Provides spouses of military servicemembers with gross income tax credit, up to $500, for professional relicensing fees incurred upon relocating to State.

S3498

SENATE, No. 3498

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

Senator� LATHAM TIVER

District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Henry

SYNOPSIS

���� Provides spouses of military servicemembers with
gross income tax credit, up to $500, for professional relicensing fees incurred
upon relocating to State.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

providing the spouses of certain military
servicemembers with a gross income tax credit towards certain qualified
professional relicensing fees, supplementing chapter 4 of Title 54A of the New
Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� A taxpayer who is an
eligible spouse shall be allowed a credit against the tax otherwise due for the
taxable year under the �New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act,� N.J.S.54A:1-1 et
seq., in the amount, not to exceed $500, of qualified relicensing fees incurred
by the taxpayer in the taxable year.

���� b.��� As used in this section:

���� �Eligible spouse� means a
person who, at the time the qualified relicensing fees are incurred, is married
to a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and relocates to the State
pursuant to a permanent change of station order.

���� �Qualified relicensing fees�
means the fees incurred by an eligible spouse that are for a license or
certification required by the State to engage in a profession:

���� (1)� for which the State
requires a professional or occupational license or certification; and

���� (2)� that the eligible spouse
practiced prior to relocating to the State;

���� provided, however, that such
fees are incurred during the period beginning on the date that the permanent
change of station order is issued and ending on the first day of the thirteenth
month next following the reporting date as specified in such order.

���� c.��� The order of priority of
the application of the credit allowed pursuant to this section, and any other
credits allowed against the tax imposed pursuant to the �New Jersey Gross
Income Tax Act,� N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq., for a taxable year, shall be as prescribed
by the director.� If the amount of the credit allowed pursuant to this section
exceeds the amount of tax otherwise due, that amount of excess shall be an
overpayment for the purposes of N.J.S.54A:9-7, though subsection (f) of that
section shall not apply.

���� d.��� The director shall
promulgate procedures and forms by which a taxpayer may certify that the
taxpayer qualifies for a credit pursuant to this section.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and apply to qualified relicensing costs incurred on or
after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill provides a gross
income tax credit, up to $500, for spouses of certain military servicemembers
who incur professional relicensing fees upon relocating to the State.

���� Specifically, an eligible
spouse of a servicemember who moves to the State due to military orders is
eligible to receive a refundable gross income tax credit in the amount of
qualified relicensing fees incurred due to the relocation, not to exceed $500.�
The term �eligible spouse� is defined to mean a person who, at the time the
fees are incurred, is married to a member of the Armed Forces of the United
States and relocates to the State pursuant to a permanent change of station
order.� The term �qualified relicensing fees� is defined to mean the fees
incurred by the spouse that are for a license or certification required by the
State to engage in a profession: (1) for which the State requires a
professional or occupational license or certification; and (2) that the
eligible spouse practiced prior to moving to the State.� However, this credit
only covers: (1) the relicensing fees incurred beginning on the date that the
permanent change of station order is issued; and (2) ending on the first day of
the thirteenth month next following the reporting date in the permanent change
of station order.� The Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department
of the Treasury is required to issue forms and procedures that enable a
taxpayer to verify that he or she qualifies for a credit per this bill.

���� Spouses of servicemembers are
required to uproot their lives and move to another State (or country),
sometimes frequently, based on military orders.� In doing so, these individuals
incur costs associated with rebuilding their professional careers in the State.�
This bill serves dual purposes of easing the burdens placed on military
families and helping professionals develop their careers in the State.