Cancel the Debt, Cancel the Tax: Exclude Student Loan Debt Relief From Gross Income Using the General Welfare Exclusion

Abstract

Absent a statutory exclusion, the general welfare exclusion could exclude any government-provided income-based student loan debt relief from taxable income. The general welfare exclusion is an administrative invention by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to exclude governmental welfare benefits from the gross income calculation. The IRS has the authority to do so because it has the general authority to interpret the meaning of gross income in the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS also has the enforcement discretion not to collect tax on certain things. When I.R.C. § 108(f)(5) expires after 2025, the IRS can and should administratively pronounce that income-based student loan cancellation by the government is excludable under the general welfare exclusion.

Keywords: Income Tax, Cancellation of Indebtedness, IRS

JEL Classification: K34