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H.R. 2507House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Helping to Encourage Real Opportunities (HERO) for Youth Act of 2025

Sponsored by Robin L. KellyRep. Robin L. Kelly (D-IL)
Introduced March 31, 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 24, 2025 at 1:30 AM UTC

The HERO for Youth Act of 2025 changes the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit to give employers a larger tax credit when they hire certain young workers. It extends the credit to youth working part‑time during the school year and creates a new credit for “disconnected” youth who are out of school or in foster care. The goal is to encourage employers to hire and train young people who might otherwise have difficulty finding work.

Key Provisions

  • Expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to cover youth who work up to 20 hours per week between September 16 and April 30 while regularly attending secondary school, allowing year‑round credit eligibility.
  • Increases the amount of the credit for qualifying youth (the exact increase is not detailed in the text).
  • Adds a new credit category for “disconnected youth,” defined as individuals aged 16‑24 who are not in school, not regularly employed, lack basic skills, or are eligible foster children aged 16‑20, provided they are certified by a local agency.
  • Updates related language in the Internal Revenue Code to remove references to “summer” and align the new provisions with existing sections.
  • The changes apply to employees hired after the law’s enactment.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Ways and Means Committee

March 31, 2025

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

March 31, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Ways and Means Committee

March 31, 2025

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued March 31, 2025

I

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2507

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 31, 2025

Ms. Kelly of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the work opportunity credit for certain youth employees.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Helping to Encourage Real Opportunities (HERO) for Youth Act of 2025.

2.

Modification and extension of work opportunity credit for certain youth employees

(a)

Expansion of credit for summer youth

(1)

Credit allowed for year-round employment

Section 51(d)(7)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—

(A)

by striking clauses (i) and (iii) and redesignating clauses (ii) and (iv) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

(B)

in clause (i) (as so redesignated), by striking (or if later, on May 1 of the calendar year involved),;

(C)

by striking the period at the end of clause (ii) (as so redesignated) and inserting , and; and

(D)

adding at the end the following new clause:

(iii)

who will be employed for not more than 20 hours per week during any period between September 16 and April 30 in which such individual is regularly attending any secondary school.

.

(2)

Increase in credit amount

Section 51(d)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking subparagraph (B) and by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B).

(3)

Conforming amendments

(A)

Subparagraph (F) of section 51(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking summer.

(B)

Paragraph (7) of section 51(d) of such Code is amended—

(i)

by striking summer each place it appears in subparagraphs (A);

(ii)

in subparagraph (B), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph (A)(iv) and inserting subparagraph (A)(ii); and

(iii)

by striking summer in the heading thereof.

(b)

Credit for disconnected youth

(1)

In general

Paragraph (1) of section 51(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking or at the end of subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (J) and inserting , or, and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

(K)

an disconnected youth.

.

(2)

Disconnected youth

Paragraph (14) of section 51(d) of such Code is amended to read as follows:

(14)

Disconnected youth

The term disconnected youth means any individual who—

(A)
(i)

is certified by the designated local agency as having attained age 16 but not age 25 on the hiring date, and

(ii)

has self-certified (on a form prescribed by the Secretary) that such individual—

(I)

has not regularly attended any secondary, technical, or post-secondary school during the 6-month period preceding the hiring date,

(II)

has not been regularly employed during such 6-month period, and

(III)

is not readily employable by reason of lacking a sufficient number of basic skills, or

(B)

is certified by the designated local agency as—

(i)

having attained age 16 but not age 21 on the hiring date, and

(ii)

an eligible foster child (as defined in section 152(f)(1)(C)) who was in foster care during the 12-month period ending on the hiring date.

.

(c)

Effective date

The amendments made by this section shall apply to individuals who begin work for the employer after the date of the enactment of this Act.