La. R.S. 47:6033 — Apprenticeship tax credits

A. Purpose. The legislature hereby determines that a major impediment to the
economy of the state is the lack of an adequate number of people in the workforce with
sufficient on the job training to find and keep good paying jobs already present and those that
would be here if more of the workforce was of higher skill level or experience. Further, the
legislature finds that a tax credit that provides an incentive for businesses to employ
apprentices will provide a step toward creating and maintaining such a workforce.
B. Definitions.
(1) "Department" means the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
(2) "Eligible apprentice" means a person who:
(a) Has entered into a written apprentice agreement with an employer or an
association of employers pursuant to a registered apprenticeship program as provided for in
Chapter 4 of Title 23 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, 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.
C. Administration of the credit. For taxable periods beginning after December 31,
2021, there shall be allowed a nonrefundable tax credit against Louisiana income tax for the
employment of eligible apprentices as provided for in this Section.
(1) For each eligible apprentice employed for a minimum of two hundred fifty hours
during the taxable period, an employer shall be eligible for a credit equal to one dollar and
twenty-five cents per hour of employment for a maximum credit of one thousand two
hundred fifty dollars per eligible apprentice.
(2) The total amount of tax credits granted by the department in any calendar year
shall not exceed two million five hundred thousand dollars. The department shall establish
the method of allocating available tax credits to employers including but not limited to a
first-come, first-served system, reservation of tax credits for a specific time, or other method
that the department, in its discretion, may find beneficial to the program by rule. If the
department does not grant the entire two million five hundred thousand dollars in tax credits
in any calendar year, the amount of residual unused tax credits shall carry forward to
subsequent calendar years and may be granted in any year without regard to the two million
five hundred thousand dollar per year limitation.
(3) The department, in consultation with Louisiana Works, shall establish by
regulation the procedures sufficient to determine the employer's eligibility for the credit.
(4) Louisiana Works shall provide an annual list of businesses that participate in the
apprenticeship programs administered by the agency to the department.
(5) The department shall determine the enrollment and transcript data required from
the National Center for Construction Education and Research for students enrolled in one of
its accredited training programs that is sufficient for the department to determine the
employer's eligibility for the credit authorized by this Section. However, in order for an
employer to be eligible for a credit, a student enrolled in a training program accredited by the
National Center for Construction Education and Research must have successfully completed
no less than two levels of training and no less than two hundred fifty hours of instruction.
D. Application of the credit.
(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 tax 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 taxable 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.
E. Recovery of credits by Department of Revenue. Credits previously granted to a
taxpayer, but later disallowed, may be recovered by the secretary of the Department of
Revenue through any collection remedy authorized by R.S. 47:1561.3.
F. 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.
G. No credit shall be earned pursuant to the provisions of this Section after
December 31, 2025.
Acts 2021, No. 454, §1, eff. June 23, 2021; Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 6, §1, eff.
Jan. 1, 2026; Acts 2025, No. 376, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.