HR 8624
WAGES Act of 2026
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Bill overview
The Workforce Apprenticeship Growth and Education Support Act (WAGES Act) of 2026 aims to encourage more employers to participate in registered apprenticeship programs by providing a tax credit. This credit covers 50% of qualified wages paid to apprentices and registered apprenticeship program expenses incurred by employers. The bill establishes specific limitations and rules for the credit, including caps on wages and expenses, and aims to strengthen the American workforce through apprenticeship opportunities.
Key provisions
- Provides a 50% tax credit for eligible employers for qualified apprentice wages and registered apprenticeship program expenses.
- Qualified apprentice wages cannot exceed $5,000 per calendar quarter.
- Registered apprenticeship program expenses cannot exceed $5,000 or $2,500 per apprentice, whichever is less.
- The credit is limited to employment taxes and cannot exceed the amount of employment taxes.
- Defines ‘eligible employer’ as an employer maintaining a registered apprenticeship program or adhering to apprenticeship standards.
- Establishes a ‘qualified apprentice’ as an employee participating in a registered apprenticeship program.
- Includes provisions for mentor wages and related instruction expenses.
- Addresses aggregation rules and exceptions for certain governmental entities.
Who is affected
- Employers participating in registered apprenticeship programs
- Apprentices
- Government agencies
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
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119th CONGRESS — 2d Session
H. R. 8624
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit against employer payroll taxes for wages and other expenses paid or incurred for apprenticeship programs.
This Act may be cited as the Workforce Apprenticeship Growth and Education Support Act WAGES Act of 2026
or the
.
Congress finds the following:
Apprenticeships strengthen the American economy by addressing persistent workforce shortages, particularly in high-demand and essential industries, including construction, advanced manufacturing, health care, early childhood education and care, information technology, transportation and logistics, automotive repair and maintenance, hospitality, energy, agriculture, and the skilled trades.
A skilled and resilient workforce is essential to maintaining the economic competitiveness of the United States in an increasingly competitive global economy, particularly as other nations expand investments in workforce training, technical education, and industrial capacity.
Registered apprenticeship programs are a proven workforce development model that combines paid on-the-job learning with related instruction, enabling workers to earn wages while gaining industry-recognized credentials and skills aligned with employer needs.
Employers that invest in registered apprenticeship programs benefit from improved productivity, reduced turnover, and a more skilled workforce, but often face costs associated with program development, training, supervision, and related instruction that may limit broader adoption.
The Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the National Apprenticeship Act
; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) and regulations issued thereunder establish a rigorous framework for registered apprenticeship programs, ensuring high-quality training standards, worker protections, and nationally recognized credentials.
Expanding employer participation in registered apprenticeship programs is critical to promoting upward economic mobility, including for individuals without a four-year college degree, by providing pathways to higher earnings and stable, well-paying careers.
Subchapter D of chapter 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
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 50 percent of the sum of—
The amount of qualified wages with respect to any qualified apprentice which may be taken into account under subsection (a) by the eligible employer for any calendar quarter shall not exceed $5,000.
The amount of registered apprenticeship program expenses taken into account by the eligible employer with respect to any calendar quarter shall not exceed the greater of—
the lesser of—
$50,000.
The credit allowed by subsection (a) with respect to any calendar quarter shall not exceed the applicable employment taxes (reduced by any credits allowed under section 3111) on the wages paid with respect to the employment of all the employees of the eligible employer for such calendar quarter.
If the amount of the credit under subsection (a) exceeds the limitation of paragraph (3) for any calendar quarter, such excess shall be treated as an overpayment that shall be refunded under sections 6402(a) and 6413(b).
For purposes of this section—
The term applicable employment taxes means the following:
The taxes imposed under section 3111(b).
So much of the taxes imposed under section 3221(a) as are attributable to the rate in effect under section 3111(b).
The term eligible employer means any employer which, during the calendar quarter—
either—
employs a qualified apprentice.
Such term shall not include any wages paid for service rendered after the date that is 2 years after the date the qualified apprentice begins participation in a registered apprenticeship program.
The term wages means wages (as defined in section 3121(a)) and compensation (as defined in section 3231(e)).
Such term shall include amounts paid by the eligible employer to provide and maintain a group health plan (as defined in section 5000(b)(1)), but only to the extent that such amounts are excluded from the gross income of employees by reason of section 106(a).
For purposes of this section, amounts treated as wages under clause (i) shall be treated as paid with respect to any employee (and with respect to any period) to the extent that such amounts are properly allocable to such employee (and to such period) in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe. Except as otherwise provided by the Secretary, such allocation shall be treated as properly made if made on the basis of being pro rata among periods of coverage.
