (as defined in section 3(52) 1 of the Workforce Innovation and Op- 2 portunity Act), including certificate or 3 certification programs that are accred- 4 ited by the National Commission on 5 Certifying Agencies or the American 6 National Standards Institute, or any 7 postsecondary credential identified in 8 regulations or guidance promulgated 9 by the Internal Revenue Service, in 10 consultation with the Department of 11 Labor, for purposes of this subclause; 12 and 13 ‘‘(III) fees for testing and other 14 fees required by the organization 15 issuing the recognized postsecondary 16 credential as a condition of maintain- 17 ing or obtaining the credential. 18 ‘‘(ii) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY 19 CREDENTIAL PROGRAM.—For purposes of 20 this paragraph, the term ‘recognized post- 21 secondary credential program’ means a 22 program to obtain a recognized postsec- 23 ondary credential if such program is in- 24 cluded on a list prepared under section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2171.IH H2171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2171 IH 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and 1 Opportunity Act or meets the training or 2 educational prerequisites to qualify an indi- 3 vidual to take an examination developed or 4 administered by an organization widely 5 recognized as providing reputable creden- 6 tials in the occupation, where such exam- 7 ination is required to obtain or maintain a 8 recognized postsecondary credential.’’. 9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 10 this section shall apply to expenses paid or incurred in 11 taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment 12 of this Act. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2171.IH H2171 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS