Small Business Jobs Act of 2015

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Jobs Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS HIRED BY A SMALL EMPLOYER.

    (a) 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:

``SEC. 45S. CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS HIRED BY A SMALL EMPLOYER.

    ``(a) General Rule.--For purposes of section 38, in the case of an 
eligible small employer, the small employer hiring credit determined 
under this section for any taxable year is the amount determined under 
subsection (b).
    ``(b) Small Employer Hiring Credit Amount.--The amount determined 
under this subsection for a taxable year with respect to a qualified 
small employer is the product of--
            ``(1) the tax rate in effect under section 3111(a) for the 
        calendar year in which such taxable year ends, multiplied by
            ``(2) the wages paid by the qualified small employer with 
        respect to employment of all covered employees during the 
        taxable year.
    ``(c) Qualified Employer.--For purposes of this subsection--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualified small employer' 
        means with respect to any calendar year, an employer who--
                    ``(A) has a place of business in a county with an 
                annual unemployment rate for the preceding calendar 
                year of at least one percentage point greater than the 
                national annual unemployment rate for the preceding 
                calendar year, and
                    ``(B) who on no business day of the preceding 
                calendar year employed less than 2, or more than 100, 
                employees.
            ``(2) Employers not in existence in preceding year.--In the 
        case of an employer which was not in existence throughout the 
        preceding calendar year, the determination of whether such 
        employer is a small employer shall be based on the number of 
        employees that it is reasonably expected such employer will 
        employ on business days in the current calendar year.
            ``(3) Special rules.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(A) Predecessor and successor.--Any reference in 
                this paragraph to an employer shall include a reference 
                to any predecessor of, or successor to, such employer.
                    ``(B) Aggregation rule.--All persons treated as a 
                single employer under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) 
                of section 414 shall be treated as one employer.
                    ``(C) Governmental employers not included.--The 
                term `employer' does not include the United States, any 
                State, or any political subdivision thereof, or any 
                instrumentality of the foregoing.
                    ``(D) Determination of unemployment rate.--The 
                unemployment rate shall be the rate determined by the 
                Bureau of Labor Statistics.
            ``(4) Credit applies for only 1 year.--If an election to 
        claim the credit under this section is in effect for any 
        calendar year, paragraph (1) shall not apply to such employer 
        for any year after such calendar year.
    ``(d) Covered Employee.--For purposes of this subsection--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `covered employee' means, with 
        respect to any week, is an employee who--
                    ``(A) first begins work for the employer for 
                services performed by the employee--
                            ``(i) in a trade or business of such 
                        qualified small employer, or
                            ``(ii) in the case of a qualified small 
                        employer exempt from tax under section 501(a), 
                        in furtherance of the activities related to the 
                        purpose or function constituting the basis of 
                        the employer's exemption under section 501, and
                    ``(B) is employed on average at least 30 hours of 
                service per week.
            ``(2) Limitation to 5 employees.--An employer may not treat 
        more than 5 employees as covered employees.
            ``(3) Hours of service.--The Secretary, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of Labor, shall prescribe such regulations, 
        rules, and guidance as may be necessary to determine the hours 
        of service of an employee, including rules for the application 
        of this paragraph to employees who are not compensated on an 
        hourly basis.
    ``(e) Credit Made Available to Tax-Exempt Eligible Small 
Employers.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of a tax-exempt eligible 
        small employer, there shall be treated as a credit allowable 
        under subpart C (and not allowable under this subpart) the 
        amount of the credit determined under this section with respect 
        to such employer.
            ``(2) Tax-exempt eligible small employer.--For purposes of 
        this section, the term `tax-exempt eligible small employer' 
        means an eligible small employer which is any organization 
        described in section 501(c) which is exempt from taxation under 
        section 501(a).
    ``(f) Denial of Double Benefit.--No deduction or credit shall be 
allowed under any other provision of this chapter with respect to the 
amount of the credit determined under this section.
    ``(g) Election.--This section shall apply to any taxpayer for any 
taxable year only if such taxpayer elects (at such time and in such 
manner as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe) to have this 
section apply for such taxable year.
    ``(h) Termination.--This section shall not apply with respect to 
wages paid after December 31, 2017.''.
    (b) Credit To Be Part of General Business Credit.--Section 38(b) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to current year business 
credit) is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (35), 
by striking the period at the end of paragraph (36) and inserting ``, 
plus'', and by inserting after paragraph (36) the following:
            ``(37) the small employer small employer hiring credit 
        determined under section 45S.''.
    (c) 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 adding at the end the following:

``Sec. 45S. Certain individuals hired by a small employer.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to amounts paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2015.

Summary: Small Business Jobs Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a qualified small employer a business-related tax credit for the cost of hiring up to 5 new employees who work for such employer, on average, at least 30 hours per week. The bill defines &quot;qualified small employer&quot; as an employer who: (1) has a place of business in a county with an annual unemployment rate that is at least 1% greater than the national rate for the preceding calendar year; and (2) did not employ fewer than 2, or more than 100, employees in the preceding calendar year. The bill allows an employer who is a tax-exempt organization to claim such credit. The credit is not available for wages paid after December 31, 2017.