A tax break provided for under bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) would allow housing for nonprofit student organizations, such as fraternities and sororities, to be upgraded with modern safety features.
“West Virginia’s college and university students who live in fraternity or sorority housing shouldn’t be denied safe housing just because of an outdated tax disparity,” Sen. Capito said.
If enacted, the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2021, S. 2653, which Sen. Capito cosponsored on Aug. 5 with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for collegiate housing and infrastructure grants, according to the text of the bill.
Currently, colleges and universities are able to use charitable deductions to build and maintain student housing, however, nonprofit student housing groups are not included, according to information provided by Sen. Capito’s staff. S. 2653 would end this disparity by giving donors to these student groups the same tax advantages when contributing toward building safety upgrades or new construction, the information says.
Under S. 2653, “an organization shall not fail to be treated as organized and operated exclusively for charitable or educational purposes solely because such organization makes collegiate housing and infrastructure grants to an organization… which applies the grant to its collegiate housing property,” according to the text.
“Ultimately, this bipartisan bill is focused on student safety and access to affordable housing,” said Sen. Capito. “Our commonsense bill would improve living conditions by enabling nonprofit groups to implement necessary safety features while driving down costs for students.”
S. 2653 has been referred to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee for consideration.