HB05569 • 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING A SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED LOCAL MEDIA ADVERTISING EXPENSES.

Labor Small Business Taxes

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
Last action: 2026-03-23
Official status: Public Hearing 03/27
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The text specifies the credit applies to taxes under chapters 208 or 229, but does not explicitly name these as income tax and franchise tax respectively.

Tax Credit for Small Businesses Advertising on Local Media

This law creates a five-year tax credit that helps small businesses lower their state taxes when they pay to advertise in local newspapers or on local broadcast radio and TV stations.

What This Bill Does

Creates a new tax credit available for income years starting between January 1, 2027, and December 31, 2031.
Allows small businesses with fifty employees or fewer to claim the credit against their state taxes under chapters 208 or 229 of general statutes.
Gives an eighty percent credit on qualified advertising costs for years starting in 2027, up to a maximum of $5,000.
Reduces the credit rate to fifty percent for years starting between January 1, 2028, and December 31, 2031, with a yearly cap of $2,500.
Requires that businesses cannot claim this tax credit and also deduct the same advertising costs as an expense.

Who It Names or Affects

Small businesses located in the state with fifty or fewer employees.
Local newspapers that primarily serve a regional community, use original news content, employ at least one full-time local journalist living there, have no more than 750 employees, and are not controlled by certain political or non-profit groups.
Broadcast radio and television stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to serve a local area.

Terms To Know

Qualified local media advertising expenses: Money paid for ads placed in eligible local newspapers or on local broadcast radio and TV stations.
Local newspaper: A print or digital publication that serves a specific community, uses original news content, employs at least one full-time local journalist living there, has 750 employees or fewer, is not controlled by certain political or non-profit groups, and did not receive more than $100,000 from those excluded organizations in the prior year.
Tax credit: An amount that reduces the total tax a business owes to the state dollar-for-dollar under chapters 208 or 229 of general statutes.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not specify if there is an overall limit on how many businesses can claim this credit each year.
It is unclear from the text whether unused credits in one year can be carried forward to future years.
The bill defines specific rules for local newspapers but relies on federal licensing definitions for radio and TV stations.

Bill History

2026-03-23 Connecticut General Assembly
Public Hearing 03/27
2026-03-20 Connecticut General Assembly
Referred to Joint Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding

Official Summary Text

To establish a five-year tax credit for small businesses for qualified local media advertising expenses.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

LCO No. 2978 1 of 3

General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5569
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 2978

Referred to Committee on FINANCE, REVENUE AND
BONDING

Introduced by:
(FIN)

AN ACT CONCERNING A SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDIT FOR
QUALIFIED LOCAL MEDIA ADVERTISING EXPENSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Local newspaper" means any print or digital publication: 2
(A) That primarily serves the needs of a regional or local community; 3
(B) For which the primary content of such publication is original 4
content derived from primary sources and relating to news and current 5
events; 6
(C) Which publication's publisher: 7
(i) Employs at least one full-time local news journalist who resides in 8
such regional or local community; 9
(ii) Employs not more than seven hundred fifty employees; and 10

Raised Bill No. 5569

LCO No. 2978 2 of 3

(iii) Is not (I) an organization described in Section 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5) 11
or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent 12
corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended 13
from time to time , (II) a political organization, as defined in Section 14
527(e) of said Internal Revenue Code, or (III) controlled by one or more 15
organizations set forth in subclause (I) or (II) of this clause; and 16
(D) That did not receive more than one hundred thousand dollars in 17
the aggregate for the preceding income or taxable year from 18
organizations set forth in subparagraph (B)(iii) of this subdivision; 19
(2) "Local news journalist" means any individual who regularly 20
gathers, prepares, produces, collects, edits, photographs, records, 21
directs the recording of, writes, presents or reports news or information 22
that concerns local events or other matters of local public interest; 23
(3) "Qualified local media advertising expenses" means amounts paid 24
or incurred in the ordinary course of a trade or business for advertising 25
in a local newspaper or advertising on any broadcast radio or television 26
station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to serve a 27
local community; and 28
(4) "Small business" means a business located in the state with fifty 29
employees or less. 30
(b) For the income or taxable years commencing on or after January 31
1, 2027, and prior to January 1, 2032, t here shall be allowed a credit for 32
small businesses against the tax imposed under chapter 208 or 229 of the 33
general statutes, other than the liability imposed by section 12-707 of the 34
general statutes. The credit shall be a percentage of the qualified local 35
media advertising expenses paid or incurred by such small business for 36
an income or taxable year as follows: 37
(1) For the income or taxable year commencing on or after January 1, 38
2027, and prior to January 1, 2028, eighty per cent of the qualified local 39
media advertising expenses paid or incurred by the small business for 40

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said income or taxable year, not to exceed five thousand dollars; and 41
(2) For each of the income or taxable years commencing on or after 42
January 1, 2028, and prior to January 1, 2032, fifty per cent of the 43
qualified local media advertising expenses paid or incurred by the small 44
business for the applicable income or taxable year, not to exceed two 45
thousand five hundred dollars for each such income or taxable year. 46
(c) If the taxpayer is an S corporation or an entity treated as a 47
partnership for federal income tax purposes, the credit may be claimed 48
by the taxpayer's shareholders or partners. If the taxpayer is a single 49
member limited liability company that is disregarded as an entity 50
separate from its owner, the credit may be claimed by such limited 51
liability company's owner, provided such owner is subject to the tax 52
imposed under chapter 208 or 229 of the general statutes. 53
(d) No small business may claim a credit for and deduct as a business 54
expense the same qualified local media advertising expenses. 55
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 January 1, 2027 New section

Statement of Purpose:
To establish a five-year tax credit for small businesses for qualified local
media advertising expenses.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]