§6003. Work-Based Learning Tax Credit

            A. This Section shall be known and may be cited as the "Work-Based Learning Tax Credit Act".

            B. The legislature hereby finds that an insufficient number of people with adequate levels of on-the-job training is an impediment to workforce development and economic growth; that well-compensated jobs would be more abundant in this state if workers overall possessed greater levels of skills and work experience; that apprenticeships and internships are integral components of work-based learning initiatives in Louisiana's school accountability system; and that, as a critical strategy for curbing out-migration, public colleges and universities of this state strive to facilitate greater student participation in work-based learning. The legislature hereby declares that establishing a tax credit which provides incentives for businesses to employ apprentices, interns, and youth workers is in the best economic interest of this state.

            C. For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Subsection:

            (1) "Department" means the Department of Revenue.

            (2) "Eligible apprentice" means a person who meets either of the following criteria:

            (a) Has entered into a written apprentice agreement with an employer or an association of employers as part of a registered apprenticeship program provided for in R.S. 23:381 et seq.

            (b) Is enrolled in a training program accredited by the National Center for Construction Education and Research which has no less than four levels of training and no less than five hundred hours of instruction.

            (3) "Intern" means a student learner who participates in an internship authorized and regulated by the provisions of LAC 28:CXV.3113 or any successor regulations the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education may publish relative to a work-based learning program classified as an internship.

            (4) "Youth worker" means an individual who has attained the age of fifteen but not yet attained the age of twenty-four; is unemployed prior to being hired by a business that will apply for a credit authorized by this Section; will be working in a full-time or part-time position that pays wages that are equivalent to the wages paid for similar jobs, with adjustments for experience and training; and meets at least one of the following criteria:

            (a) Is at least eighteen years old, is no longer in school, and does not have a high school diploma, HiSET or GED credential or high school equivalency diploma.

            (b) Is a member of a household that is receiving assistance from the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program.

            (c) Is a member of a household that is receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

            (d) Is a member of a household that is receiving assistance from the Kinship Care Subsidy Program.

            (e) Is a member of a family that is receiving assistance or benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program.

            (f) Has served time in jail or prison or is on probation or parole.

            (g) Is pregnant or is a parent.

            (h) Is homeless.

            (i) Is currently or was in foster care, extended foster care, or the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services.

            (j) Is a veteran.

            (k) Is the child of a parent who is currently incarcerated or was released from incarceration within the past two years.

            (l) Lives in public housing or receives housing assistance such as a Section 8 voucher.

            D.(1) There shall be allowed a credit against Louisiana income tax for the employment of eligible apprentices, interns, and youth workers. The amount of the credit for each eligible apprentice, intern, and youth worker employed for a minimum of one hundred hours during the taxable period shall equal two dollars and fifty cents per hour of employment or two thousand five hundred dollars, whichever is less, per taxable period. Except as provided in Subparagraph (c) of this Paragraph, the maximum amount of tax credits that may be granted for a calendar year, referred to hereafter in this Paragraph as the "credit cap", shall be as follows:

            (a) For the calendar year beginning January 1, 2026, and ending December 31, 2026, the credit cap shall be one million dollars.

            (b) Beginning January 1, 2027, and each January first thereafter, the credit cap for the calendar year shall be established in accordance with the following provisions:

            (i) If the secretary of the department determines that less than eighty percent of the credit cap amount authorized for the preceding calendar year was granted, then the credit cap for the current calendar year shall not be adjusted.

            (ii) If the secretary of the department determines that at least eighty percent of the credit cap amount authorized for the preceding calendar year was granted, then the credit cap for the current calendar year shall be increased by one million dollars.

            (c) The credit cap for a calendar year shall not exceed seven million five hundred thousand dollars.

            (2) No later than July first of each year, the secretary of the department shall publish on the department's website a notice of the credit cap amount authorized for the calendar year in which the notice is published. However, when the credit cap for a calendar year reaches seven million five hundred thousand dollars, the secretary shall no longer be required to publish notice of the credit cap amount on the department's website.

            (3)(a) Beginning January 1, 2027, taxpayers shall apply for the work-based learning tax credit on a form and in the manner prescribed by the department. The application period shall begin on January first and conclude on February twenty-eighth of each calendar year following the calendar year in which the credit is deemed earned. Eligible applications shall be approved by the department on a first-come, first-served basis as determined by the received date and time of a completed application. An application shall not be considered complete until all information requested by the department has been received. A taxpayer is deemed eligible upon satisfactorily demonstrating that it has met the applicable requirements of this Section.

            (b) If the aggregate amount of applications received on a single business day exceeds the total amount of available tax credits, the department shall approve tax credits on a pro rata basis. In the event the taxpayer is subject to proration, the taxpayer shall only be eligible for a credit equal to the pro rata amount for the tax period deemed eligible.

            E.(1) The department, in consultation with Louisiana Works, shall establish by rule the procedures for determining an employer's eligibility for the credit relative to apprenticeship programs.

            (2) Louisiana Works shall annually provide to the department a list of businesses that participate in the apprenticeship programs administered by Louisiana Works.

            (3) In order for an employer to be eligible for a credit based upon employing a student enrolled in a training program accredited by the National Center for Construction Education and Research, that student shall have successfully completed no less than two levels of training and no less than two hundred fifty hours of instruction. The department shall establish which student enrollment and transcript data from the National Center for Construction Education and Research are necessary in order to determine an employer's eligibility for the credit authorized by this Section.

            F.(1) The credit shall be allowed against the income tax due from a taxpayer for the taxable period in which the credit is earned. If the credit allowed pursuant to this Section exceeds the amount of taxes due from a taxpayer, then the taxpayer may carry any unused credit forward to be applied against subsequent tax liability for a period not to exceed five years. However, in no event shall the amount of the tax credit applied by a taxpayer in a taxable period exceed the amount of taxes due from the taxpayer for that period.

            (2) All entities taxed as corporations for Louisiana income tax purposes shall claim any credit on their corporation income tax return.

            (3) Individuals, estates, and trusts shall claim any credit on their income tax return.

            (4) Entities not taxed as corporations shall claim their share of any credit on the returns of the partners or members as follows:

            (a) Corporate partners or members shall claim their share of any credit on their corporation income tax returns.

            (b) Individual partners or members shall claim their share of any credit on their individual income tax returns.

            (c) Partners or members that are estates or trusts shall claim their share of any credit on their fiduciary income tax returns.

            G. Credits previously granted to a taxpayer but later disallowed may be recovered by the secretary of the department through any collection remedy authorized by R.S. 47:1561.3.

            H. The department may promulgate rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act to establish the policies and criteria regarding program eligibility and any other matter necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of this Section.

            I. No credit shall be earned for the employment of eligible apprentices, interns, or youth workers before January 1, 2026, or after December 31, 2031.

            J. A taxpayer shall not receive any other incentive for the hiring of an eligible youth, intern, or apprentice for which the taxpayer has received a tax credit pursuant to this Section.

            Acts 2025, No. 376, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.