HR 1107 IH

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow married individuals who are legally separated and living apart to exclude from gross income the income from United States savings bonds used to pay higher education tuition and fees.

March 20, 2001

Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow married individuals who are legally separated and living apart to exclude from gross income the income from United States savings bonds used to pay higher education tuition and fees.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. CERTAIN MARRIED INDIVIDUALS FILING SEPARATE RETURNS ALLOWED TO EXCLUDE INCOME FROM UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS USED TO PAY HIGHER EDUCATION TUITION AND FEES.

(a) IN GENERAL- Subsection (d) of section 135 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to special rules for exclusion of income from United States savings bonds used to pay higher education tuition and fees) is amended by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5) and by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph:

`(4) CERTAIN MARRIED INDIVIDUALS LIVING APART- For purposes of this section, an individual shall not be considered as married in a taxable year if such individual--

`(A) is married and files a separate return for such taxable year,

`(B) as of the close of such taxable year, is legally separated from the individual's spouse, and

`(C) was not a member of the same household as the individual's spouse at any time during the taxable year.'

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2000.

END