I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 971 
To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to estab-
lish a program to encourage small business concerns to make business 
succession plans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2021 
Mrs. BUSTOS (for herself, Mr. GARBARINO, Mr. CROW, Mr. RICE of South 
Carolina, Ms. NORTON, Ms. CRAIG, and Mr. SAN NICOLAS) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Busi-
ness, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To require the Administrator of the Small Business Adminis-
tration to establish a program to encourage small busi-
ness concerns to make business succession plans, 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 ‘‘Small Business Succes-
sion Planning Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLANS FOR SMALL BUSI-
NESS CONCERNS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration shall establish a program to help 
small business concerns develop and implement business 
succession plans. 
(b) TOOLKIT.—The Administrator, in consultation 
with resource partners, shall develop a toolkit to assist 
small business concerns in establishing a business succes-
sion plan. Such toolkit shall be made available on a public 
website of the Administration. 
(c) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The Administrator— 
(1) shall train resource partners on using the 
toolkit described in subsection (b) with small busi-
ness concerns; 
(2) shall educate small business concerns about 
the program established under this section; 
(3) shall ensure that each district office of the 
Administration and each resource partner described 
in subparagraphs (B) through (E) has an employee 
with the specific job responsibility of providing coun-
seling, in person or virtually, to small business con-
cerns on use of the toolkit described in subsection 
(b); and 
(4) may hold workshops or events on business 
succession planning. 
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(d) PLAN.—Not later than 120 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub-
mit to the appropriate committees a plan for increasing 
the amount of small business concerns that have business 
succession plans. Such plan shall include a description of 
methods to increase the frequency and use of business suc-
cession plans by small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by socially and economically disadvantaged individ-
uals (as defined in section 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C))). 
(e) TAX CREDIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 
WHICH COMPLETE A BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of 
subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 45U. BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLAN CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 
business succession plan credit determined under this sec-
tion is— 
‘‘(1) $250 for the first taxable year during 
which the Administrator of the Small Business Ad-
ministration certifies that the taxpayer has estab-
lished a business succession plan, that the taxpayer 
is a small business concern at the time that such 
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plan is established, and that such plan does not pro-
vide for substantially all of the interests or assets of 
small business concern to be acquired by one or 
more entities which are not small business concerns, 
and 
‘‘(2) $250 for the first taxable year during 
which such Administrator certifies that the taxpayer 
has successfully completed a succession of respon-
sibilities pursuant to a business succession plan 
which was certified under paragraph (1), that the 
taxpayer is a small business concern immediately 
after such succession, and that the business with re-
spect to which such business succession plan relates 
was a small business concern immediately prior to 
such succession. 
‘‘(b) RECAPTURE OF CREDITS.— 
‘‘(1) RECAPTURE OF CREDIT FOR ESTABLISH-
MENT OF PLAN.—If, during the 3-year period begin-
ning on the date of the establishment of a business 
succession plan described in subsection (a)(1), sub-
stantially all of the equity interests in the taxpayer 
or substantially all of the assets of the taxpayer are 
acquired by one or more entities which are not small 
business concerns, the taxpayer’s tax imposed under 
this chapter for the taxable year during which such 
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interest or assets are so acquired shall be increased 
by amount of the credit allowed to the taxpayer 
under subsection (a)(1) for such taxable year or any 
prior taxable year. 
‘‘(2) RECAPTURE OF CREDIT FOR COMPLETION 
OF SUCCESSION.—If, during the 3-year period begin-
ning on the date of the completion of a succession 
of responsibilities described in subsection (a)(2), 
substantially all of the equity interests in the tax-
payer or substantially all of the assets of the tax-
payer are acquired by one or more entities which are 
not small business concerns, the taxpayer’s tax im-
posed under this chapter for the taxable year during 
which such interests or assets are so acquired shall 
be increased by amount of the credit allowed to the 
taxpayer under subsection (a)(2) for such taxable 
year or any prior taxable year. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
terms ‘small business concern’ and ‘business succession 
plan’ have the respective meanings given such terms under 
section 2(g) of the Small Business Succession Planning 
Act.’’. 
(2) CREDIT ALLOWED AS PART OF GENERAL 
BUSINESS
CREDIT.—Section 38(b) is amended by 
striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (32), by 
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striking the period at the end of paragraph (33) and 
inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(34) the business succession plan credit deter-
mined under section 45U(a).’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of 
chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 45U. Business succession plan credit.’’. 
(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele-
gate) shall submit a report to the Committee on 
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Finance of the Senate de-
scribing the steps which will be taken to enforce the 
recapture provisions of section 45U(b) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this section. 
(5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply to taxable years end-
ing after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2021 through 
2026 to carry out the requirements of this section. 
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(5) RESOURCE
PARTNERS.—The term ‘‘re-
source partners’’ means— 
(A) any office of the Administration; 
(B) small business development centers 
(defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 632)); 
(C) women’s business centers (described 
under section 29 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 656)); 
(D) chapters of the Service Corps of Re-
tired Executives (established under section 
8(b)(1)(B) 
of 
such 
Act 
(15 
U.S.C. 
637(b)(1)(B))); 
(E) Veteran Business Outreach Centers 
(described under section 32 of such Act (15 
U.S.C. 657b)); and 
(F) any other entity, as determined by the 
Administrator. 
(6) SMALL
BUSINESS
CONCERN.—The term 
‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given 
under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 632). 
Æ 
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