“To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the work opportunity tax credit for hiring displaced disaster victims.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)—which provides employers a tax credit equal to 40% of the first $6,000 in qualified first-year wages (up to $2,400) for hiring from targeted groups facing employment barriers, such as long-term family assistance recipients—by adding "displaced disaster victim" as a new targeted group under IRC §51(d). A displaced disaster victim is an individual certified by a designated local agency as (1) having a principal residence in a qualified disaster zone rendered uninhabitable by the disaster, (2) having been employed immediately prior to the disaster's incident period at a location in the zone rendered inoperable, and (3) being unemployed; eligibility is limited to hiring within one year after the incident period ends (or, for pre-enactment disasters, within one year after enactment), and qualified wages exclude amounts for 30+ hours/week if the principal employment is outside the zone. A qualified disaster zone is an area subject to a major disaster declaration by the President on or after January 1, 2024, under the Stafford Act warranting individual or individual/public assistance (with the incident period not beginning before that date); the changes apply to individuals beginning work on or after January 1, 2024, with transition rules for pre-enactment disasters.