Section 35 ILCS 50/3-15 - Authorization of tax credit program for individuals in recovery from substance use disorders or mental illness(a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, the Department is authorized to and shall establish and administer a recovery tax credit program to provide tax incentives to qualified employers who employ eligible individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder or mental illness in part-time and full-time positions within Illinois. The Department shall award the tax credit by issuance of a certificate of tax credit to the qualified employer, who will present the certificate of tax credit to the Department of Revenue by attaching the certificate to its tax return, as a credit against the qualified employer's income tax liability in accordance with the Illinois Income Tax Act. The Department shall maintain an electronic listing of the certificates issued by which the Department of Revenue may verify tax credit certificates issued.(b) To be a qualified employer, an employer must apply annually to the Department to claim a credit based upon eligible individuals employed during the preceding calendar year, using the forms prescribed by the Department. To be approved for a credit under this Act, the employer must: (1) agree to provide to the Department the information necessary to demonstrate that the employer has satisfied program eligibility requirements and provided all information requested or needed by the Department, including the number of hours worked by the eligible individual and other information necessary for the Department to calculate the amount of credit permitted; and(2) agree to provide names, employer identification numbers, amounts that the employer may claim, and other information necessary for the Department to calculate any tax credit.(c) To be an eligible individual, the individual must be diagnosed with or have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder or mental illness. Disclosure by the eligible individual of his or her mental illness or substance use disorder shall be completely voluntary and his or her health information may not be shared or disclosed under this Act without the eligible individual's express written consent. The eligible individual must have been employed by the qualified employer in this State for a minimum of 500 hours during the applicable calendar year and the tax credit may only begin on the date the eligible individual is hired by the qualified employer and ending on December 31 of that calendar year or the date that the eligible individual's employment with the qualified employer ends, whichever occurs first. Only one tax credit may be awarded for any eligible individual while employed by the same or related qualified employer. The hours of employment of 2 or more eligible individuals may not be aggregated to reach the minimum number of hours. If an eligible individual has worked in excess of 500 hours between the date of hiring and December 31 of that year, a qualified employer can elect to compute and claim a credit for such eligible individual in that year based on the hours worked by December 31. Alternatively, the qualified employer may elect to include such individual in the computation of the credit in the year immediately succeeding the year in which the eligible individual was hired. In that case, the credit shall be computed on the basis of all hours worked by the eligible individual from the date of hire to the earlier of the last day of employment or December 31 of the succeeding year.(d) If Department criteria and all other requirements are met, a qualified employer shall be entitled to a tax credit equal to the product of $1 and the number of hours worked by each eligible individual during the eligible individual's period of employment with the qualified employer. The tax credit awarded under this Act may not exceed $2,000 per eligible individual employed by the qualified employer in this State. In determining the amount of tax credit that any qualified employer may claim, the Department shall review all claims submitted for credit by all employers and, to the extent that the total amount claimed by employers exceeds the amount allocated for this program in that calendar year, shall issue tax credits on a pro rata basis corresponding to each qualified employer's share of the total amount claimed.(e) The aggregate amount of all credits the Department may award under this Act in any calendar year may not exceed $2,000,000.(f) A taxpayer who is a qualified employer who has received a certificate of tax credit from the Department shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed equal to the amount shown on such certificate of tax credit.(g) The credit must be claimed in the taxable year in which the tax credit certificate is issued. The credit cannot reduce a taxpayer's liability to less than zero. If the amount of the credit exceeds the tax liability for the year, the credit may not be carried forward.(h) If the taxpayer is a partnership or Subchapter S corporation the credit shall be allowed to the partners or shareholders in accordance with the determination of income and distributive share of income under Sections 702 and 704 and subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code.(i) In carrying out this Act, no patient-specific information shall be shared or disclosed. Any individual or patient-specific information collected by the Department or the Department of Revenue shall not be subject to public disclosure or Freedom of Information Act requests.(j) The credit under this Act is exempt from the provisions of Section 250 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.Added by P.A. 102-1053,§ 3-15, eff. 6/10/2022.