Individual Tax Provisions (“Tax Extenders”) Expiring in 2020: In Brief

Summary

Six temporary individual income tax provisions were extended or reinstated by the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94). In the past, Congress has regularly acted to extend expired or expiring temporary tax provisions. These provisions are often referred to as “tax extenders.” Of the six provisions that were extended through 2020, three had expired in 2017 and were extended retroactively. They are

the tax exclusion for canceled mortgage debt,

the mortgage insurance premium deduction, and

the above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.

Two of the tax provisions extended through 2020 are health related. The first of these provisions was scheduled to expire at the end of 2019. The second had expired at the end of 2018, and thus was extended retroactively. They are

the health coverage tax credit, and

the 7.5% floor for the medical expense deduction.

A sixth provision, the exclusion from gross income for volunteer firefighters and emergency responders, which had expired in 2010, was reinstated and expanded for one year, through 2020. This report provides background information on individual income tax provisions that will expire in 2020. For other reports related to extenders, see

CRS Report R45347, Tax Provisions That Expired in 2017 (“Tax Extenders”), by Molly F. Sherlock,

CRS Report R44990, Energy Tax Provisions That Expired in 2017 (“Tax Extenders”), by Molly F. Sherlock, Donald J. Marples, and Margot L. Crandall-Hollick, and

CRS Report R44930, Business Tax Provisions that Expired in 2017 (“Tax Extenders”), coordinated by Molly F. Sherlock.