Such term shall not include—
any individual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 51(i)(1), or
any 5-percent owner (as defined in section 416(i)(1)(B)).
For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), an individual participates in a registered apprenticeship program if—
The term registered apprenticeship program means an apprenticeship registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the National Apprenticeship Act
; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) that meets the standards of parts 29 and 30 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this paragraph).
The term registered apprenticeship program expenses means expenses (other than qualified wages) paid or incurred in connection with a registered apprenticeship program, including—
related instruction expenses,
on-the-job learning expenses,
mentor wages,
expenses directly associated with the development, registration, or maintenance of a registered apprenticeship program, and
amounts paid or incurred by an eligible employer to a registered apprenticeship program sponsor pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement (or similar binding agreement) for the purpose of supporting or funding such program.
The term related instruction expenses means the costs of organized instruction—
The term on-the-job learning expenses—
includes reimbursement or support for the costs of such training and of supervision provided during such training, and
The term mentor wages means wages which—
The amount of mentor wages which may be taken into account during a calendar quarter with respect to any employee providing mentorship or supervisory services shall not exceed $10,000.
The term registered apprenticeship program sponsor means any person, association, committee, or organization operating a registered apprenticeship program and in whose name such program is registered or approved.
For purposes of this section—
All persons which are treated as a single employer under subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414 shall be treated as a single taxpayer.
This credit shall not apply to the Government of the United States, the government of any State or political subdivision thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing.
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to—
any organization described in section 501(c)(1) and exempt from tax under section 501(a), or
any entity described in paragraph (1) if—
such entity is a college or university, or
the principal purpose or function of such entity is providing medical or hospital care.
No deduction shall be allowed under chapter 1 with respect to that portion of the registered apprenticeship program expenses (other than wages) taken into account under this section.
This section shall not apply to any qualified wages or registered apprenticeship program expenses paid or incurred by an eligible employer if such eligible employer received payments for such qualified wages or registered apprenticeship program expenses under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or any other federally funded program.
This section shall not apply to so much of the qualified wages and registered apprenticeship program expenses paid or incurred by an eligible employer as such employer elects (at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe) to not take into account for purposes of this section.
Any credit allowed under this section shall be treated as a credit described in section 3511(d)(2).
Notwithstanding section 6501, the limitation on the time period for the assessment of any amount attributable to a credit claimed under this section shall not expire before the date that is 6 years after the latest of—
the date on which the original return which includes the calendar quarter with respect to which such credit is determined is filed,
the date on which such return is treated as filed under section 6501(b)(2), or
the date on which the claim for credit or refund with respect to such credit is made.
Notwithstanding section 6511, in the case of an assessment attributable to a credit claimed under this section, the limitation on the time period for credit or refund of any amount attributable to a deduction for improperly claimed apprenticeship wages and expenses shall not expire before the time period for such assessment expires under paragraph (1).
For purposes of this paragraph, the term improperly claimed apprenticeship wages and expenses means, with respect to an assessment attributable to a credit claimed under this section, the wages and expenses with respect to which a deduction would not have been allowed if the portion of the credit to which such assessment relates had been properly claimed.
The Secretary shall waive any penalty under section 6656 for any failure to make a deposit of any applicable employment taxes if the Secretary determines that such failure was due to the reasonable anticipation of the credit allowed under this section.
The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall issue such forms, instructions, regulations, and guidance—
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), including regulations or guidance allowing such payors to submit documentation necessary to substantiate the registered apprenticeship program expenses of employers that use such payors, and
to prevent the avoidance of the purposes of the limitations under this section.
Any forms, instructions, regulations, or other guidance described in paragraph (1) shall require the customer to be responsible for the accounting of the credit and for any liability for improperly claimed credits and shall require the certified professional employer organization or other third party payor to accurately report such tax credits based on the information provided by the customer.
The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary's delegate), shall take such steps as may be necessary or appropriate to keep employers apprised of the availability of the credit allowed under section 3135 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this section.
The table of sections for subchapter D of chapter 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
Section 274(j)(3)(A)(i)(I) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking subclauses (I), (II), and (III) and inserting the following:
Section 274(j)(4) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
Paragraph (2) of section 274(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—
by inserting ($1,500 in the case of an employee achievement award described in paragraph (3)(A)(i)(I)(bb))
after $400
in paragraph (A), and
by inserting ($5,000 in the case of a qualified plan award which is an employee achievement award described in paragraph (3)(A)(i)(I)(bb))
at the end of paragraph (B).
The amendments made by this section shall apply to awards transferred after the date of enactment of this Act.