What This Bill Does
This bill changes federal tax law to allow employers to claim a tax credit (a reduction in taxes owed) when they hire spouses of military personnel. The bill adds military spouses to the group of workers that qualify employers for the work opportunity credit, which is a tax benefit for hiring people from certain backgrounds.
Who It Affects
Employers who hire spouses of military service members. Spouses of active members of the Armed Forces of the United States. Local agencies that certify whether someone qualifies as a military spouse.
Key Provisions
• Employers can claim the work opportunity credit when they hire someone who is certified as a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States (Sec. 2(a) and 2(b))
• A "qualified military spouse" means any individual who a designated local agency certifies is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States as of the hiring date (Sec. 2(b))
• The tax credit applies to payments or money an employer spends after the bill becomes law on employees who start working after that date (Sec. 2(c))
What Changes
Military spouses become eligible for the work opportunity credit. Employers who hire military spouses can now claim a tax reduction they could not claim before.
Important Definitions
Qualified military spouse: Any individual certified by a designated local agency as being a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States at the time they are hired.
Effective Date
The changes apply to amounts paid or incurred after the date the bill becomes law, for individuals who begin work after that date.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1277
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make employers of spouses
of military personnel eligible for the work opportunity credit.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 1, 2023
Mr. BEYER (for himself, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. CARTER of Texas,
Mr. PANETTA, Mr. CLINE, Mr. DUNN of Florida, Mr. BOST, Mr. JACK-
SON of Texas, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BACON, Ms. MACE, Mr. ROSE, Mr.
WITTMAN, Mr. GOSAR, Mrs. HINSON, Mr. LATURNER, Mr. JOHNSON of
Ohio, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. TURNER, Ms.
WILD, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. TITUS, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COHEN, Mr.
MCGOVERN, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Ms. SCANLON, Mr.
BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. EVANS, Mr. TRONE, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. PIN-
GREE, Mrs. PELTOLA, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. WILLIAMS of
Georgia, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, and Ms. HOULAHAN) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make
employers of spouses of military personnel eligible for
the work opportunity credit.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Spouse Hiring
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Act’’.
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•HR 1277 IH
SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF SPOUSES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL
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FOR THE WORK OPPORTUNITY CREDIT.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 51(d) of
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the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking
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‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (I), by striking the period
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at the end of subparagraph (J) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and
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by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
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‘‘(K) a qualified military spouse.’’.
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(b) QUALIFIED MILITARY SPOUSE.—Subsection (d)
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of section 51 of such Code is amended by adding at the
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end the following new paragraph:
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‘‘(16) QUALIFIED
MILITARY
SPOUSE.—The
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term ‘qualified military spouse’ means any individual
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who is certified by the designated local agency as
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being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member
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of the Armed Forces of the United States.’’.
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
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this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after
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the date of the enactment of this Act to individuals who
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begin work for the employer after such date.
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Æ
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