Sponsors (5)
The bill expands and preserves a tax benefit for volunteer emergency responders — extending it to non-itemizers and indexing it for inflation — while still capping and valuing service at a modest rate and adding verification requirements that limit the size and ease of the benefit for some volunteers.
Volunteer firefighters, EMTs, rescue volunteers, Civil Air Patrol members, and search-and-rescue volunteers — including those who do not itemize — can claim up to 300 hours of volunteer service valued at $20/hour (with the non-itemizer equivalent allowed), giving many volunteers a new or expanded direct tax benefit.
Volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and other eligible volunteers will have the $20/hour valuation indexed for inflation, preserving the real value of the tax benefit over time.
Volunteer firefighters, EMTs and similar volunteers can receive reimbursements and reasonable benefits (e.g., expense reimbursements or length-of-service awards) without losing eligibility for the volunteer service tax benefit, reducing out-of-pocket barriers to volunteering.
Volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and other high-hour volunteers may still be undercompensated because the benefit is capped at $20/hour and 300 hours, which can be substantially below market or opportunity costs for heavy volunteers.
Low- and moderate-income volunteers who take the standard deduction may receive only a minimal tax benefit if they have little tax liability, because the non-itemizer relief is limited to the valuation amount and constrained by tax liability.
Local governments, volunteer organizations, and volunteers may face added administrative burden and delays because the Secretary's verification requirement could create paperwork, processing steps, or timing issues to claim the deduction.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Treats qualified volunteer emergency service hours as charitable contributions at $20/hr (max 300 hrs/year) and creates a similar deduction for non-itemizers; rate indexed after 2026.
Introduced November 4, 2025 by Robert P. Bresnahan · Last progress November 4, 2025
Treats time spent by bona fide volunteer firefighters, emergency medical and rescue personnel, ambulance, civil air patrol, and search-and-rescue volunteers as a charitable contribution for federal income tax purposes by assigning $20 per hour of qualified volunteer service, capped at 300 hours per volunteer per year (up to $6,000). It also creates a limited deduction for taxpayers who do not itemize that mirrors this volunteer contribution amount and indexes the hourly rate for inflation after 2026. The change applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, and includes rules for verification, allowed reimbursements/benefits, and an explicit exclusion for Members of Congress.