Summary of HR 2157 ( introduced March 14, 2025 )

Overview

HR 2157 seeks to extend certain combat-zone tax benefits to U.S. Armed Forces service members performing duties in Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad. The bill would treat these countries as a qualified hazardous duty area (QHDA) for the purposes of specified Internal Revenue Code provisions, effectively allowing service members stationed there to receive the same tax treatment as if they were in a combat zone, but only during the period their location qualifies under the statute.

What the bill would do

• Establish Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad as a QHDA for tax purposes, provided that, as of enactment, any service member in such location is entitled to special pay under 37 U.S.C. § 310 (hostile-fire or imminent danger duty pay). The designation lasts only for the period during which that entitlement is in effect.
• Align these locations with a combat-zone treatment for a set of Internal Revenue Code provisions, as if they were in a combat zone. Specifically, the following provisions would apply as if the QHDA were a combat zone:
  • §2(a)(3) – special rule related to a deceased spouse in missing status
  • §112 – exclusion of certain combat pay from gross income
  • §692 – income taxes of armed forces members on death
  • §2201 – recognition related to death in combat zones
  • §3401(a)(1) – wages related to combat pay
  • §4253(d) – taxation of phone service originating from a combat zone
  • §6013(f)(1) – joint return rules when an individual is in missing status
  • §7508 – extensions of time for certain acts postponed by service in a combat zone
• The designation and its tax-treatment effect terminate if the entitlement to special pay under 37 U.S.C. § 310 ceases to be in effect for the location.

Key provisions and changes

• Section (a): Treat the QHDA as if it were a combat zone for the listed IRC provisions (as cited above).
• Section (b): Defines the QHDA to include Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad only while the service members’ entitlement to 37 U.S.C. § 310 special pay for duties in that location is in effect.
• Section (c): Takes effect on the date of enactment.

Who is affected

• U.S. Armed Forces personnel serving in Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, or Chad, and, more broadly, taxpayers impacted by the listed IRC provisions (e.g., those receiving combat pay, affected by death-related tax rules, or needing extensions due to combat-zone service).

Legislative status and timeline

• Introduced: March 14, 2025
• Referred to: House Committee on Ways and Means
• Sponsors: Primary sponsor Jimmy Panetta; numerous cosponsors including Chrissy Houlahan, Zachary Nunn, Richard Hudson, Austin Scott, and others.

Practical implications

• If enacted, service members in the four countries would gain tax treatment analogous to combat-zone status during periods of eligible special pay, potentially affecting taxable income, death-related tax provisions, and related timing rules. The extension is contingent on ongoing eligibility for hostile-fire/imminent-danger pay and would not apply beyond that period.