On December 20th, President Trump signed H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020,” an end-of-year $1.4 trillion spending bill that averted a government shutdown.
Regarding taxes, the bill contains several victories for private colleges and universities.
Fixes the “kiddie tax.” The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) included a provision that resulted in many low- and middle-income students who rely on scholarship aid to pay for their college education to be taxed at a much higher rate for the portion of the aid applied to non-tuition expenses, such as room and board. H.R. 1865 returns the tax to the previous marginal rate of a student’s parents, which typically is much lower.
Eliminates the “parking tax.” H.R. 1865 repeals the provision known as the “parking tax,” which imposed a 21 percent tax on the value of transportation and parking benefits that tax-exempt nonprofits, including colleges and universities, provide to their employees.
Eliminates the health care “Cadillac tax.” H.R. 1865 repeals the tax on higher-cost employer health insurance plans included in the Affordable Care Act that was to go into effect in 2022.
And, as you no doubt are aware, the House has delivered the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Not much will be accomplished in Congress until the Senate trial of President Trump is completed.