PRIA Logo™
HR7705119th CongressWALLET

Tribal Tax and Investment Reform Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Representative Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]

Introduced

Summary

Treats Indian tribes more like states for certain tax and financing rules. The bill would expand tribal access to tax‑exempt bonds and targeted tax incentives, and it would clarify and strengthen pension and benefit-plan rules for tribal governments.

Show full summary
  • Tribes and Alaska Native consortia would gain new tax‑exempt bond access through a national tribal cap of $400 million and a separate Alaska Native consortia cap of $45 million; bond proceeds could not fund gaming facilities.
  • Tribal employees and plan participants would see federal recognition of tribal retirement plans as governmental plans, a new uniform set of fiduciary duties and civil remedies, and rules that apply to plans with at least 500 active participants.
  • Communities, charities, and workers would get several tax changes: a $175 million annual New Markets Tax Credit set‑aside for tribal areas, an increase in the Indian employment tax credit maximum to $30,000 per employee, and income exclusions for Indian Health Service loan repayment and certain tribal scholarships and general welfare benefits.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

8 provisions identified: 7 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

More housing credits for Indian areas

If enacted, the bill would let certain buildings in Indian areas count as Difficult Development Areas for the Low-Income Housing Credit. That would apply only if the building is assisted under NAHASDA or the project sponsor is an Indian Tribe or tribally designated housing entity. The change would apply to buildings placed in service after December 31, 2026 and could lower housing development costs in eligible tribal areas.

Stronger rules for tribal pensions

If enacted, the bill would treat many tribal employer retirement plans as governmental plans for tax and employment rules and create a new fiduciary statute for large tribal pension plans. Plans with at least 500 active participants would face duties like prudence, diversification, and acting in participants' sole interest. The bill would allow participants to sue for breaches, let plans be sued as entities, and give Treasury and Labor time to issue guidance and transition relief. The enforcement moratorium for certain pre-guidance issues would start on enactment, and other changes would apply to years after enactment.

Tax-free tribal health scholarships

If enacted, amounts received under the Indian Health Professions Scholarships Program would not count as taxable income for tax years after December 31, 2026. The bill would also exclude Indian Health Service loan repayment payments from gross income for payments made after the law is enacted. These exclusions would raise the take-home pay for scholarship recipients and IHS clinicians who receive loan repayment.

Tribal charities treated like governments

If enacted, the bill would treat Indian tribal governments and entities they wholly own or control as government funders for charitable deduction and supporting organization rules. This would apply to tax years beginning after the date of enactment. Donors and tribal foundations could see different deduction and public charity treatment under these rules.

Bigger Indian employment tax credit

If enacted, employers would compute the Indian employment tax credit denominator by averaging the sum of qualified wages and qualified employee health insurance costs over the two most recent calendar years. The bill would raise the maximum credit per eligible employee from $20,000 to $30,000. These changes would apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.

New Markets credits for tribal areas

If enacted, the bill would set aside $175 million per year for New Markets Tax Credits for investments in tribal statistical areas starting after December 31, 2026. Unused tribal amounts could carry forward up to five years, with carry rules that affect the general NMTC limit in the sixth year. The Secretary would allocate the tribal set-aside and must create training and technical assistance for community development entities within 180 days of enactment. The rules would target capital, loans, and services for businesses and projects that serve tribal communities.

Changes to tribal tax-exempt bonds

If enacted, the bill would create a $400 million annual national cap for Indian Tribal Government tax-exempt bonds and a separate $45 million annual cap for Alaska Native Intertribal Consortia. The $400 million cap would be indexed for inflation after 2027 and rounded to the nearest $100,000. The bill would remove some prior legal limits on tribal bond treatment and bar bond proceeds from financing parts of buildings used for class II or III gaming. The bill would also end new issuance of "tribal economic development bonds" after December 31, 2029. These bond rules would apply to obligations issued in calendar years beginning after December 31, 2026.

SSI resource protection for Indian benefits

If enacted, the bill would exclude Indian general welfare benefits from SSI resource counting for nine months after the month you receive them. It would also exclude certain grantor trusts set up by Indian tribes when the tribe is the grantor. These exclusions would take effect upon enactment and can help preserve eligibility for means-tested programs.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]

WI • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Schweikert, David [R-AZ-1]

    AZ • R

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. Yakym, Rudy [R-IN-2]

    IN • R

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1]

    WA • D

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. Cole, Tom [R-OK-4]

    OK • R

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3]

    KS • D

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]

    CA • R

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. Moolenaar, John R. [R-MI-2]

    MI • R

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

  • Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 3/4/2026

  • Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41]

    CA • R

    Sponsored 7/14/2026

  • Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 7/14/2026

  • Rep. Fong, Vince [R-CA-20]

    CA • R

    Sponsored 8/3/2026

  • Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7]

    IL • D

    Sponsored 8/3/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation