To provide that members of the Armed Forces performing services in Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad shall be entitled to tax benefits in the same manner as if such services were performed in a combat zone.

Summary

Treats service by U.S. Armed Forces members in Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad as occurring in a "combat zone" for certain federal tax rules, but only while those service members are eligible for hostile fire or imminent danger pay. That combat-zone treatment triggers existing tax benefits such as exclusion of combat pay from taxable income, special tax filing and payment deadlines, and certain withholding and estate/tax reporting rules tied to combat-zone service. The change takes effect on the date of enactment and applies only during the period troops are eligible for hostile fire/imminent danger pay.

Key Points

• Designates Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad as "qualified hazardous duty areas" for certain tax rules.
• Combat-zone tax treatment applies only while troops in those countries are eligible for hostile fire/imminent danger pay.
• Triggers existing tax benefits tied to combat-zone status, such as exclusion of combat pay from taxable income.
• Also affects withholding, reporting, and deadline extensions for tax filings and payments for deployed service members.
• The change takes effect on the date of enactment and is limited to the period of special pay entitlement.
• No new spending or program authorizations are created by this measure; it changes tax treatment only.
• Applies specifically to a defined list of Internal Revenue Code provisions referenced in the text.
• Automatically stops applying if hostile fire/imminent danger pay entitlement for a country ends.

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