101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5834

 

Introduced 11/10/2020, by Rep. Deanne M. Mazzochi - Thomas Morrison - Margo McDermed - Amy Grant, Grant Wehrli, et al.

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 100/5-45.1 new
35 ILCS 5/232 new

    Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates an income tax credit for custodians of qualifying pupils for eligible education expenses related to online learning, including computers, printers, internet access, textbooks, tutors, and educational facilitators. Provides for an additional credit if the custodian is also an eligible teacher. Creates an income tax credit for employers of custodians of qualifying pupils for eligible expenditures paid by the employer on behalf of the custodian. Provides that the credit is exempt from the Act's automatic sunset provision. Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to provide for emergency rulemaking. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 3. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is
5amended by adding Section 5-45.1 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 100/5-45.1 new)
7    Sec. 5-45.1. Emergency rulemaking. To provide for the
8expeditious and timely implementation of Section 232 of the
9Illinois Income Tax Act, emergency rules implementing that
10Section may be adopted in accordance with Section 5-45 by the
11Department of Revenue. The adoption of emergency rules
12authorized by Section 5-45 and this Section is deemed to be
13necessary for the public interest, safety, and welfare.
14    This Section is repealed on January 1, 2026.
 
15    Section 5. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by adding
16Section 232 as follows:
 
17    (35 ILCS 5/232 new)
18    Sec. 232. Remote learning education expense credit.
19    (a) The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for
20students and their families in the areas of child care, school
21attendance, school access, and the like.

 

 

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1    This Section is intended to (i) assist students and
2families who are unable follow their normal school routine as a
3consequence of orders of the Department of Public Health
4relating to COVID-19, (ii) additionally support classroom
5instructors so that they can maximize time and opportunities
6for in-person instruction, and (iii) incentivize employers to
7accommodate working parents.
8    Because the nature and types of hardships experienced by
9school districts, parents, and students are wide and varied,
10the most efficient way to deliver relief that can be tailored
11to the particular individuals' needs is through an income tax
12credit.
13    The General Assembly finds that it will be costly and
14burdensome to the State of Illinois if parents must choose to
15become unemployed due to a lack of accommodation based on the
16inability of students to attend school in person.
17    (b) As used in this Section, the following words shall have
18the following meanings unless the context clearly requires
19otherwise, and shall be construed expansively in favor of the
20taxpayer for expenditures made in good faith wherever possible:
21    "Custodian" means, with respect to qualifying pupils, an
22Illinois resident who is a parent, the parents, a legal
23guardian, or the legal guardians of the qualifying pupils.
24    "COVID-19" means the illness caused by the coronavirus
25SARS-CoV-2.
26    "Educational activities" means any aspect of a qualifying

 

 

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1pupil's education, including, but not limited to classroom
2instruction, remote learning and blended remote learning
3instruction, special education support, and tutoring and
4mentoring.
5    "Eligible expenditure" means costs by a custodian of a
6qualifying pupil or an employer associated with:
7        (1) the purchase of materials to support online
8    learning, including but not limited to, a personal computer
9    with internet access; a router or hotspot; monthly expenses
10    for internet access; a printer and supportive accessories
11    (print cartridge, toner); textbooks and other supplies
12    needed for education, up to a maximum of $500 for the
13    taxable year; and the costs of educational activities;
14        (2) securing, for a qualifying pupil who is under the
15    age of 15, child care, independent tutoring, an educational
16    facilitator (whether individually or as part of a learning
17    pod, provided that the facilitator fee is distributed pro
18    rata per student), homeschool instruction, alternative
19    classroom instruction, or specialized services relating to
20    learning or behavioral issues identified in an
21    Individualized Education Program and the like, up to a
22    maximum of $5,000 per taxable year per household or per
23    child, whichever is less; and
24        (3) compliance with a mandatory 2-week quarantine
25    period associated with COVID-19, whether imposed by an
26    employer, the State of Illinois, or a county health

 

 

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1    department, including the costs of testing, clinical
2    support, and vaccination (if available), up to $3,000 per
3    year.
4    "Eligible expenditure adjustment" means the eligible
5expenditure reduced by 25%. The eligible expenditure
6adjustment shall apply for any parent or household that had an
7adjusted gross income for the taxable year of over $150,000 for
8an individual and $300,000 for spouses filing a joint return.
9    "Eligible teacher" means an individual licensed under
10Article 21B of the School Code who is teaching at the school
11grade level of kindergarten through grade 12 and is also the
12custodian of a qualifying pupil under the age of 14 who cannot
13attend school anywhere within the custodian's school district
14for in-person instruction on a regular school day.
15    "Qualifying pupil" means an individual who (i) is a
16resident of the State of Illinois, (ii) is under the age of 21
17at the close of the school year for which a credit is sought,
18and (iii) during the school year for which a credit is sought,
19was a full-time pupil enrolled in a kindergarten through grade
2012 education program at any school, as defined in this Section.
21    "Regular school day" means the calendar days Monday through
22Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which occur on the day after
23Labor Day but before Memorial Day, but not any official
24government holidays within that time period.
25    "School" means any public or nonpublic elementary or
26secondary school in Illinois that is in compliance with Title

 

 

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1VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which
2satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of the School Code,
3except that nothing shall be construed to require a child to
4attend any particular public or nonpublic school to qualify for
5the credit under this Section.
6    (c) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
72020, a taxpayer who is a custodian of a qualifying pupil is
8eligible to receive a nonrefundable credit against the taxes
9imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 in an amount
10equal to 100% of the eligible expenditures (as adjusted by the
11eligible expenditure adjustment, if applicable), subject to
12the maximum allowable credits under this Section. Eligible
13teachers are eligible for an additional $75 credit per week,
14not to exceed $2,000 per year, if the eligible teacher's
15qualifying pupil cannot attend in-person instruction because
16of orders involving the Department of Public Health, a county
17health department, or the State Board of Education relating to
18COVID-19.
19    The credit under this Section shall not apply to
20expenditures incurred after orders preventing in-person
21instruction for the qualifying pupil are lifted. No taxpayer
22shall be entitled to claim a tax credit under this Section for
23the same eligible expenditures claimed by another taxpayer. If
242 or more custodians claim tax credits for the same qualified
25pupil, the total of which exceeds the amounts in this
26subsection, then the total amount of the credit allowed shall

 

 

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1be allocated in amounts proportionate to teach eligible
2taxpayer's share of the total amount of the eligible
3expenditures for the eligible qualifying pupil.
4    The employer of a custodian of a qualifying pupil is also
5entitled to a credit against the taxes imposed by subsections
6(a) and (b) of Section 201 in an amount equal to 100% of the
7eligible expenditures paid by the employer on behalf of the
8custodian of the qualifying pupil, but not to exceed a maximum
9in each taxable year of $2,000 for each employee on whose
10behalf an expenditure is made, plus 50% of the maximum
11unemployment insurance payment that the employer would
12otherwise pay to the State under the Unemployment Insurance Act
13for that employee.
14    (d) The Department of Revenue and the State Board of
15Education shall jointly adopt rules for the implementation of
16this Section.
17    (e) The Department of Revenue shall annually, no later than
18November 1, file a report with the Governor and the General
19Assembly and publish on the Department of Revenue's website the
20total amount of tax credits claimed under this Section and the
21total number of taxpayers who received the credit for the
22preceding fiscal year.
23    (f) This Section is exempt from the provisions of Section
24250.
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
26becoming law.