# 119-hr-8624: WAGES Act of 2026

119-hr-8624, WAGES Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Moran, Nathaniel [R-TX-1] (R-TX); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8624
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8624
- Congress: 119
- Title: WAGES Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-30
- Sponsor: Rep. Moran, Nathaniel [R-TX-1] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

This bill would create a new, **refundable payroll tax credit** to subsidize employer-paid wages for registered apprentices and certain apprenticeship program expenses. It also updates tax treatment of apprenticeship awards to align them with program participation and prevent misclassification as wages. - Employers would get a credit equal to 50 percent of qualified apprentice wages and registered program expenses, with the wage component capped at $5,000 per apprentice per quarter. - Apprentices would have qualified wages counted for up to a 2-year participation period and must be registered within the first 90 days of probationary employment to qualify. - The credit would be refundable if it exceeds employment taxes, includes a $10,000 per-quarter cap on mentor wages, prevents double claiming with other federal programs like WIOA, and excludes federal, state, and local governments.

## Provisions PRIA read

- More tax-free apprenticeship awards: benefit, high. If enacted, items an employer gives an employee for apprenticeship training would be treated as employee achievement awards in many cases. Awards given within the first 90 days of program participation would not qualify. The bill would raise the dollar limits for such apprenticeship-related awards…
- Apprenticeship payroll tax credit for employers: benefit, high. If enacted, employers would be able to claim a refundable payroll tax credit equal to 50% of qualifying apprentice wages and registered apprenticeship program expenses each calendar quarter. Qualified wages would be capped at $5,000 per apprentice per quarter (so the wage-based credit per apprentic…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-5349: TAS Act
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act
- 119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act
- 119-hr-3160: PREVAIL Act
- 119-hr-3132: CHOICE for Veterans Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1163: Prove It Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8624 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8624)

## Related
- [119-hr-5349: TAS Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5349)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2570)
- [119-hr-3160: PREVAIL Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3160)
- [119-hr-3132: CHOICE for Veterans Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3132)
- [119-hr-1163: Prove It Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1163)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8624 (as of 2026-09-21).