I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1243 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a tax credit 
for training services received by individuals who are unemployed as 
a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 23, 2021 
Mr. KILMER (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) 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 tax credit for training services received by individuals 
who are unemployed as a result of the coronavirus pan-
demic. 
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 ‘‘Skills Renewal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SKILLS TRAINING CREDIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
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1986 is amended by inserting after section 36 the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 36A. SKILLS TRAINING CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli-
gible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against 
the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an 
amount equal to the lesser of— 
‘‘(1) the amount of expenses paid or incurred 
by such individual during such taxable year for 
qualified training services which are provided by a 
qualified entity, or 
‘‘(2) an amount equal to— 
‘‘(A) $4,000, minus 
‘‘(B) an amount equal to the sum of any 
credits allowed to the taxpayer under this sec-
tion for any preceding taxable year. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible in-
dividual’ means an individual who— 
‘‘(i) became unemployed or furloughed 
during calendar year 2020 but was other-
wise able to work and available for work 
within the meaning of applicable State law 
(as defined in section 205 of the Federal- 
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State Extended Unemployment Compensa-
tion Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note)), 
‘‘(ii) during the period in which any 
qualified training service is provided to 
such individual by a qualified entity— 
‘‘(I) is not employed and has ap-
plied for or is receiving compensation 
(as defined in section 3306(h)), in-
cluding pandemic emergency unem-
ployment compensation under section 
2107 of subtitle A of title II of divi-
sion A of the CARES Act, and 
‘‘(II) informs such entity of their 
intent to claim the credit allowed 
under subsection (a) with respect to 
such service. 
‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—For purposes of sub-
paragraph (A), the term ‘eligible individual’ 
shall not include an individual whose employer 
has reduced their hours of work and who re-
ceives compensation pursuant to a short-time 
compensation program (as defined in section 
3306(v)). 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘qualified 
entity’ means an entity that is— 
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‘‘(A) a provider included on a State list de-
scribed in section 122(d) of the Workforce In-
novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
3152(d)); or 
‘‘(B) a provider of qualified training serv-
ices that has been precertified by the Secretary 
of Labor under section 3 of the Skills Renewal 
Act. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFIED TRAINING SERVICE.—The term 
‘qualified training service’ means a course or pro-
gram of study that— 
‘‘(A) is included on a list described in sec-
tion 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3152(d)) for a 
State, or 
‘‘(B) is a course or program of study relat-
ing to computer science, technology, or another 
high-need area, such as a coding boot camp, 
that has been precertified by the Secretary of 
Labor under section 3 of the Skills Renewal 
Act. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY 
AND LIFETIME LEARNING CREDITS.—For purposes of 
subsection (a)(1), the amount of expenses paid or incurred 
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by an eligible individual during such taxable year for quali-
fied training services shall be reduced— 
‘‘(1) as provided in section 25A(g)(2), and 
‘‘(2) by the amount of such expenses which 
were taken into account in determining the credit al-
lowed to the taxpayer or any other person under sec-
tion 25A. 
‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 
such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the pro-
visions of this section. 
‘‘(e) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 
expenses paid or incurred during taxable years beginning 
after December 31, 2021.’’. 
(b) INFORMATION REPORTING RELATING TO QUALI-
FIED TRAINING SERVICES.—Subpart B of part III of sub-
chapter A of chapter 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 6050Z. RETURNS RELATING TO QUALIFIED TRAINING 
SERVICES. 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF REPORTING.—Any qualified 
entity which, in the course of a trade or business and for 
any calendar year, receives payments from any electing in-
dividual with respect to qualified training services pro-
vided by such entity shall make the return described in 
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subsection (b) with respect to each such individual at such 
time as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe. 
‘‘(b) RETURN.—A return is described in this sub-
section if such return— 
‘‘(1) is in such form as the Secretary may pre-
scribe, and 
‘‘(2) contains— 
‘‘(A) the name, address, and TIN of each 
electing individual from whom a payment de-
scribed in subsection (a) was received during 
the calendar year, 
‘‘(B) the aggregate amount of such pay-
ments received by such individual during such 
calendar year and the date and amount of each 
such payment, and 
‘‘(C) such other information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(c) ELECTING INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘electing in-
dividual’ means an individual who has indicated to the 
qualified entity their intention to claim the credit allowed 
under section 36A with respect to the qualified training 
services provided by such entity. 
