Title: Safe Reopening Tax Credit
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Safe Reopening Tax Credit
This bill allows an eligible employer a payroll tax credit for 30% of qualified virus transmission prevention expenses. The bill defines qualified virus transmission prevention expenses as expenses for reducing or preventing the transmission of communicable viruses, including the coronavirus (i.e., the virus that causes COVID-19). Such expenses include amounts paid for barriers erected to prevent virus spread between customers and employees, contactless point-of-sale systems, enhanced sanitation, ventilation or air filtration, and employee health education.
The bill limits the amount of expenses that may be taken into account in computing the credit and the credit's period of applicability to calendar quarters beginning on or after the enactment of this bill and before January 1, 2021.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7222 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 Representatives 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 employer, 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 prevention expenses paid or incurred by such employer 
during such calendar quarter.
    (b) Limitations and Refundability.--
            (1) Limitation.--The qualified fixed expenses which may be 
        taken into account under subsection (a) by any eligible 
        employer for any calendar quarter shall not exceed the least 
        of--
                    (A) $15,000, or
                    (B) the greater of--
                            (i) 25 percent of the wages paid with 
                        respect to the employment of all employees of 
                        the eligible employer for such calendar 
                        quarter, or
                            (ii) 6.25 percent of gross receipts of the 
                        eligible employer for calendar year 2019.
            (2) Credit limited to certain employment taxes.--The credit 
        allowed by subsection (a) with respect to any calendar quarter 
        shall not exceed the applicable employment taxes for such 
        calendar quarter (reduced by any credits allowed under 
        subsections (e) and (f) of section 3111 of such Code, sections 
        7001 and 7003 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, 
        and section 2301 of the CARES Act, for such quarter) on the 
        wages paid 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 limitation 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 purposes 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 following:
                    (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 attributable to the rate in 
                effect under section 3111(a) of such Code.
            (2) Eligible employer.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``eligible employer'' 
                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.
                                    (II) The North American Industry 
                                Classification System Subsector code 
                                624.
                                    (III) The North American Industry 
                                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 
                        subparagraph (A) shall apply to all operations 
                        of such organization, and
                            (ii) any reference in this section to gross 
                        receipts shall be treated as a reference to 
                        gross receipts within the meaning of section 
                        6033 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            (3) Qualified virus transmission prevention expenses.--The 
        term ``qualified virus transmission 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 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), including--
                    (A) barriers erected to prevent virus spread 
                between customers and employees, including plexiglass 
                installed at cashiers and other counters, and 
                partitions to separate customers,
                    (B) changes to fixtures to facilitate social 
                distancing, including additional check-out stations,
                    (C) contactless point-of-sale systems,
                    (D) enhanced sanitation, including deep cleaning 
                and hand sanitizer,
                    (E) thermometers and other virus monitoring devices 
                or methods, including COVID-19 testing,
                    (F) ventilation or air filtration,
                    (G) signage related to public health awareness, 
                social distancing, or altered services like curbside 
                pickups,
                    (H) employee health education,
                    (I) training for new business procedures resulting 
                from COVID-19,
                    (J) personal protective equipment, and
                    (K) such additional expenses as the Secretary, 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 delegate.
    (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 employer for any calendar quarter if 
such employer elects (at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 
may prescribe) not to have this section apply.
    (g) Transfers to Certain Trust Funds.--There are hereby 
appropriated to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors 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 occurred 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 guidance as are necessary--
            (1) to allow the advance payment of the credit under 
        subsection (a), subject to the limitations provided in this 
        section, based on such information as the Secretary shall 
        require,
            (2) to provide for the reconciliation of such advance 
        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 professional employer 
        organizations, or agents under section 3504 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986), including regulations or guidance 
        allowing such payors to submit documentation necessary to 
        substantiate 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 calendar quarter in the prior year, 
        and
            (5) for recapturing the benefit of credits determined 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 calendar quarters beginning 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act and before January 1, 
2021.
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