Wicker offers bipartisan bill to end unfair taxation of Nurse Corps students

U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) on Jan. 13 introduced a bipartisan bill that would expand opportunity and affordability for America’s future nurses by removing the tax for Nurse Corps student loan repayments.

“Nurses have been on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic for more than two years now,” Sen. Wicker said. “The nationwide shortage of nurses has made clear just how vital having skilled and hardworking healthcare professionals is to keeping our country running.”

Sen. Wicker is the lead original cosponsor of the Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act of 2022, S. 3505, which is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain Nurse Corps payments from gross income, according to the bill’s text. 

“It’s terrible public policy and frankly offensive that nurses are singled out for extra taxation as compared to other health professionals and it’s got to end,” said Sen. Merkley.

Without an exemption for the Nurse Corps, scholarships or loan repayments that can be considered compensation for services are taxable. To ensure parity in tax status between the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Nurse Corps — which both offer scholarships and loan repayment for healthcare providers in exchange for service in underserved areas — S. 3505 would amend the IRS code to create parity in tax treatment for scholarships and loan repayment between the NHSC and the Nurse Corps, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Wicker’s staff.

The bill has garnered support from the American Nurses Association, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, the Association of Public Health Nurses, the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the Oncology Nursing Society.