Official Summaries

This bill treats Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad as combat zones for purposes of determining eligibility for certain federal tax benefits available to members of the U.S. Armed Forces. (Conditions apply.)

Specifically, under the bill, a qualified hazardous duty area is treated as a combat zone for purposes of

• determining the filing status of an individual whose spouse is missing in action;
• excluding compensation received by a member of the Armed Forces serving in a combat zone from gross income and wages subject to withholding;
• forgiving the income tax liability of a member of the Armed Forces who dies in a combat zone;
• certain estate tax rules applicable to a member of the Armed Forces who dies in a combat zone or as a result of an injury, wound, or disease suffered while in a combat zone;
• the exemption from the federal excise tax imposed on certain telephone services for telephone calls originating from a combat zone by a member of the Armed Forces; and
• postponing certain federal tax deadlines (e.g., filing a tax return, paying taxes, and claiming a tax refund) for a member of the Armed Forces serving in a combat zone.

The bill defines a qualified hazardous duty area as Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad if any member of the U.S. Armed Forces is entitled to special pay (e.g., hostile fire pay and imminent danger pay) for services performed in such locations. 

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2157 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2157

  To provide that members of the Armed Forces performing services in 
 Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad shall be entitled to tax benefits 
in the same manner as if such services were performed in a combat zone.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2025

  Mr. Panetta (for himself, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, Mr. Moore of 
 Utah, Mr. Kelly of Mississippi, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Nunn of 
  Iowa, Mr. McCormick, Mr. Messmer, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Davis of North 
 Carolina, Mr. Van Orden, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. 
   Moulton, and Mr. Mills) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide that members of the Armed Forces performing services in 
 Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad shall be entitled to tax benefits 
in the same manner as if such services were performed in a combat zone.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS PERFORMING SERVICES IN 
              KENYA, MALI, BURKINA FASO, AND CHAD.

    (a) In General.--For purposes of the following provisions of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, a qualified hazardous duty area shall be 
treated in the same manner as if it were a combat zone (as determined 
under section 112 of such Code):
            (1) Section 2(a)(3) (relating to special rule where 
        deceased spouse was in missing status).
            (2) Section 112 (relating to the exclusion of certain 
        combat pay of members of the Armed Forces).
            (3) Section 692 (relating to income taxes of members of 
        Armed Forces on death).
            (4) Section 2201 (relating to members of the Armed Forces 
        dying in combat zone or by reason of combat-zone-incurred 
        wounds, etc.).
            (5) Section 3401(a)(1) (defining wages relating to combat 
        pay for members of the Armed Forces).
            (6) Section 4253(d) (relating to the taxation of phone 
        service originating from a combat zone from members of the 
        Armed Forces).
            (7) Section 6013(f)(1) (relating to joint return where 
        individual is in missing status).
            (8) Section 7508 (relating to time for performing certain 
        acts postponed by reason of service in combat zone).
    (b) Qualified Hazardous Duty Area.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``qualified hazardous duty area'' means Kenya, Mali, Burkina 
Faso, and Chad, if as of the date of the enactment of this section any 
member of the Armed Forces of the United States is entitled to special 
pay under section 310 of title 37, United States Code (relating to 
special pay; duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger), for 
services performed in such location. Such term includes such location 
only during the period such entitlement is in effect.
    (c) Effective Date.--The provisions of this Act shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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