WEST Act of 2024

HR 7033 (WEST Act of 2024) imposes a new 6% excise tax on the endowments of large private universities and certain state-operated colleges. It directly affects institutions with non-religious endowments exceeding $12.2 billion (for private schools) or $9 billion (for state-operated colleges) in assets not used for their primary educational purposes. The tax applies to the fair market value of qualifying assets at the end of the prior year, calculated using existing IRS rules. This policy change would generate revenue from the largest endowments, with the tax effective for 2023 taxable years and beyond.