This bill creates a new tax credit in Washington equal to 100% of costs incurred by small businesses for providing maritime trade educational assistance to employees who are employed aboard or servicing U.S.-flagged vessels. The credit is established by adding new sections to chapters 82.04 and 82.16 RCW, is available beginning January 1, 2027, is nonrefundable (may not exceed the tax otherwise due), may be carried forward for five calendar years, and is capped at $20,000 per person per calendar year. Taxpayers may not claim the same educational assistance costs under both chapters, and the ability to earn credits expires January 1, 2038, with the new sections themselves expiring January 1, 2039. The bill defines key terms for eligibility and covered costs, including “educational assistance” (payments by an employer directly to an educational institution for maritime training), the types of “educational institutions” and approved apprenticeship or U.S. Coast Guard–approved maritime training providers, what counts as “educational and training expenses,” who qualifies as an “employee,” what constitutes a “maritime trade,” and the definition of “small business” (50 or fewer employees in Washington). It requires taxpayers to keep records for the department’s verification and to file returns, forms, and other required information electronically in a department-approved format; filings are not complete until received in that format. Affected entities include the unspecified “department” that will receive filings and verify eligibility, Washington educational institutions participating in state aid programs, approved U.S. Department of Labor apprenticeship programs and U.S. Coast Guard–approved maritime training providers, jointly managed union-employer training trusts, and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (which may use state-collected data for a performance review referenced in the bill). The text provided omits which specific department is meant, omits the cited chapter number in the session law reference, and does not fully detail the mechanics, timing, or responsible party for the performance review and any decision process for extending the expiration date.

If enacted, small Washington-based maritime employers (50 or fewer employees) who pay tuition, fees, equipment, or other approved training costs for employees working on or servicing U.S.-flagged vessels will likely face much lower net costs for providing that training because they can claim a tax credit equal to the full cost of that educational assistance beginning January 1, 2027. The credit is limited to $20,000 per person per year, is nonrefundable (it cannot exceed the tax owed), can be carried forward up to five years, and must be claimed using department-approved electronic filings with supporting records kept for verification, so employers with little tax liability or who fail to file in the correct format may not realize the benefit right away. State colleges, approved apprenticeship and maritime training providers, and jointly managed union-employer training trusts may see increased demand as employers shift costs to paid training that is credit-eligible, and the unnamed state department will take on more electronic intake and verification work. The incentive is temporary: the ability to earn credits ends January 1, 2038 and the statutory sections expire January 1, 2039, and the bill text leaves key administrative details unclear—most notably which department is responsible and how the performance review and any potential extension would be carried out—so some implementation and oversight questions remain.