I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1298 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a small business 
start-up tax credit for veterans creating businesses in underserved com-
munities. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2025 
Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina (for himself and Mr. NUNN of Iowa) 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 establish 
a small business start-up tax credit for veterans creating 
businesses in underserved communities. 
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 ‘‘Veterans Jobs Oppor-
tunity Act’’. 
SEC. 2. VETERAN SMALL BUSINESS START-UP CREDIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
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1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 45BB. VETERAN SMALL BUSINESS START-UP CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 
veteran small business start-up credit determined under 
this section for any taxable year is an amount equal to 
15 percent of so much of the qualified start-up expendi-
tures paid or incurred by the taxpayer during such taxable 
year with respect to an applicable veteran-owned business 
as does not exceed $50,000. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) APPLICABLE
VETERAN-OWNED
SMALL 
BUSINESS.—The term ‘applicable veteran-owned 
small business’ means a small business— 
‘‘(A) owned and controlled by 1 or more 
veterans or spouses of veterans, and 
‘‘(B) the principal place of business of 
which is in an underserved community. 
‘‘(2) OWNERSHIP
AND
CONTROL.—The term 
‘owned and controlled’ means— 
‘‘(A) with respect to any of the individuals 
described in paragraph (1)(A), that the conduct 
of any trade or business of the small business 
is not a passive activity (as defined in section 
469(c)), and 
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‘‘(B) with respect to the small business— 
‘‘(i) such small business is a sole pro-
prietorship, 
‘‘(ii) if such small business is a cor-
poration, ownership (by vote or value) by 
the individuals described in paragraph 
(1)(A) of greater than 50 percent of the 
stock in such corporation, or 
‘‘(iii) if such small business is a part-
nership, ownership by the individuals de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(A) of greater 
than 50 percent of the profits interests or 
capital interests in such partnership. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFIED
START-UP
EXPENDITURES.— 
The term ‘qualified start-up expenditures’ means— 
‘‘(A) any start-up expenditures (as defined 
in section 195(c)), and 
‘‘(B) any amounts paid or incurred during 
the taxable year for the purchase or lease of 
real property, or the purchase of personal prop-
erty, placed in service during the taxable year 
and used in the active conduct of a trade or 
business. 
‘‘(4) SMALL BUSINESS.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘small busi-
ness’ means, with respect to any taxable year, 
any person engaged in a trade or business in 
the United States if— 
‘‘(i) the gross receipts of such person 
for the preceding taxable year did not ex-
ceed $5,000,000, or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a person to which 
clause (i) does not apply, such person em-
ployed not more than 50 full-time employ-
ees during the preceding taxable year. 
‘‘(B) FULL-TIME
EMPLOYEE.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (A)(ii), an employee 
shall be considered full-time if such employee is 
employed at least 30 hours per week for 20 or 
more calendar weeks in the taxable year. 
‘‘(5) UNDERSERVED
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘underserved community’ means any area located 
within— 
‘‘(A) a HUBZone (as defined in section 
3(p) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632(p)), as in effect on the date of enactment 
of this section), 
‘‘(B) an empowerment zone, or enterprise 
community, designated under section 1391 (and 
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without regard to whether or not such designa-
tion remains in effect), 
‘‘(C) an area of low income or moderate in-
come (as recognized by the Federal Financial 
Institutions Examination Council), or 
‘‘(D) a county with persistent poverty (as 
classified by the Economic Research Service of 
the Department of Agriculture). 
‘‘(6) VETERAN OR SPOUSE OF VETERAN.—The 
term ‘veteran or spouse of a veteran’ has the mean-
ing given such term by section 7(a)(31)(G)(ii) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(31)(G)(ii), as 
in effect on the date of enactment of this section). 
‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(1) ELECTION TO TAKE CREDIT.—No credit 
shall be allowed under subsection (a) for any ex-
penditures unless the taxpayer elects to have this 
section apply to such expenditures. 
‘‘(2) YEAR OF ELECTION.—The taxpayer may 
elect the application of this section only for the first 
2 taxable years for which ordinary and necessary ex-
penses paid or incurred in carrying on such trade or 
business are allowable as a deduction by the tax-
payer under section 162. 
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‘‘(3) CONTROLLED GROUPS AND COMMON CON-
TROL.—All persons treated as a single employer 
under subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 shall be 
treated as 1 person. 
‘‘(4) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—If a credit is de-
termined under this section with respect to any 
property, the basis of such property shall be reduced 
by the amount of the credit attributable to such 
property.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 45BB. Veteran small business start-up credit.’’. 
(c) PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.—Section 
38(b) of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the 
end of paragraph (40), by striking the period at the end 
of paragraph (41) and inserting ‘‘plus’’, and by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(42) the veteran small business start-up credit 
determined under section 45BB.’’. 
(d) REPORT
BY TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL 
FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION.—Every fourth year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Treasury Inspector 
General for Tax Administration shall include in one of the 
semiannual reports under section 5 of the Inspector Gen-
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eral Act of 1978 with respect to such year, an evaluation 
of the credit allowed under section 45BB of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this section), includ-
ing an evaluation of the success of, and accountability with 
respect to, such credit. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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