,i #aadth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dhgb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #bc1 #bjaf ,mr4 ,ben ,ray ,lujn of ,new ,mexico introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,education and the ,workforce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to reform the ,american opportunity tax credit to support college savings4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,save for ,success ,act4 #b4 ,american opportunity tax credit savings credit 7a7 ,in general ,section #be;,a of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by redesignating subsection 7j7 as subsection 7k7 and by inserting after subsection 7i7 the following3 7j7 ,special rules relating to ,,aotc savings credit 7#a7 ,in general ,for purposes of this section1 the term qualified tuition and related expenses with respect to any individual includes eligible college savings contributions for such individual4 ,such contributions shall be taken into account for purposes of subsection 7i77#a77;,a7 before tuition and fees4 7#b7 ,limitation 7,a7 ,in general ,the aggregate amount of contributions with respect to an individual which may be taken into account under paragraph 7#a7 for a taxable year is #bej4 7,b7 ,phase out ,the dollar amount in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be reduced 7but not below zero7 by the amount which bears the same ratio to such dollar amount as-- 7i7 the number of percentage points 7if any7 in excess of #acc percent that the taxpayer's household income for the taxable year is of the poverty line for a family of the size involved1 bears to 7ii7 #djj percentage points4 7#c7 ,terms relating to income and families ,the terms family size1 household income1 and poverty line shall have the meanings given such terms by section #cf;,b7d74 7#d7 ,eligible higher education contribution ,for purposes of paragraph 7#a71 the term eligible college savings contribution with respect to an individual means the excess of-- 7,a7 contributions by the taxpayer in the taxable year to qualified college savings accounts of which the individual is the beneficiary1 over 7,b7 distributions from all such qualified college savings accounts for the taxable year4 7#e7 ,qualified college savings accounts ,the term qualified college savings account with respect to which such individual is the beneficiary means-- 7,a7 an account under a qualified tuition program 7as defined by section #ebi71 and 7,b7 an account under a program of a ,state 7or political jurisdiction thereof7 established exclusively for the purpose of paying for college tuition and other post-secondary educational expenses4 7#f7 ,portion of credit made refundable ,so much of the credit allowed under subsection 7a7 as is attributable to this subsection 7determined after the application of subsection 7i7 and without regard to this subsection and section #bf7;a77 shall be treated as a credit allowable under subpart ,c 7and not allowed under subsection 7a774 ,the preceding sentence shall not apply to any taxpayer for any taxable year if such taxpayer is a child to whom subsection 7g7 of section #a applies for such taxable year4 4 7b7 ,,aotc lifetime limitation ,section #be;,a7i77#b7 of such ,code is amended to read as follows3 7#b7 ,limitation ,in lieu of subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,c7 of subsection 7b77#b71 the amount allowed as a credit under this section for the taxable year with respect to an individual shall not exceed-- 7,a7 #aj1jjj1 reduced 7,b7 by the amount allowed under this section with respect to such individual for all prior taxable years4 4 7c7 ,pilot program ,to make periodic payments as college expenses incurred ,section #be;,a7i7 of such ,code is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#h7 ,pilot program to make periodic payments as college expenses incurred 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury and the ,secretary of ,education shall jointly establish a program designed to make payments periodically to or on behalf of an eligible student as the student incurs qualified expenses during the taxable year4 ,the total amount that may be so paid to or on behalf of an eligible student through this program shall not exceed the credit which would 7but for subparagraph 7,b77 be allowable under this section if subsection 7d7 were applied by using the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income for the preceding taxable year4 7,b7 ,credit reduced by pilot program payments ,the credit allowable under this section 7without regard to this subparagraph7 for any taxable year shall be reduced 7but not below zero7 by the payments made with respect to a student under subparagraph 7,a7 for expenses which would otherwise be taken into account in determining the credit under this section for such year4 7,c7 ,program participation ,participation in the program established under this paragraph shall be voluntary with respect to both students and educational institutions2 except that1 institutions which are taxable under this chapter 7other than by reason of section #eaa7 may not participate in such program4 7,d7 ,program period ,the program established under this paragraph shall apply to expenses for academic periods beginning during the #e-year period which begins on the date which is #a year after the date of the enactment of this paragraph4 7,e7 ,payments not treated as resources for financial aid ,payments made under this paragraph shall not be treated as resources for purposes of determining the amount of any financial aid which is funded in whole or part with ,federal funds4 ,payments under the program shall not be made in a manner that would reduce the ,state1 private1 or institutional aid available to an eligible student4 7,f7 ,notice of program ,educational institutions participating in the program established under this paragraph shall provide appropriate notices to parents and students of the option of payments under such program4 ,such notices shall not be considered tax advice for purposes of any ,federal law or regulation4 7,g7 ,reporting ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury and the ,secretary of ,education shall jointly submit annual reports to ,congress on the program established under this subsection1 together with any recommendations with respect to such program4 4 7d7 ,conforming amendment ,section #fbaa7;b77#d77;,a7 of such ,code is amended by inserting or 7j77#f7 after subsection 7i77#f74 7e7 ,increased public awareness of ,american ,opportunity ,tax ,credit 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or the ,secretary's delegate1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,education1 shall establish a taxpayer awareness program to inform the taxpaying public of the availability of the ,american ,opportunity ,tax ,credit allowed under section #be;,a of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 ,such public awareness program shall be designed to assure that individuals who may be eligible are informed of the availability of such credit and filing procedures4 7#b7 ,means of communications 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or the ,secretary's delegate1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,education1 shall use appropriate means of communication to carry out the provisions of this section4 ,the taxpayer awareness program shall include1 but not be limited to1 prominent display of information about the availability of the ,american ,opportunity ,tax ,credit on information return forms specified by such ,secretary for use by educational institutions to report qualified tuition and related expenses incurred4 7,b7 ,additional steps ,in addition1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or the ,secretary's delegate1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,education1 should-- 7i7 make students aware of the ,american ,opportunity ,tax ,credit through the data retrieval tool and the student aid report of the ,department of ,education1 7ii7 include information on the financial aid shopping sheet1 7iii7 include the ,american ,opportunity ,tax ,credit in the volunteer income tax assistance program1 and 7iv7 bring awareness of the ,american ,opportunity ,tax ,credit in the ,federal ,,trio ,programs 7commonly known as 8,,trio07 under chapter #a of subpart #b of part ,a of title ,,iv of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajgj;a-#aa et seq47 and in the ,gaining ,early ,awareness and ,readiness for ,undergraduate ,programs 7commonly known as 8,,gear ,,up07 under chapter #b of subpart #b of part ,a of title ,,iv of such ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajgj;a-#ba et seq474 7f7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after ,december #ca1 #bjae4