Sponsors (2)
The bill extends and expands the WOTC to encourage employers to hire disadvantaged workers through 2030—boosting job opportunities for targeted groups—at the trade-off of reduced federal revenue and added administrative complexity.
Employers — especially small businesses — can claim the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) through 2030, lowering hiring costs and increasing incentives to hire targeted workers.
People with recent felony convictions gain expanded eligibility for WOTC, increasing their chances of being hired within three years of conviction or release.
Out-of-school youth certified under WIOA become WOTC-eligible, improving employment pathways for opportunity youth and helping connect young adults to jobs.
Extending the credit through 2030 reduces federal revenue compared with current law, which could increase deficits or crowd out other federal spending priorities.
Broader eligibility and changes pending Treasury regulations will increase program complexity and create short-term administrative burden and uncertainty for state agencies and employers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Extends the WOTC through 2030 and expands eligible groups to include broader criminal-justice-impacted individuals and WIOA-certified opportunity youth.
Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and expand the work opportunity tax credit.
Introduced March 19, 2026 by Wesley Bell · Last progress March 19, 2026
Extends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) federal tax credit program through December 31, 2030 and broadens the list of target groups that qualify employers for the credit. It renames and widens the former "qualified ex-felon" category to "qualified criminal justice-impacted individual," adds a new "qualified opportunity youth" category for out-of-school WIOA youth, requires Treasury regulations to implement the changes, and directs a Comptroller General study of WOTC administration and employer paperwork burdens.