‘‘(d) STATEMENT TO BE FURNISHED TO INDIVID-
UALS WITH RESPECT TO WHOM INFORMATION IS RE-
QUIRED.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every qualified entity re-
quired to make a return under subsection (a) shall 
furnish to each electing individual whose name is re-
quired to be set forth in such return a written state-
ment showing— 
‘‘(A) the name, address, and phone num-
ber of the information contact of the qualified 
entity required to make such a return, and 
‘‘(B) the aggregate amount of payments 
made by the individual to the qualified entity 
required to be shown on the return. 
‘‘(2) 
FURNISHING
OF
INFORMATION.—The 
written statement required under paragraph (1) 
shall be furnished to the individual on or before Jan-
uary 31 of the year following the calendar year for 
which the return under subsection (a) is required to 
be made. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘qualified entity’ and 
‘qualified training services’ have the same meaning given 
such terms under section 36A(b). 
‘‘(f) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—The Secretary 
may prescribe such regulations and other guidance as may 
be appropriate or necessary to carry out the purpose of 
this section.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 
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(1) Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘36A,’’ 
after ‘‘36,’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 36 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 36A. Skills Training Credit.’’. 
(3) The table of sections for subchapter A of 
chapter 61 of such Code is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 6050Z. Returns relating to qualified training services.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to expenses paid or incurred during 
taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019. 
SEC. 3. PRECERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY OF LABOR. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall es-
tablish a process through which the Secretary shall 
precertify providers of courses or programs of training 
services as qualified entities providing qualified training 
services (as such terms are defined in section 36A(b) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), to enable the pro-
viders and courses or programs to qualify for the tax cred-
it provided under such section 36A. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT
OF PRECERTIFICATION RE-
QUIREMENTS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—By not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Labor shall create and publish the 
precertification requirements— 
(A) for a provider to be a qualified entity 
for purposes of section 36A(b)(2)(B) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986, and 
(B) for a course or program of study re-
lated to a high-need area, as determined by the 
Secretary of Labor, to be a qualified training 
service for purposes of section 36A(b)(3)(B) of 
such Code. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS OF HIGH-NEED AREAS.— 
In determining the high-need areas for purposes of 
paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary of Labor shall— 
(A) include computer science and tech-
nology, and 
(B) consider— 
(i) the graduate areas of national 
need designated by the Secretary of Edu-
cation under section 712(b) of the Higher 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1135a(b)), and 
(ii) the STEM Designated Degree 
Program list issued by the Department of 
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Homeland Security for purposes of the 24- 
month optional practical training extension 
described in section 214.2(f)(10)(ii) (C) of 
title 8, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(3) PRECERTIFICATION
PERIOD.—If the Sec-
retary of Labor precertifies a provider and a course 
or program of study under this section, such pro-
vider and course or program of study shall be con-
sidered to be a qualified entity for purposes of sec-
tion 36A(b)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 and a qualified training service for purposes of 
section 36(A)(b)(3)(B) of such Code, for the entire 
period— 
(A) beginning on the date of this Act, and 
(B) ending on December 31, 2021. 
(c) APPLICATION FOR PRECERTIFICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A provider of training serv-
ices that desires to be precertified as a qualified pro-
vider that offers a qualified training service shall 
submit an application to the Secretary of Labor at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such in-
formation as the Secretary may require. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that the application required under this paragraph— 
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(A) is streamlined and easy to complete, 
and 
(B) includes, at a minimum, information 
and data regarding— 
(i) the credential earned through the 
course or program, 
(ii) the average student completion 
rate for the program for the 3-year period 
preceding the date of application, 
(iii) the costs of enrollment in the pro-
gram, 
(iv) the average employment rate for 
individuals who complete the program dur-
ing such period, and 
(v) the average earnings for individ-
uals who complete the program during 
such period. 
(3) NOTIFICATION.—In any case where an indi-
vidual enrolling in a training service notifies a pro-
vider of training services that the individual intends 
to claim the credit allowed under section 36A of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to the 
training service, the provider shall— 
(A) inform the individual if the provider 
and the service qualify as a qualified training 
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provider and qualified training service for pur-
poses of such section, and 
(B) if the provider has applied but has not 
yet received precertification for the provider or 
program from the Secretary of Labor under 
this section, alert the individual that the pro-
vider and program has not yet been precerti-
fied. 
Æ 
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