HSB 191

This bill changes the effective date for a new deduction for any income of an employee resulting from the payment by an employer, whether paid to the employee or a lender, of principal or interest on the employee’s qualified education loan. Currently, the new deduction is set to begin in tax year 2023 or in a later tax year, contingent upon the satisfaction of certain net general fund revenue amount and growth targets. The bill moves up the effective date for this new deduction to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. To move up the effective date for the new deduction, the bill strikes 2018 Iowa Acts, chapter 1161, section 112. However, there is an unrelated provision to the new deduction in 2018 Iowa Acts, chapter 1161, section 112, and the bill reinserts the unrelated provision to preserve this provision. Federal income tax law does provide a limited deduction for a taxpayer’s payment of interest on qualified education loans, and the bill disallows the new Iowa deduction for any amount of income that represents an interest payment that was also deducted by the employee in computing federal taxable income. The bill defines “qualified education loan” to mean the same as defined in section 221 of the Internal Revenue Code. The new deduction applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022.