Tax credit helps blind Americans afford assistive technology—but only until 2030
H.R. 1529 — Access Technology Affordability Act of 2025 · Filed by Mike Kelly (R-PA) · 78 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 24, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a federal tax credit allowing blind individuals (or their families) to deduct up to $2,000 in qualified access technology costs every three years—such as screen readers, braille displays, or adaptive software. The credit expires after 2030 and is adjusted annually for inflation.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to establish a refundable tax credit for assistive technology used by blind individuals. It is a straightforward disability-access measure with no hidden provisions or riders.
What the text implies
- The $2,000 cap per 3-year period may not cover high-end assistive devices (e.g., advanced braille displays can cost $10,000+), limiting utility for those with greater needs.
- Sunset clause (Dec 31, 2030) means the credit expires in 6 years; blind individuals would lose this benefit unless Congress reauthorizes it, creating uncertainty for long-term planning.
- Credit is tied to tax liability, meaning low-income blind individuals with minimal tax burden may receive little or no benefit despite greatest need.
Who it affects
Blind individuals and their families gain direct financial relief for essential assistive technology, reducing out-of-pocket costs for tools that enable employment, education, and independence. The benefit is narrowly targeted but meaningful for a population facing significant accessibility barriers.
Who stands to gain
- assistive technology manufacturers
- screen reader software vendors
- braille display manufacturers
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Code, Section 36C, blind individuals, qualified access technology, assistive technology sector
Where it stands
78 cosponsors: 49 Democrats, 28 Republicans, 1 Independents.
- Feb 24, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 24, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $20,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 12 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Mike Kelly, the sponsor, reported $955,974 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Federation of the Blind — $20,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Tax credit helps blind Americans afford assistive technology—but only until 2030” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr1529 Report an error
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