Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Harley Jacobsen Clinical Trial Participant Income Exemption Act of 2026”.
Harley Jacobsen Clinical Trial Participant Income Exemption Act of 2026
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income certain compensation to clinical trial participants, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Exclusion of compensation provided to participants in clinical trials
In general— Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 139L the following new section:
“139M. Clinical trial payments
“(a) In general—Gross income shall not include any amount received by an individual as a qualified clinical trial payment.
“(b) Qualified clinical trial payment defined—For purposes of this section, the term qualified clinical trial payment means any amount paid to an individual—
“(1) as compensation for participation by the individual or a dependent of the individual in an approved clinical trial, or
“(2) to reimburse or pay reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with participation by the individual or a dependent of the individual in an approved clinical trial.
“(c) Other definitions—For purposes of this section—
“(1) Approved clinical trial—The term approved clinical trial has the meaning given such term in section 2709(d)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–8(d)(1)), determined by substituting “disease or condition” for “life-threatening disease or condition”.
“(2) Dependent—The term dependent has the meaning given such term in section 152.”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 139L the following new item:
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply to amounts paid after December 31, 2025.
Sec. 3 Clinical trial compensation not taken into account for purposes of determining eligibility for Federal programs or assistance
In general— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any amount received by an individual as a qualified clinical trial payment shall not be taken into account as income or resources for purposes of determining the eligibility of such individual (or any other individual) for benefits or assistance (or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance) under any Federal program or under any State or local program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.
Qualified clinical trial payment— For purposes of subsection (a), the term “qualified clinical trial payment” has the meaning given such term in section 139M(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by section 2 of this Act).