# 119-s-1610: Tax-Free Pell Grant Act

119-s-1610, Tax-Free Pell Grant Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1610
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1610
- Congress: 119
- Title: Tax-Free Pell Grant Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-05-06
- Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Pell Grants would be explicitly excluded from federal taxable income.** The bill would also block Federal Pell Grants from being counted against education tax credits so students do not lose credit eligibility because of Pell aid. - Students and families: Pell Grant money used for qualified tuition and related expenses would not be treated as taxable income. This aims to increase the after-tax value of Pell aid for low- and moderate-income students. - Tax filers claiming education credits: The bill would stop Pell Grants from reducing calculations for the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit, so those credits would not be adjusted downward because of Pell aid. - Timing: The changes would apply for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA), 2025-05-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-05-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-05-06T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Pell Grants tax-free for students: benefit, medium. If enacted, Federal Pell Grants would not count as taxable income for tax years starting after December 31, 2025. Scholarships and fellowships would be tax-free only for the part you can show was used for qualified tuition and related expenses under the grant’s conditions. Pell Grants would also be…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026
- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-3345: PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act
- 119-s-1677: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act
- 119-s-891: Bipartisan Health Care Act
- 119-s-339: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act

## Sources
- [119-s-1610 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1610)

## Related
- [119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4949)
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-3345: PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3345)
- [119-s-1677: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1677)
- [119-s-891: Bipartisan Health Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-891)
- [119-s-339: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-339)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1610 (as of 2026-04-21).