# What This Bill Does

Right now, if you participate in a medical research study and get paid for it, that money counts as income on your taxes. This bill would change that by letting people exclude clinical trial payments from their taxable income, meaning they wouldn't have to pay taxes on the money they earn from participating in medical research.

The bill covers not just the direct payment for being in a study, but also any reimbursements for related expenses like meals, hotel stays, or travel costs to get to the research facility. So if a pharmaceutical company pays you $500 to participate in a drug trial and reimburses you $200 for hotel stays and meals during the study, none of that $700 would count as taxable income under this new rule.

# Who This Affects

This primarily helps people who participate in clinical trials, which are research studies testing new medications, treatments, or medical procedures. These participants are often people with specific health conditions being studied, but can also include healthy volunteers. Currently, people in lower income brackets are hit hardest by this tax burden since the payment from a trial might represent a meaningful portion of their annual income. This change would make participating in medical research financially more attractive, which could help researchers recruit more participants for their studies.

The bill would apply to any payments received after December 31, 2023, and it specifically applies only to trials that meet the government's definition of an "approved clinical trial" under federal health law, so not every research study would qualify.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income certain compensation to clinical trial participants.

Kelly, Mike

 <p>This bill excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, amounts received as payment or reimbursement for participation in an approved clinical trial (i.e., a trial conducted for the prevention, detection, or treatment of cancer or other life-threatening disease or condition). This includes amounts paid or reimbursed for meals, lodging, or travel expenses.</p>