Helping to Encourage Real Opportunities (HERO) for Youth Act of 2021
Bill: S.1560 | Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL)
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Helping to Encourage Real Opportunities (HERO) for Youth Act of 2021
This bill modifies the work opportunity tax credit to (1) change the credit for summer youth employees to a credit for youth employees who will be employed for not more than 20 hours per week during any period between September 16 and April 30 in which the youth employee is attending any secondary school, (2) increase the amount of the credit for youth employees, and (3) expand the credit to include disconnected youth.
The bill defines disconnected youth to include any individual who (1) is certified as having attained age 16 but not age 25 on the hiring date; and (2) has self-certified as not having regularly attended any secondary, technical, or post-secondary school during the 6-month period preceding the hiring date, has not been regularly employed during such period, and is not readily employable due to a lack of basic skills. The term also includes individuals who have been certified (1) as having attained age 16 but not age 21 on the hiring date, and (2) as eligible foster children in foster care during the 12-month period ending on the hiring date.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the work 
            opportunity credit for certain youth employees.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Helping to Encourage Real 
Opportunities (HERO) for Youth Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF WORK OPPORTUNITY CREDIT FOR 
              CERTAIN YOUTH EMPLOYEES.

    (a) Expansion of Credit for Summer Youth.--
            (1) Credit allowed for year-round employment.--Section 
        51(d)(7)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
                    (A) by striking clauses (i) and (iii) and 
                redesignating clauses (ii) and (iv) as clauses (i) and 
                (ii), respectively;
                    (B) in clause (i) (as so redesignated), by striking 
                ``(or if later, on May 1 of the calendar year 
                involved),'';
                    (C) by striking the period at the end of clause 
                (ii) (as so redesignated) and inserting ``, and''; and
                    (D) adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(iii) who will be employed for not more 
                        than 20 hours per week during any period 
                        between September 16 and April 30 in which such 
                        individual is regularly attending any secondary 
                        school.''.
            (2) Increase in credit amount.--Section 51(d)(7) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
        subparagraph (B) and by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
        subparagraph (B).
            (3) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Subparagraph (F) of section 51(d)(1) of the 
                Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
                ``summer''.
                    (B) Paragraph (7) of section 51(d) of such Code is 
                amended--
                            (i) by striking ``summer'' each place it 
                        appears in subparagraphs (A);
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated 
                        by paragraph (2), by striking ``subparagraph 
                        (A)(iv)'' and inserting ``subparagraph 
                        (A)(ii)''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``summer'' in the heading 
                        thereof.
    (b) Credit for Disconnected Youth.--
            (1) In general.--Paragraph (1) of section 51(d) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``or'' at 
        the end of subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end 
        of subparagraph (J) and inserting ``, or'' , and by adding at 
        the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(K) an disconnected youth.''.
            (2) Disconnected youth.--Paragraph (14) of section 51(d) of 
        such Code is amended to read as follows:
            ``(14) Disconnected youth.--The term `disconnected youth' 
        means any individual who--
                    ``(A)(i) is certified by the designated local 
                agency as having attained age 16 but not age 25 on the 
                hiring date, and
                    ``(ii) has self-certified (on a form prescribed by 
                the Secretary) that such individual--
                            ``(I) has not regularly attended any 
                        secondary, technical, or post-secondary school 
                        during the 6-month period preceding the hiring 
                        date,
                            ``(II) has not been regularly employed 
                        during such 6-month period, and
                            ``(III) is not readily employable by reason 
                        of lacking a sufficient number of basic skills, 
                        or
                    ``(B) is certified by the designated local agency 
                as--
                            ``(i) having attained age 16 but not age 21 
                        on the hiring date, and
                            ``(ii) an eligible foster child (as defined 
                        in section 152(f)(1)(C)) who was in foster care 
                        during the 12-month period ending on the hiring 
                        date.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to individuals who begin work for the employer after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
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