STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman AL BARLAS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman CHRISTOPHER P. DEPHILLIPS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Azzariti Jr.
SYNOPSIS
Provides gross income tax deduction for certain wages of qualified health care professionals employed by health care entities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act providing a gross income tax deduction for qualified health care professionals and supplementing chapter 3 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 a qualified health care professional employed by a health care entity in the State shall be allowed a deduction from the taxpayer’s gross income for the taxable year in an amount equal to 25 percent of the hourly wages paid by the health care entity to the taxpayer during the taxable year.
b. For purposes of this subsection:
“Health care entity” means a health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), a health maintenance organization authorized to operate pursuant to P.L.1973, c.337 (C.26:2J-1 et seq.), a carrier which offers a managed care plan regulated pursuant to P.L.1997, c.192 (C.26:2S-1 et seq.), a State or county psychiatric hospital, a State developmental center, a staffing registry, or a home care services agency as defined in section 1 of P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-23).
“Qualified health care professional” means an individual who is:
(1) licensed as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant, or respiratory care practitioner pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes;
(2) certified as a homemaker-home health aide by the New Jersey Board of Nursing pursuant to paragraph (24) of subsection d. of section 2 of P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-24);
(3) certified as a nurse aide by the New Jersey Department of Health upon completion of a mandatory training program; or
(4) certified as a direct support professional through the College of Direct Support, as administered by the Boggs Center on Disability and Human Development, Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1 of the year next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides a gross income tax deduction related to certain wages earned by qualified health care professionals employed by health care entities in the State. Specifically, the deduction would be equal to 25 percent of the hourly wages paid by a health care entity to the qualified health care professional during the taxable year.
A “health care entity” is defined under the bill as a licensed health care facility, an authorized health maintenance organization, a carrier which offers a regulated managed care plan, a State or county psychiatric hospital, a State developmental center, a staffing registry, or a home care services agency.
The bill also defines a “qualified healthcare professional” as an individual who is: (1) licensed as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant, or respiratory care practitioner pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes; (2) certified as a homemaker-home health aide by the New Jersey Board of Nursing, (3) certified as a nurse aide by the New Jersey Department of Health upon completion of a mandatory training program; or (4) certified as a direct support professional through the College of Direct Support, as administered by the Boggs Center on Disability and Human Development, Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.