I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7917 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for advance refunds 
of certain net operating losses and research expenditures relating to 
COVID–19, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2020 
Mr. PHILLIPS (for himself and Mrs. WALORSKI) 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 provide 
for advance refunds of certain net operating losses and 
research expenditures relating to COVID–19, and for 
other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Innovation and Growth 
Now by Investing in Tomorrow’s Enterprises Act’’ or the 
‘‘IGNITE American Innovation Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ADVANCE REFUNDS OF NET OPERATING LOSSES 
FOR C CORPORATION TAXPAYERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) NET OPERATING LOSS CARRYOVERS.—Sec-
tion 172 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (h) and by inserting after subsection (f) the 
following: 
‘‘(g) ADVANCE REFUND FOR C CORPORATIONS RE-
LATING TO CERTAIN CARRYOVERS ARISING DURING 2015 
THROUGH 2021.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) ELECTION.—A taxpayer to whom this 
paragraph applies may elect an advance refund 
of net operating loss carryovers in the amounts 
and manner determined under subparagraphs 
(B) and (C). 
‘‘(B) NET OPERATING LOSS CARRYOVERS 
ARISING DURING 2015 THROUGH 2021.—The ad-
vance refund determined under this subpara-
graph is an amount elected by the taxpayer in 
lieu of an election with respect to a net oper-
ating 
loss 
carryback 
under 
subsection 
(b)(1)(D), in the amount equal to— 
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‘‘(i) the rate set forth in section 11 
(as in effect on the date of the enactment 
of this paragraph), multiplied by 
‘‘(ii) any net operating loss carryovers 
that arose— 
‘‘(I) in a taxable year beginning 
on or after January 1, 2015, and be-
fore January 1, 2020, or 
‘‘(II) in a taxable year beginning 
on or after January 1, 2019, and be-
fore January 1, 2022. 
‘‘(C) COVID–19 
RESEARCH
EXPENDI-
TURES FOR 2020 AND 2021.—The advance re-
fund under this subparagraph is the amount of 
the advance refund with respect to the portion 
of any net operating loss attributable to and 
arising from qualified COVID–19 research ex-
penditures that are paid or incurred on or after 
February 15, 2020 and before January 1, 
2022, that is equal to 200 percent of the 
amount otherwise taken into account under 
paragraph (1)(B)(ii). A net operating loss shall 
be treated as arising from qualified COVID–19 
research expenditures to the extent that such 
expenses are paid or incurred by the taxpayer. 
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‘‘(2) QUALIFIED COVID–19 RESEARCH EXPENDI-
TURES.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 
‘qualified COVID–19 research expenditures’ means 
expenditures paid or incurred in connection with the 
research and development of products regulated by 
the Food and Drug Administration (including bio-
logics, drugs, and devices) that are intended to be 
used in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of 
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19), and such 
other similar expenditures as prescribed by the Sec-
retary in regulations. 
‘‘(3) TAXPAYER DESCRIBED.—For purposes of 
paragraph (1), this subsection applies to a taxpayer 
if— 
‘‘(A) the taxpayer is a C corporation, 
‘‘(B) the average number of full-time em-
ployees (as determined for purposes of deter-
mining whether an employer is an applicable 
large 
employer 
for 
purposes 
of 
section 
4980H(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986) employed by the taxpayer during cal-
endar year 2019 or 2020, whichever is greater, 
is greater than five and did not exceed 1,500, 
and 
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‘‘(C) the taxpayer has complied to date 
with filing of all forms or return requirements 
under section 3102, 3111, 3301, and 3402 with 
respect to calendar years 2019 and 2020. 
‘‘(4) SPECIAL
RULES.—For purposes of this 
subsection— 
‘‘(A) CERTAIN
CONTRIBUTIONS
OF
CAP-
ITAL
NOT
TAKEN
INTO
ACCOUNT
IN
DETER-
MINING OWNERSHIP CHANGE UNDER SECTION 
382.—For purposes of determining whether an 
ownership change has occurred with respect to 
the loss corporation under section 382(g) in 
computing the amount of any advance refund 
under this section, a transfer of stock in ex-
change for a capital contribution to such loss 
corporation shall not be taken into account if— 
‘‘(i) the value of the stock transferred 
is commensurate with the amount of cap-
ital being contributed, and 
‘‘(ii) such exchange is not part of a 
plan to redeem other shareholders. 
‘‘(B) AGGREGATE
LIMITATION.—The ag-
gregate amount of net operating loss or net op-
erating loss carryover for which an advance re-
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fund is elected pursuant to this subsection shall 
not exceed $100,000,000. 
‘‘(C) REDUCTION
OF
NET
OPERATING 
LOSS.—The net operating losses of the taxpayer 
determined under subsection (c) shall be re-
duced by the amount of any net operating loss 
or net operating loss carryover for which an ad-
vance refund is elected pursuant to this sub-
section, including the amount of any net oper-
ating loss to which paragraph (1)(C) applies. 
‘‘(D) AGGREGATION
RULE.—All corpora-
tions treated as a single employer under sub-
section (a) of section 52 or subsection (m) or 
(o) under section 414 shall be treated as a sin-
gle taxpayer for purposes of this section. 
‘‘(5) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—The Sec-
retary shall issue such regulations and other guid-
ance as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 
of this section, including regulations and other guid-
ance to carry out the purposes of this subsection— 
‘‘(A) to allow for the making of an election 
for the application of this subsection in such 
manner as the Secretary may by regulations 
prescribe, 
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‘‘(B) to allow the payment of the advance 
refund in accordance with section 6429 based 
on such information as the Secretary shall re-
quire, 
‘‘(C) to allow advance refunds permitted 
under this subsection to be claimed on such 
forms as the Secretary shall prescribe, and 
‘‘(D) to provide for the application of this 
subsection to taxpayers that file consolidated 
returns. 
‘‘(6) ADVANCE REFUND.—See section 6429 for 
rules for claiming the advance refund.’’. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
172(c) of such Code is amended by inserting before 
the period at the end the following: ‘‘and with the 
reduction required by subsection (g)’’. 
(b) ADVANCE REFUND OF RESEARCH CREDITS AND 
ORPHAN DRUG CREDITS
FOR C CORPORATION TAX-
PAYERS.—Section 39 of such Code is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) ADVANCE REFUND OF RESEARCH AND ORPHAN 
DRUG CREDITS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A taxpayer that is a C cor-
poration may elect an advance refund of the portion 
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