II 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1621 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 7, 2005 Ms. Collins (for herself, Mr. Warner, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the above-the-line deduction for teacher classroom supplies and to expand such deduction to include qualified professional development expenses.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2005.

2.

Expansion of above-the-line deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers

(a)

In general

Subparagraph (D) of section 62(a)(2) (relating to certain trade and business deductions of employees) is amended to read as follows: (D)

Certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers

The deductions allowed by section 162 which consist of expenses, not in excess of $400, paid or incurred by an eligible educator— (i)by reason of the participation of the educator in professional development courses related to the curriculum and academic subjects in which the educator provides instruction or to the students for which the educator provides instruction, and (ii)in connection with books, supplies (other than nonathletic supplies for courses of instruction in health or physical education), computer equipment (including related software and services) and other equipment, and supplementary materials used by the eligible educator in the classroom. . (b)

Effective date

The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2004.