PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 27, 2025
Community News and Small Business Support Act
This bill establishes a temporary business tax credit for expenses incurred by an eligible small business to advertise in local media. The bill also establishes a temporary refundable tax credit for a percentage of wages paid by an eligible employer to local news journalists. (Limitations apply.)
Under the bill, an eligible small business (a business with an average of fewer than 50 employees) may claim a tax credit for (1) 80% of local media advertising expenses, up to a maximum of $5,000, in the first year of the tax credit; and (2) 50% of such expenses, up to a maximum of $2,500, in the subsequent four years. (Other conditions and limitations may apply.)
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill also allows an eligible employer to claim each calendar quarter a refundable tax credit against Medicare payroll taxes for (1) 50% of wages paid to a local news journalist in the first four calendar quarters of the tax credit, and (2) 30% of such wages paid in each calendar quarter in the subsequent four years.
However, under the bill, the tax credit for local news journalist wages is limited to $12,500 in wages paid per local news journalist per quarter and the wages of no more than 1,500 local news journalists may be included. Further, the tax credit may not be claimed for wages for which certain other tax credits (e.g., the tax credit for paid family and medical leave) are claimed. (Other conditions and limitations may apply.)
People & committees
Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] · R–NY
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-27 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Community News and Small Business Support Act would create two temporary tax credits: one for eligible small businesses buying advertising in local media, and another for qualifying local newspaper employers paying local journalists. Print and digital newspapers would have to meet content, staffing and organizational requirements. The journalist payroll credit could produce a refund when it exceeds the covered employment taxes. Both credits would have limits and end dates tied to enactment; the supplied text describes a proposal, not an enacted law.
This Act may be cited as the Community News and Small Business Support Act.
in the case of any eligible small business, the local media advertising credit determined under this section for any taxable year is an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the qualified local media advertising expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer during such taxable year.
The term local newspaper means any print or digital publication if— (A) the primary content of such publication is original content derived from primary sources and relating to news and current events, (B) such publication primarily serves the needs of a regional or local community, (C) the publisher of such publication— (i) employs at least one full-time local news journalist who resides in such regional or local community, (ii) employs not greater than 750 employees, and (iii) is not—
In the case of an eligible local news journalist employer, there shall be allowed as a credit against applicable employment taxes for each calendar quarter an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the wages paid by such employer to local news journalists for such calendar quarter.
If the amount of the credit under subsection (a) exceeds the limitation of paragraph (3) for any calendar quarter, such excess shall be treated as an overpayment that shall be refunded under sections 6402(a) and 6413(b).
No credit shall be allowed under this section for any amount paid or incurred in a taxable year ending after the close of 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section.
This section shall not apply to any calendar quarter beginning more than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section.
2025-02-27: Introduced in House
The advertising credit would cover 80% of qualifying expenses, up to a $5,000 credit, in the first tax year to which the provision applies. In subsequent eligible years, it would cover 50%, up to a $2,500 credit. It would be added to the general business credit.
The credit allowed under subsection (a) to any taxpayer for any taxable year shall not exceed— (1) in the case of the first taxable year to which this section applies, $5,000, and (2) in the case of any subsequent taxable year, $2,500.
the term applicable percentage means— (1) in the case of the first taxable year to which this section applies, 80 percent, and (2) in the case of any subsequent taxable year, 50 percent.
(b) Credit allowed as part of general business credit Section 38(b) of such Code is amended
A business would qualify for the advertising credit if it averaged fewer than 50 full-time employees during the tax year, using the employee-counting method referenced in the bill.
the term eligible small business means any person for any taxable year if the average number of full-time employees (as determined for purposes of determining whether an employer is an applicable large employer for purposes of section 4980H(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) employed by such person during such taxable year was less than 50.
Eligible advertising expenses would include ordinary business spending on advertising or sponsorships in a qualifying local newspaper or on a radio or television station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to serve a local community.
the term qualified local media advertising expenses means amounts paid or incurred in the ordinary course of a trade or business for— (1) advertising in a local newspaper, or (2) advertising on any broadcast radio or television station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to serve a local community. For purposes of this subsection, the term advertising includes sponsorships.
A qualifying local newspaper could be printed or digital. Its main content would have to be original reporting from primary sources about news and current events, and it would have to primarily serve a regional or local community. Its publisher would need at least one full-time local journalist living in that community and no more than 750 employees.
The term local newspaper means any print or digital publication if— (A) the primary content of such publication is original content derived from primary sources and relating to news and current events, (B) such publication primarily serves the needs of a regional or local community, (C) the publisher of such publication— (i) employs at least one full-time local news journalist who resides in such regional or local community, (ii) employs not greater than 750 employees
The newspaper definition would exclude publishers in the tax-code categories listed in section 501(c)(4), (5) or (6), political organizations defined in section 527(e), and organizations they control. It would also exclude an organization that received more than $100,000 in total from those organizations during the current tax year or any preceding tax year. The bundle does not reproduce the referenced tax-code definitions.
