YourVoice.Now Summary
Workers & JobsEmployers could get a tax break for hiring military spouses — but only if Congress revives the lapsed credit.
Workers & Jobs
Employers could take 40% of a military spouse's first $6,000 in pay off their taxes, as they can for veterans today. Current law ends this credit for anyone hired after 2025, so Congress would also need to extend it.
More about this bill
If you are married to someone in the military, a company that hires you could get a federal tax break. Military spouses would join the groups covered by the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. That credit already covers groups like veterans and people out of work for a long time. An employer could cut its taxes by up to $2,400 for each new hire. That is 40% of the first $6,000 the worker earns in the first year. Your state jobs agency would confirm that you are a military spouse on the day you are hired. There is a catch. Under current law, the credit does not count anyone hired after December 31, 2025. This change would cover only people hired after it becomes law. So it would help military spouses only if Congress also extends the credit past that date.
Congressional Summary
Military Spouse Hiring Act This bill allows employers to claim a tax credit for a percentage of qualified wages paid to an employee who is a military spouse by expanding the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to add qualified military spouses as a targeted group. (The WOTC applies to employers who hire members of specific targeted groups, such as veterans, ex-felons, and long-term unemployment recipients, and is generally equal to a percentage of the wages paid to such individuals in the first year of employment, up to a maximum amount. Under current law, the wages must be paid before 2026.) The bill defines a qualified military spouse as any individual who is certified by a state workforce agency as being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-03-13
- Date Added
- 2026-10-21
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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