A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide for the establishment of and the deduction of contributions to, education savings accounts and housing savings accounts.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for cash and other personal property contributions to a savings account created or organized exclusively for the purpose of paying the educational expenses of the taxpayer or the taxpayer's child. Limits the amount of such deduction to $1,000 per year, adjusted for inflation. Limits eligibility for such deduction to the taxpayer or the taxpayer's dependent child unless such child has attained age 21 or has attended an institution of higher education as a full-time student for more than four weeks in the year of his twenty-first birthday. Excludes distributions from such an account from the gross income of the payee so long as such distributions are used to defray the beneficiary's tuition, fees, books and supplies, and reasonable living expenses. Specifies sanctions for the use of account funds for other than such educational purposes. Treats qualified distributions as income to the beneficiary for the taxable year in which the beneficiary attains age 25, and for each of the following nine years, in successive apportionments equal to ten percent of the total amount of such distributions. Allows a deduction for cash and other personal property contributions to a savings account created or organized for the benefit of the taxpayer (or the taxpayer and spouse if married) for the exclusive purpose of purchasing such individual's first residence. Limits the maximum annual deduction to $1,500 ($3,000 in the case of married individuals filing jointly), with a maximum lifetime deduction of $15,000 ($30,000 in the case of married individuals filing jointly). Provides for annual inflation adjustment of such amounts. Excludes distributions from such account from gross income so long as they are used exclusively for the purchase of a first residence. Provides for recapture of such distribution upon a subsequent sale of such first residence if another house is not purchased with the proceeds. Requires reduction of the $100,000 exclusion from gross income of proceeds from the sale of a principal residence by a taxpayer 55 years of age or older if such residence had been purchased with distributions from a tax-exempt housing savings account. Limits the amount of such reduction to the amount of any such distribution excluded from gross income.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 26, 1981. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 26, 1981: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 97th Congress (1981-82), 473 of the 11,489 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.1 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RAYMOND MCGRATH (R-NY) introduced it on March 26, 1981. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 26, 1981, 16652 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16652 days ago, on March 26, 1981.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 97th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1983 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers