S 2976 · In Committee · 10-06-25
HIRE Act
What does the HIRE Act do?
S 2976 is a Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH). This bill would put a new 25 percent federal excise tax on money a U.S. business pays a foreign person for labor or services whose benefit goes to customers in the United States. The same payments would also lose their income-tax deduction, the tax itself would not be deductible either, and the money collected would go into a new Domestic Workforce Fund that pays for retraining, apprenticeships, and grants to States.
Did S 2976 pass? Where it stands
As of August 27, 2026, S 2976 has reached the In Committee stage.
Status: In Committee
Outlook: Long shot
Key provisions
- New Outsourcing Excise Tax
- 25 percent tax on covered payments to foreign persons
- Applies to labor or services benefiting consumers in the United States
- Mixed payments capped by the U.S.-directed share
- Deductions Denied on Both Layers
- No income-tax deduction allowed for any outsourcing payment
- The new excise tax is itself made non-deductible
- Both apply to payments made after December 31, 2025
- Penalties and the Workforce Fund
- Failure-to-pay addition raised and its 25 percent aggregate cap removed
- Receipts routed to a new Domestic Workforce Fund
- Fund spends without further appropriation on retraining and apprenticeships
Last updated August 27, 2026