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S492119th CongressWALLET

Improve and Enhance the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act

Sponsored By: Senator Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would strengthen hiring incentives by expanding the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). It raises the credit rate and widens who counts as an eligible worker, including more generous caps for veterans and removing an age limit for SNAP recipients.

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  • Workers and households: First-year employees could qualify for a larger credit. The bill would raise the credit rate to 50% and allow up to $6,000 in creditable wages plus another 50% on wages between $6,000 and $12,000 if the worker performs at least 400 hours, yielding up to a $6,000 credit for qualifying hires.
  • Veterans and employers: Wage limits for certain veterans would increase substantially, with new veteran caps reaching as high as $24,000 or $48,000 for some categories, giving employers bigger credits when they hire eligible veterans.
  • Youth, long-term assistance, and SNAP recipients: Summer youth rules and long-term family assistance rules are reworked to change the percent and year-by-year treatment of wages, and the bill removes the maximum age limit for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients so employers can claim WOTC for SNAP recipients aged 18 and over.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

SNAP recipients of any age qualify

This bill would remove the age-40 exclusion for the SNAP category of the WOTC. If enacted, SNAP recipients age 40 and older who meet the other rules could make their employer eligible for the credit. This change would apply to hires who begin work after December 31, 2024.

Bigger hiring tax credit for employers

This bill would expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) employers can claim for many hires. For most hires, the first-year credit would be 50% of the first $6,000 of wages. If the worker performs at least 400 hours, employers would also get 50% of the next $6,000 (so up to $12,000 of wages count). For certain qualified veterans, the wage caps used to compute the credit would increase (examples: $12,000/$24,000; $14,000/$28,000; or $24,000/$48,000). Long-term family-assistance hires would follow a special rule: 40% of first-year wages up to $10,000, and 50% of second-year wages up to $10,000. The bill also sets new summer-youth rules that limit counted wages to $3,000 and apply 40%, 25%, or 0% rates depending on the subcategory. These changes would apply to hires who begin work after December 31, 2024.

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Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]

LA • R

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]

    NH • D

    Sponsored 2/10/2025

  • Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]

    DE • D

    Sponsored 3/17/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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