102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4765

 

Introduced 1/27/2022, by Rep. Deanne M. Mazzochi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 100/5-45.21 new
35 ILCS 5/232 new

    Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates an income tax credit to compensate custodians of qualifying pupils for a school district failing to offer in-person instruction to students during the regular school year calendar. 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.


LRB102 24022 HLH 33234 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4765LRB102 24022 HLH 33234 b

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 5-45.21 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 100/5-45.21 new)
7    Sec. 5-45.21. 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14    This Section is repealed on January 1, 2023.
 
15    Section 5. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by
16adding Section 232 as follows:
 
17    (35 ILCS 5/232 new)
18    Sec. 232. Education expense credit to compensate for a
19school district failing to offer in-person instruction to
20students during the regular school year calendar.
21    (a) The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for

 

 

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1students and their families in the areas of child care, school
2attendance, school access, and the like.
3    This Section is intended to (i) assist students and
4families who are unable follow their normal school routine as
5a consequence of orders of the Department of Public Health
6relating to COVID-19, decisions by a school board or
7administration to not offer full-time in-person instruction,
8or staffing shortages at any time that interfere with offering
9full-time instruction, (ii) additionally support classroom
10instructors so that they can maximize time and opportunities
11for in-person instruction, and (iii) incentivize employers to
12accommodate working parents.
13    Because the nature and types of hardships experienced by
14school districts, parents, and students are wide and varied,
15the most efficient way to deliver relief that can be tailored
16to the particular individuals' needs is through an income tax
17credit.
18    The General Assembly finds that it will be costly and
19burdensome to the State of Illinois if parents must choose to
20become unemployed due to a lack of accommodation based on the
21inability of students to attend school in person.
22    (b) As used in this Section, the following words shall
23have the following meanings unless the context clearly
24requires otherwise, and shall be construed expansively in
25favor of the taxpayer for expenditures made in good faith
26wherever possible:

 

 

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1    "Custodian" means, with respect to qualifying pupils, an
2Illinois resident who is a parent, the parents, a legal
3guardian, or the legal guardians of the qualifying pupils.
4    "COVID-19" means the illness caused by the coronavirus
5SARS-CoV-2.
6    "Educational activities" means any aspect of a qualifying
7pupil's education, including, but not limited to classroom
8instruction, remote learning and blended remote learning
9instruction, special education support, and tutoring and
10mentoring.
11    "Eligible expenditure" means costs by a custodian of a
12qualifying pupil or an employer associated with:
13        (1) the purchase of materials to support online
14    learning, including but not limited to, a personal
15    computer with internet access; a router or hotspot;
16    monthly expenses for internet access; a printer and
17    supportive accessories (print cartridge, toner); textbooks
18    and other supplies needed for education, up to a maximum
19    of $500 for the taxable year; and the costs of educational
20    activities;
21        (2) securing, for a qualifying pupil who is under the
22    age of 15, child care, independent tutoring, an
23    educational facilitator (whether individually or as part
24    of a learning pod, provided that the facilitator fee is
25    distributed pro rata per student), homeschool instruction,
26    alternative classroom instruction, or specialized services

 

 

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1    relating to learning or behavioral issues identified in an
2    Individualized Education Program and the like, up to a
3    maximum of $5,000 per taxable year per household or per
4    child, whichever is less; and
5        (3) compliance with a recommended quarantine period
6    associated with COVID-19, whether imposed by or resulting
7    as a consequence of a decision made by an employer, the
8    State of Illinois, a school board, school board
9    administration, or due to school staffing shortages, or a
10    county health department, including the costs of testing,
11    clinical support, and vaccination (if available), up to
12    $3,000 per year.
13    "Eligible expenditure adjustment" means the eligible
14expenditure reduced by 25%. The eligible expenditure
15adjustment shall apply for any parent or household that had an
16adjusted gross income for the taxable year of over $150,000
17for an individual and $300,000 for spouses filing a joint
18return.
19    "Eligible teacher" means an individual licensed under
20Article 21B of the School Code who is teaching at the school
21grade level of kindergarten through grade 12 and is also the
22custodian of a qualifying pupil under the age of 14 who cannot
23attend school anywhere within the custodian's school district
24for in-person instruction on a regular school day.
25    "Qualifying pupil" means an individual who (i) is a
26resident of the State of Illinois, (ii) is under the age of 21

 

 

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1at the close of the school year for which a credit is sought,
2and (iii) during the school year for which a credit is sought,
3was, or requested to be, registered as a full-time pupil
4enrolled in a kindergarten through grade 12 education program
5at any school, as defined in this Section.
6    "Regular school day" means the calendar days Monday
7through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which occur on the day
8after Labor Day but before Memorial Day, but not any official
9government holidays within that time period.
10    "School" means any public or nonpublic elementary or
11secondary school in Illinois that is in compliance with Title
12VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which
13satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of the School Code,
14except that nothing shall be construed to require a child to
15attend any particular public or nonpublic school to qualify
16for the credit under this Section.
17    (c) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
182022, a taxpayer who is a custodian of a qualifying pupil is
19eligible to receive a nonrefundable credit against the taxes
20imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 in an amount
21equal to 100% of the eligible expenditures (as adjusted by the
22eligible expenditure adjustment, if applicable), subject to
23the maximum allowable credits under this Section. Eligible
24teachers are eligible for an additional $75 credit per week,
25not to exceed $2,000 per year, if the eligible teacher's
26qualifying pupil cannot attend in-person instruction because

 

 

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1of orders involving the Department of Public Health, a county
2health department, or the State Board of Education relating to
3COVID-19.
4    The credit under this Section shall not apply to
5expenditures incurred after orders or staffing shortages
6preventing or limiting in-person instruction for the
7qualifying pupil are lifted, provided that this limitation
8shall not apply if a student, to secure in-person instruction,
9was required to pay expenses for alternative in-person school
10instruction for a full semester or school year. No taxpayer
11shall be entitled to claim a tax credit under this Section for
12the same eligible expenditures claimed by another taxpayer. If
132 or more custodians claim tax credits for the same qualified
14pupil, the total of which exceeds the amounts in this
15subsection, then the total amount of the credit allowed shall
16be allocated in amounts proportionate to teach eligible
17taxpayer's share of the total amount of the eligible
18expenditures for the eligible qualifying pupil.
19    The employer of a custodian of a qualifying pupil is also
20entitled to a credit against the taxes imposed by subsections
21(a) and (b) of Section 201 in an amount equal to 100% of the
22eligible expenditures paid by the employer on behalf of the
23custodian of the qualifying pupil, but not to exceed a maximum
24in each taxable year of $2,000 for each employee on whose
25behalf an expenditure is made, plus 50% of the maximum
26unemployment insurance payment that the employer would

 

 

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1otherwise pay to the State under the Unemployment Insurance
2Act for that employee.
3    (d) The Department of Revenue and the State Board of
4Education shall jointly adopt rules, including emergency
5rules, for the implementation of this Section.
6    (e) The Department of Revenue shall annually, no later
7than November 1, file a report with the Governor and the
8General Assembly and publish on the Department of Revenue's
9website the total amount of tax credits claimed under this
10Section and the total number of taxpayers who received the
11credit for the preceding fiscal year.
12    (f) This Section is exempt from the provisions of Section
13250.
 
14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15becoming law.