S 1982119th CongressIntroduced

COACHES Act

Introduced: Jun 5, 2025

Economy & TaxesEducation

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The COACHES Act (Creating Opportunity for Athletic Coaches to Help Educate Students Act) would broaden the federal above-the-line educator expense deduction. Specifically, it would (1) remove a current exclusion that prevents nonathletic supplies used in health or physical education from qualifying for the deduction and (2) extend eligibility to interscholastic sports administrators and coaches, allowing them to claim unreimbursed instructional expenses. The changes would apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2023. The bill is introduced in the Senate by Sen. Scott (SC) and Sen. Hassan, and referred to the Senate Finance Committee. In practical terms, the bill would make more instructional-related purchases eligible for the educator deduction and formally include athletic program staff (coaches and sports administrators) among those who can claim it. The language shifts the qualifying context from “in the classroom” to “as part of instructional activity,” broadening where instructional expenses can be incurred and claimed.

Key Points

1Expands the above-the-line educator expense deduction to cover nonathletic supplies used in health and physical education courses.
2Removes the explicit exclusion that previously barred nonathletic supplies for health/PE from qualifying.
3Adds interscholastic sports administrators and coaches to the list of eligible individuals who may claim the educator deduction.
4Replaces the prior wording “in the classroom” with “as part of instructional activity,” broadening where qualifying expenses can be incurred.
5Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2023 (retroactive to 2024 filings).

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: K-12 educators and instructional personnel, including health and physical education teachers; interscholastic sports coaches and athletic program administrators who incur unreimbursed instructional expenses.Secondary group/area affected: School districts and athletic departments that reimburse or track educator/coach expenses; families of students who rely on school-based instructional programs and activities.Additional impacts: Potentially larger deductions (above-the-line) for eligible filers, which can reduce adjusted gross income and overall tax liability. Practical considerations include documenting nonathletic supplies and ensuring purchases are used as part of instructional activities. The broader eligibility could affect compliance and the administrative burden on schools to track these expenses.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 3, 2025