Strengthening Supply Chains Through Truck Driver Incentives Act of 2025
The Strengthening Supply Chains Through Truck Driver Incentives Act of 2025 would create a new section (IRC section 36C) that provides a tax credit for commercial truck drivers. The credit would be a set dollar amount per eligible individual per tax year (initially $7,500, with $10,000 for certain new drivers) and would be subject to income-eligibility rules and minimum driving-hour requirements. The aim is to attract and retain enough qualified truck drivers to improve supply chain performance. The program includes special rules for apprentices and drivers who are new to trucking, plus an inflation adjustment and a hard end date (the credit would not apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2026). It would apply to taxable years ending on or after December 31, 2025, and would require conforming amendments in the tax code and related statutes to implement. Note: the bill’s title describes the credit as refundable, but the text refers to “a credit against the tax,” not explicitly refundable. If enacted, this distinction would affect whether the credit can create a refund beyond a taxpayer’s liability.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of a new credit: A 36C tax credit for commercial truck drivers, amounting to $7,500 per eligible individual for the tax year (with special rules described below).
- 2Eligibility criteria (b): An eligible individual must
- 3- hold a valid Class A commercial driver’s license and operate a qualifying tractor-trailer (Group A vehicle under 49 CFR 383.91(a)(1)),
- 4- have adjusted gross income below set limits (joint or surviving spouse: $135,000; head of household: $112,500; all others: $90,000),
- 5- have driven a qualifying vehicle in the trade/business for at least 1,900 hours in the year (or, if the driver did not drive in the prior year, meet a 40-hours-per-week average during weeks when driving).
- 6Apprenticeship rule (c): If enrolled in a National Apprenticeship Act program and about to receive a Class A license, the driver can count training hours toward driving hours, and the CDL requirement can be waived during the apprenticeship.
- 7Special rule for new truck drivers (d): For drivers who did not drive a truck in the prior year, the credit is increased to $10,000.
- 8Hours-based adjustment for light start years (e): If a new driver drives fewer than 1,420 hours in the year, the credit is prorated based on hours driven relative to 1,420 hours.
- 9Inflation adjustment (f): After 2025, the dollar amounts are adjusted for cost of living (COLA) each year.
- 10Sunset (g): The credit does not apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2026.
- 11Effective date and conformity (b): Applies to taxable years ending on or after December 31, 2025; requires conforming amendments to related tax code and federal spending provisions to insert 36C.
- 12Administrative details: The bill would require changes to the Internal Revenue Code and related statutes to insert and reference the new section, and to align with government code cross-references.