OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 399 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 399’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Passed by the House
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Brown and Lampton
Effective date:
Kitty Sorah, Attorney
SUMMARY
 Authorizes a nonrefundable income tax credit for employers that offer paid leave to
employees who donate organs.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Income tax credit for paid organ donor leave
The bill creates a nonrefundable income tax credit for a taxpayer that is, or who owns an
interest in, a qualifying employer that pays donation leave benefits to employee organ donors.
In general, a tax credit allows a taxpayer to reduce its tax liability, and a credit may be
refundable or nonrefundable. A nonrefundable credit can reduce tax liability to zero, but no
further, though unused amounts may sometimes be carried forward and used in later years.
Under the bill, a qualified employer is a taxpayer or pass-through entity registered and
authorized to use the E-Verify system, which verifies an employee’s eligibility to legally work in
the United States.1 Donation leave benefits that qualify for the credit are compensation paid to
an employee donor while the employee is on leave for a medically necessary period following a
living organ donation that would qualify the employee for an income tax deduction available
under continuing law for certain expenses connected with that donation. Eligible donations
include all or part of a liver, pancreas, kidney, intestine, lung, or bone marrow, provided the
donation is in accordance with the National Organ Transplant Act, a federal law that sets the
standards and procedures for living organ donations.2 The compensation must be equal to the
compensation the employee would have received if working during that period and must be
1 8 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1324a.
2 R.C. 5747.01(A)(22), not in the bill; 42 U.S.C. 273, et seq.
June 28, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
allowed pursuant to an organ donation leave policy of the employer that does not allow such
leave to be deducted from the employee’s other paid leave time, such as general sick leave.
The credit amount available per employee and per donation equals the amount of
donation leave benefits paid or $300 per day of leave, whichever is less, with a maximum of
30 days of leave benefits allowed for credit purposes. That works out to $9,000 per employee,
per donation, maximum. The amount of an employer’s credit-eligible donation leave benefits
may not exceed $54,000 per taxable year. If a taxpayer qualifies for the credit but cannot claim
it in its entirety because it is greater than the taxpayer’s liability, the taxpayer may carry the
unclaimed portion forward for three taxable years.
The Tax Commissioner may require an employer claiming the credit to submit
documentation verifying credit eligibility, including the employer’s living donation leave policy,
pay stubs for the employee donor, or a signed attestation from the employee donor providing
the date of the donation and the period of time for which leave was prescribed as medically
necessary. The bill authorizes the Commissioner to adopt any rules necessary to administer the
credit.
Beginning in 2025, the bill requires the Commissioner to issue an annual report
including information about the credit in the preceding year. It must be delivered to the chairs
of the primary committees dealing with taxation in the Ohio House of Representatives and
Senate, and include the number of taxpayers that claimed the credit and the total value of all
credits claimed.3
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 02-05-24
Reported, H. Ways & Means 06-12-24
Passed House (82-11) 06-26-24
ANHB0399PH-135/sb
3 R.C. 5747.74 and 5747.98.
P a g e |2 H.B. 399
As Passed by the House


Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 5747.01
As Reported By House Committee: 5747.98
As Passed By House: 5747.98