(iii) is not— (I) an organization described in paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 501(c), (II) a political organization (as defined in section 527(e)), (III) any organization controlled by one or more organizations described in subclauses (I) or (II), or (IV) any organization that received more than $100,000 (in the aggregate) from organizations described in subclauses (I), (II), or (III) during the taxable year or any preceding taxable year.
The bill's definition of a local journalist would include people who regularly gather, prepare, edit, photograph, record, write, present or otherwise produce news or information about local events or matters of local public interest.
the term local news journalist means any individual who regularly gathers, prepares, produces, collects, edits, photographs, records, directs the recording of, writes, presents, or reports news or information that concerns local events or other matters of local public interest.
For the publisher's employee limit and organizational exclusions, businesses treated as one employer under the referenced tax rules would be counted together only if they were involved in producing the same print or digital publication.
For purposes of clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (1)(C), all persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52, or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414, shall be treated as one person. (B) Exception Subparagraph (A) shall not apply unless such persons are involved in the production of the same print or digital publication.
The publisher requirements would have to be met continuously starting one year before enactment. The stated endpoint refers to payment for a subscription supposedly described in subsection (a), but that subsection concerns advertising expenses. This inconsistent reference leaves the endpoint unclear in the supplied text.
The requirements of paragraph (1)(C) shall not be treated as met unless such requirements are met at all times during the period beginning on the date which is 1 year before the date of the enactment of this section and ending on the date that the subscription described in subsection (a) is paid or incurred.
(a) In general For purposes of section 38, in the case of any eligible small business, the local media advertising credit determined under this section for any taxable year is an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the qualified local media advertising expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer during such taxable year.
A business could not also deduct the portion of qualifying advertising expenses equal to its advertising credit.
No deduction shall be allowed for any qualified local media advertising expenses otherwise allowable as a deduction for the taxable year which is equal to the amount of the credit determined for such taxable year under subsection (a).
Businesses treated as one employer under the referenced tax rules would share the advertising credit's annual dollar limit.
All persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414 of such Code, shall be treated as one person for purposes of applying subsection (b).
The advertising provisions would apply to expenses paid or incurred in tax years beginning after enactment. No credit would be allowed for expenses in a tax year ending after the five-year period beginning at enactment.
The amendments made by this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
No credit shall be allowed under this section for any amount paid or incurred in a taxable year ending after the close of 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section.
The journalist payroll credit would equal 50% of qualifying wages for each of the first four calendar quarters to which the provision applies, and 30% for later eligible quarters.
there shall be allowed as a credit against applicable employment taxes for each calendar quarter an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the wages paid by such employer to local news journalists for such calendar quarter.
The term applicable percentage means— (A) in the case of each of the first 4 calendar quarters to which this section applies, 50 percent; and (B) in the case of each calendar quarter thereafter, 30 percent.
Each eligible employer could count no more than 1,500 local journalists per quarter and no more than $12,500 in wages per person per quarter toward the payroll credit.
The number of employees of any eligible local news journalist employer which are taken into account as local news journalists under subsection (a) for any calendar quarter shall not exceed 1,500.
The amount of wages paid with respect to any individual which may be taken into account under subsection (a) during any calendar quarter by the eligible local news journalist employer shall not exceed $12,500.
An employer would qualify for the payroll credit only if substantially all its gross business receipts for the quarter came from publishing local newspapers meeting the bill's definition. A journalist would need to provide that employer at least 200 hours of qualifying journalism services during the quarter.
The term eligible local news journalist employer means, with respect to any calendar quarter, any employer if substantially all of the gross receipts of such employer for such calendar quarter are derived in the trade or business of publishing local newspapers (as defined in section 45BB(f)).
The term local news journalist means, with respect to any eligible local news journalist employer for any calendar quarter, any individual who provides at least 200 hours of service as a local news journalist (as defined in section 45BB(f)(2)) during such calendar quarter to such eligible local news journalist employer.
The payroll credit would offset the employment taxes specified in the bill, after reductions for three other referenced credits. Any amount exceeding that tax limit would be refundable, meaning the employer could receive the excess as a payment.
The credit allowed by subsection (a) with respect to any calendar quarter shall not exceed the applicable employment taxes (reduced by any credits allowed under sections 3131, 3132, and 3134) on the wages paid with respect to the employment of all the employees of the eligible local news journalist employer for such calendar quarter.
If the amount of the credit under subsection (a) exceeds the limitation of paragraph (3) for any calendar quarter, such excess shall be treated as an overpayment that shall be refunded under sections 6402(a) and 6413(b).
The term applicable employment taxes means the following: (A) The taxes imposed under section 3111(b). (B) So much of the taxes imposed under section 3221(a) as are attributable to the rate in effect under section 3111(b).
For the payroll credit, businesses treated as one employer under the referenced tax rules would be combined only if they were involved in producing the same print or digital publication.
All persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414 of such Code, shall be treated as one employer for purposes of this section. (2) Exception Paragraph (1) shall not apply unless such persons are involved in the production of the same print or digital publication.
The payroll credit would apply rules similar to two existing tax-code provisions. Employers with fewer than 15 local journalists during a quarter would receive an exception from the referenced related-party rules—rules concerning specified relationships between parties. The underlying provisions are not reproduced, so their detailed effects cannot be determined from this bundle.
(e) Certain rules to apply For purposes of this section— (1) In general Rules similar to the rules of sections 51(i)(1) and 280C(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall apply. (2) Exception to related party rules In the case of an eligible local news journalist employer which employs fewer than 15 local news journalists during the calendar quarter, paragraph (1) shall be applied without regard to the reference to section 51(i)(1).
The federal government, state and local governments, and their agencies or instrumentalities would be excluded from the payroll credit. An otherwise eligible employer could elect not to use the credit for a quarter under procedures prescribed by the Secretary.
This credit shall not apply to the Government of the United States, the government of any State or political subdivision thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing.
This section shall not apply with respect to any eligible local news journalist employer for any calendar quarter if such person elects (at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe) not to have this section apply.
An employer could not count an employee for the payroll credit during a period for which it is allowed a section 51 credit for that employee. Wages used for the new payroll credit also could not be used to calculate credits under sections 41, 45A, 45P, 45S or 1396.
An employee shall not be included for purposes of this section for any period with respect to any employer if such employer is allowed a credit under section 51 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to such employee for such period.
Any wages taken into account in determining the credit allowed under this section shall not be taken into account for purposes of determining the credit allowed under section 41, 45A, 45P, 45S, or 1396.
The Secretary would have to waive a penalty under section 6656 for failing to deposit covered employment taxes if the Secretary determined that the failure resulted from reasonably anticipating the payroll credit.
The Secretary shall waive any penalty under section 6656 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for any failure to make a deposit of any applicable employment taxes if the Secretary determines that such failure was due to the reasonable anticipation of the credit allowed under this section.
The deadline for assessing tax amounts attributable to a payroll credit claim could not expire before five years after the later of the original return's actual filing date or its legally treated filing date under the referenced tax rule.
Notwithstanding section 6501, the limitation on the time period for the assessment of any amount attributable to a credit claimed under this section shall not expire before the date that is 5 years after the later of— (A) the date on which the original return which includes the calendar quarter with respect to which such credit is determined is filed, or (B) the date on which such return is treated as filed under section 6501(b)(2).
The payroll credit would be included in the referenced tax-code rules for third parties that pay wages for employers. The Secretary would have to issue necessary forms and guidance, including rules allowing those payors to submit documents supporting their customers' eligibility.
(3) Third-party payors Any credit allowed under this section shall be treated as a credit described in section 3511(d)(2).
The Secretary shall issue such forms, instructions, regulations, and guidance as are necessary— (1) with respect to the application of the credit under subsection (a) to third-party payors (including professional employer organizations, certified professional employer organizations, or agents under section 3504 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), including regulations or guidance allowing such payors to submit documentation necessary to substantiate the eligible employer status of employers that use such payors
The Secretary would also have to issue rules to prevent avoidance of the payroll credit's limits, including through arrangements that lease employees back to a business. Those rules would make the customer responsible for credit accounting and liability for improper claims, and require the outside payroll provider to report credits accurately using the customer's information.
(2) to prevent the avoidance of the purposes of the limitations under this section, including through the leaseback of employees. Any forms, instructions, regulations, or other guidance described in paragraph (2) shall require the customer to be responsible for the accounting of the credit and for any liability for improperly claimed credits and shall require the certified professional employer organization or other third party payor to accurately report such tax credits based on the information provided by the customer.
The payroll provisions would apply to calendar quarters beginning after enactment. They would not apply to any quarter beginning more than five years after enactment.
The amendments made by this section shall apply to calendar quarters beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
This section shall not apply to any calendar quarter beginning more than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 27, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:32:03Z. 2025-02-27: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. 2025-02-27: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-27. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents or attachment history of other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark status in accompanying materials cannot be established from the bundle.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a narrow exception within the payroll credit's eligibility rules. Identifying that exception does not establish improper purpose or effect.
Eligible local newspaper employers with fewer than 15 local journalists in a quarter would be exempt from the payroll credit's incorporation of section 51(i)(1), identified in the bill as related-party rules. This gives that smaller group an exception from a restriction otherwise incorporated into the credit. The underlying rule is not reproduced, so its precise reach cannot be established here.
(e) Certain rules to apply For purposes of this section— (1) In general Rules similar to the rules of sections 51(i)(1) and 280C(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall apply. (2) Exception to related party rules In the case of an eligible local news journalist employer which employs fewer than 15 local news journalists during the calendar quarter, paragraph (1) shall be applied without regard to the reference to section 51(i)(1).
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI