Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act
Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain broadband grants from gross income.
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Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act
This bill excludes from gross income (for federal tax purposes) certain grants received for broadband deployment.
As background, contributions of capital to a corporation generally are not taxable income. However, under an exception enacted in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, grants from a government or civic organization are not contributions to capital and, thus, treated as taxable income. Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considered certain grants from a government or civic organization contributions of capital and, thus, not taxable income.
The bill specifically excludes from gross income grants received for broadband deployment from the
- National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program;
- NTIA State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program;
- NTIA Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program;
- NTIA Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program;
- Department of Agriculture ReConnect Program;
- Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund; and
- NTIA Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program and the Broadband Infrastructure Program.
The bill also requires the IRS to issue guidance on the exclusion from gross income of such grants.
The bill applies to funds received in tax years ending after March 11, 2023.
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
- COMPETITIVE CARRIERS ASSOCIATION
- NATIONAL RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION (NRECA)
- WILEY REIN LLP
- NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION
- WTA -- ADVOCATES FOR RURAL BROADBAND
- MERCURY STRATEGIES, LLC
Bodies those filers lobbied
- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
- SENATE
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Agriculture, Dept of (USDA)
- Natl Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA)
- White House Office
- Natl Economic Council (NEC)
- Commerce, Dept of (DOC)
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1873: Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-1873/
"H.R. 1873: Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-1873/.
H.R. 1873, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-1873/.
[H.R. 1873: Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-1873/)