I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7222 
To provide for a credit against employment taxes for certain virus 
transmission prevention expenses, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 15, 2020 
Mr. PANETTA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide for a credit against employment taxes for certain 
virus transmission prevention expenses, 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 ‘‘Safe Reopening Tax 
Credit’’. 
SEC. 2. TAX CREDIT FOR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible em-
ployer, there shall be allowed as a credit against applicable 
employment taxes for each calendar quarter an amount 
equal to 30 percent of the qualified virus transmission pre-
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with respect to the employment of all the employees 
of the eligible employer for such calendar quarter. 
(3) REFUNDABILITY OF EXCESS CREDIT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the amount of the 
credit under subsection (a) exceeds the limita-
tion of paragraph (2) for any calendar quarter, 
such excess shall be treated as an overpayment 
that shall be refunded under sections 6402(a) 
and 6413(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986. 
(B) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS.—For pur-
poses of section 1324 of title 31, United States 
Code, any amounts due to an employer under 
this paragraph shall be treated in the same 
manner as a refund due from a credit provision 
referred to in subsection (b)(2) of such section. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
(1) APPLICABLE
EMPLOYMENT
TAXES.—The 
term ‘‘applicable employment taxes’’ means the fol-
lowing: 
(A) The taxes imposed under section 
3111(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
(B) So much of the taxes imposed under 
section 3221(a) of such Code as are attrib-
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utable to the rate in effect under section 
3111(a) of such Code. 
(2) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible em-
ployer’’ means any employer— 
(i) which was carrying on a trade or 
business at any time during calendar year 
2020, 
(ii) which had either— 
(I) not more than 1,500 full time 
equivalent employees (as determined 
for 
the 
purposes 
of 
determining 
whether an employer is an applicable 
large employer for the purposes of 
section 4980H(c)(2) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986) for calendar 
year 2019, or 
(II) not more than $41,500,000 
in gross receipts in the last taxable 
year ending in 2019, and 
(iii) is primarily an establishment 
classified under one of the following: 
(I) The North American Industry 
Classification System Sector codes 44, 
45, 71, or 72. 
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(II) The North American Indus-
try Classification System Subsector 
code 624. 
(III) The North American Indus-
try 
Classification 
System 
codes 
512131 or 519120. 
(B) TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—In the 
case of an organization which is described in 
section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) 
of such Code— 
(i) clauses (i) and (iii)(I) of subpara-
graph (A) shall apply to all operations of 
such organization, and 
(ii) any reference in this section to 
gross receipts shall be treated as a ref-
erence to gross receipts within the meaning 
of section 6033 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986. 
(3) QUALIFIED VIRUS TRANSMISSION PREVEN-
TION EXPENSES.—The term ‘‘qualified virus trans-
mission prevention expenses’’ means the payment or 
accrual of any expense which is intended to reduce 
or prevent the transmission of communicable viruses 
(including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 
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Coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2)), which is used in the 
operation of a trade or business in the United States 
(including the possessions of the United States), in-
cluding— 
(A) barriers erected to prevent virus 
spread between customers and employees, in-
cluding plexiglass installed at cashiers and 
other counters, and partitions to separate cus-
tomers, 
(B) changes to fixtures to facilitate social 
distancing, including additional check-out sta-
tions, 
(C) contactless point-of-sale systems, 
(D) enhanced sanitation, including deep 
cleaning and hand sanitizer, 
(E) thermometers and other virus moni-
toring devices or methods, including COVID–19 
testing, 
(F) ventilation or air filtration, 
(G) signage related to public health aware-
ness, social distancing, or altered services like 
curbside pickups, 
(H) employee health education, 
(I) training for new business procedures 
resulting from COVID–19, 
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(J) personal protective equipment, and 
(K) such additional expenses as the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, determines to be 
necessary. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del-
egate. 
(d) AGGREGATION RULE.—All persons treated as a 
single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or subsection (m) 
or (o) of section 414 of such Code, shall be treated as 
one employer for purposes of this section. 
(e) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—For purposes of 
chapter 1 of such Code, the gross income of any eligible 
employer, for the taxable year which includes the last day 
of any calendar quarter with respect to which a credit is 
allowed under this section, shall be increased by the 
amount of such credit. 
(f) ELECTION NOT TO HAVE SECTION APPLY.—This 
section shall not apply with respect to any eligible em-
ployer for any calendar quarter if such employer elects (at 
such time and in such manner as the Secretary may pre-
scribe) not to have this section apply. 
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(g) TRANSFERS TO CERTAIN TRUST FUNDS.—There 
are hereby appropriated to the Federal Old-Age and Sur-
vivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability 
Insurance Trust Fund established under section 201 of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401) and the Social 
Security Equivalent Benefit Account established under 
section 15A(a) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 
(45 U.S.C. 231n–1(a)) amounts equal to the reduction in 
revenues to the Treasury by reason of this section (without 
regard to this subsection). Amounts appropriated by the 
preceding sentence shall be transferred from the general 
fund at such times and in such manner as to replicate 
to the extent possible the transfers which would have oc-
curred to such Trust Fund or Account had this section 
not been enacted. 
(h) TREATMENT OF DEPOSITS.—The Secretary shall 
waive any penalty under section 6656 of such Code for 
any failure to make a deposit of applicable employment 
taxes if the Secretary determines that such failure was due 
to the anticipation of the credit allowed under this section. 
(i) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—The Secretary 
shall issue such forms, instructions, regulations, and guid-
ance as are necessary— 
(1) to allow the advance payment of the credit 
under subsection (a), subject to the limitations pro-
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vided in this section, based on such information as 
the Secretary shall require, 
(2) to provide for the reconciliation of such ad-
vance payment with the amount of the credit at the 
time of filing the return of tax for the applicable 
quarter or taxable year, 
(3) with respect to the application of the credit 
under subsection (a) to third-party payors (including 
professional employer organizations, certified profes-
sional employer organizations, or agents under sec-
tion 3504 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), 
including regulations or guidance allowing such 
payors to submit documentation necessary to sub-
stantiate the eligible employer status of employers 
that use such payors, 
(4) for application of subsection (c)(2)(A)(ii) in 
the case of any employer which was not carrying on 
a trade or business for all or part of the same cal-
endar quarter in the prior year, and 
(5) for recapturing the benefit of credits deter-
mined under this section in cases where there is a 
subsequent adjustment to the credit determined 
under subsection (a). 
(j) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section shall 
apply only to qualified fixed expenses paid or accrued in 
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calendar quarters beginning on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and before January 1, 2021. 
Æ 
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