2023 New York Laws › MHY - Mental Hygiene › Title E - General Provisions › Article 32 - Regulation and Quality Control of Chemical Dependence Services and Compulsive Gambling Services. › 32.38 - The Recovery Tax Credit Program.

§ 32.38 The recovery tax credit program.
(a)  Authorization.  The  commissioner  is  authorized  to  and  shall
establish and administer the recovery tax credit program to provide  tax
incentives  to certified employers for employing eligible individuals in
recovery from a  substance  use  disorder  in  part-time  and  full-time
positions in the state. The commissioner is authorized to allocate up to
two  million dollars of tax credits annually for the recovery tax credit
program beginning in the year two thousand twenty.
(b) Definitions. 1. The term "certified employer"  means  an  employer
that  has  received  a  certificate  of tax credit from the commissioner
after the commissioner has determined that the employer:
(i) provides a recovery supportive  environment  for  their  employees
evidenced  by  a  formal  working  relationship with a local recovery or
treatment provider certified  by  the  office  to  provide  support  for
employers  including  any  necessary assistance in the hiring process of
eligible individuals in recovery  from  a  substance  use  disorder  and
training for employers or supervisors; and
(ii)  fulfills  the eligibility criteria set forth in this section and
by the commissioner to participate in the recovery  tax  credit  program
established in this section.
2. The term "eligible individual" means an individual with a substance
use disorder as that term is defined in section 1.03 of this chapter who
is  in  a  state  of  wellness  where there is an abatement of signs and
symptoms that characterize active addiction and has demonstrated to  the
qualified employer's satisfaction, pursuant to guidelines established by
the  office,  that  he  or she has completed a course of treatment or is
currently in receipt of treatment for such  substance  use  disorder.  A
relapse  in  an  individual's  state  of  wellness  shall  not  make the
individual ineligible, so long as  such  individual  shows  a  continued
commitment   to  recovery  that  aligns  with  an  individual's  relapse
prevention plan, discharge plan, and/or recovery plan.
(c) Application and approval process. 1. To participate in the program
established by this section, an employer must, in a form  prescribed  by
the  commissioner,  apply annually to the office by January fifteenth to
claim credit based on eligible individuals employed during the preceding
calendar year. As part of such application, an employer must:
(i) Agree to allow the department of taxation and finance to share its
tax information with  the  office  of  alcoholism  and  substance  abuse
services.  However,  any  information  shared  because of this agreement
shall not be available for disclosure  or  inspection  under  the  state
freedom of information law.
(ii)  Allow  the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services and
its agents access to  limited  and  specific  information  necessary  to
monitor   compliance   with   program   eligibility  requirements.  Such
information shall be confidential and only used for the  stated  purpose
of this section.
(iii)  Demonstrate that the employer has satisfied program eligibility
requirements and provided all the information necessary,  including  the
number  of hours worked by any eligible individual, for the commissioner
to compute an actual amount of credit allowed.
2. (i) After reviewing the application and finding it sufficient,  the
commissioner   shall   issue  a  certificate  of  tax  credit  by  March
thirty-first. Such certificate shall include, but not be limited to, the
name and employer identification number of the certified  employer,  the
amount  of  credit  that the certified employer may claim, and any other
information the commissioner  of  taxation  and  finance  determines  is
necessary.
(ii)  In determining the amount of credit that any employer may claim,
the commissioner  shall  review  all  claims  submitted  for  credit  by
employers  and, to the extent that the total amount claimed by employers
exceeds the amount allocated for the  program  in  that  calendar  year,
shall issue credits on a pro-rata basis corresponding to each claimant's
share of the total claimed amount.
(d)  Eligibility.  A  certified  employer  shall  be entitled to a tax
credit equal to the product of one dollar and the number of hours worked
by each eligible individual during such eligible individual's period  of
employment.  The  credit  shall  not  be  allowed  unless  the  eligible
individual has worked in state for a minimum of five hundred  hours  for
the  certified  employer,  and  the  credit  cannot  exceed two thousand
dollars per eligible individual employed by the  certified  employer  in
the  state.  The certified employer may claim a credit for each eligible
employee starting on the day the employee is hired and ends on  December
thirty-first of the immediately succeeding calendar year or the last day
of  the employee's employment by the certified employer, whichever comes
first. If an employee has worked in excess of five hundred hours between
the date of hiring and December thirty-first of that year,  an  employer
can  elect  to compute and claim a credit for such employee in that year
based on the hours worked by December thirty-first.  Alternatively,  the
employer  may elect to include such individual in the computation of the
credit in the year immediately succeeding the year in which the employee
was hired. In such case, the credit shall be computed on  the  basis  of
all  hours  worked  by such eligible individual from the date of hire to
the earlier of the last day of employment or  December  thirty-first  of
the  succeeding  year.  However,  in  no  event may an employee generate
credit for hours worked in excess of two thousand hours. An employer may
claim credit only once with respect to any eligible individual  and  may
not aggregate hours of two or more employees to reach the minimum number
of hours.
(e)  Duties  of  the  commissioner.  The  commissioner  shall annually
provide to the commissioner of the department of  taxation  and  finance
information  about the program including, but not limited to, the number
of  certified  employers  then  participating  in  the  program,  unique
identifying  information  for  each  certified  employer,  the number of
eligible  individuals  employed  by  each  certified  employer,   unique
identifying  information  for  each  eligible individual employed by the
certified employers,  the  number  of  hours  worked  by  such  eligible
individuals,  the  total  dollar  amount  of  claims for credit, and the
dollar amount of credit granted to each certified employer.
(f) Certified employer's taxable year.  If  the  certified  employer's
taxable year is a calendar year, the employer shall be entitled to claim
the  credit  as  shown  on the certificate of tax credit on the calendar
year return for which the certificate of tax credit was issued.  If  the
certified  employer's  taxable year is a fiscal year, the employer shall
be entitled to claim the credit as  shown  on  the  certificate  of  tax
credit  on  the return for the fiscal year that includes the last day of
the calendar year covered by the certificate of tax credit.
(g) Cross references. For application of the credit  provided  for  in
this section, see the following provisions of the tax law:
1. Article 9-A: Section 210-B, subdivision 53.
2. Article 22: Section 606, subsection (jjj).
3. Article 33: Section 1511, subdivision (dd).