I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3993 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit 
against income tax for employees who participate in qualified apprentice-
ship programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 5, 2015 
Ms. WILSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow em-
ployers a credit against income tax for employees who 
participate in qualified apprenticeship programs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leveraging and Ener-
gizing America’s Apprenticeship Programs Act’’ or the 
‘‘LEAP Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN QUALI-
FIED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 45S. EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN QUALIFIED AP-
PRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 
apprenticeship credit determined under this section for the 
taxable year is an amount equal to the sum of the applica-
ble credit amounts (as determined under subsection (b)) 
for each of the apprenticeship employees of the employer 
that exceeds the applicable apprenticeship level (as deter-
mined under subsection (e)) during such taxable year. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABLE CREDIT AMOUNT.—For purposes 
of subsection (a), the applicable credit amount for each 
apprenticeship employee for each taxable year is equal 
to— 
‘‘(1) in the case of an apprenticeship employee 
who has not attained 25 years of age at the close 
of the taxable year, $1,500, or 
‘‘(2) in the case of an apprenticeship employee 
who has attained 25 years of age at the close of the 
taxable year, $1,000. 
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‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF YEARS WHICH 
CREDIT MAY BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—The appren-
ticeship credit shall not be allowed for more than 2 taxable 
years with respect to any apprenticeship employee. 
‘‘(d) APPRENTICESHIP EMPLOYEE.—For purposes of 
this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘apprenticeship 
employee’ means any employee who is— 
‘‘(A) a party to an apprenticeship agree-
ment registered with— 
‘‘(i) the Office of Apprenticeship of 
the Employment and Training Administra-
tion of the Department of Labor, or 
‘‘(ii) a recognized State apprenticeship 
agency; and 
‘‘(B) employed by the employer in the oc-
cupation identified in the apprenticeship agree-
ment described in paragraph (1), whether or 
not the employer is a party to such agreement. 
‘‘(2) MINIMUM COMPLETION RATE FOR ELIGI-
BLE
APPRENTICESHIP
PROGRAMS.—An employee 
shall not be treated as an apprenticeship employee 
unless such apprenticeship agreement is with an ap-
prenticeship program that, for the two-year period 
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ending on the date of the apprenticeship begins, has 
a completion rate of at least 50 percent. 
‘‘(e) APPLICABLE APPRENTICESHIP LEVEL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the applicable apprenticeship level shall be 
equal to— 
‘‘(A) in the case of any apprenticeship em-
ployees described in subsection (b)(1), the 
amount equal to 80 percent of the average 
number of such apprenticeship employees of the 
employer for the 3 taxable years preceding the 
taxable year for which the credit is being deter-
mined, rounded to the next lower whole num-
ber; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of any apprenticeship em-
ployees described in subsection (b)(2), the 
amount equal to 80 percent of the average 
number of such apprenticeship employees of the 
employer for the 3 taxable years preceding the 
taxable year for which the credit is being deter-
mined, rounded to the next lower whole num-
ber. 
‘‘(2) FIRST
YEAR
OF
NEW
APPRENTICESHIP 
PROGRAMS.—In the case of an employer which did 
not have any apprenticeship employees during any 
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