Jun. 23, 2025
HARRISBURG – The House of Representatives today on a unanimous vote passed legislation that would exempt income tax on length-of-service awards for volunteer firefighters, according to state Reps. Joe Kerwin and Justin Fleming, who introduced the bipartisan bill.
“Firefighters answer the call 24/7 to protect our communities. There are great demands on their time, and they shouldn’t be taxed on the income that departments use as a retention incentive,” Kerwin, R-Dauphin, said.
House Bill 1306 would exclude contributions under length-of-service award programs from the definition of income for purposes of the Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax.
"Every day, our volunteer firefighters give their time and put themselves in danger to safeguard our community's health, safety, and property," said Fleming, D-Dauphin. "Our bill keeps the hard-earned money these men and women deserve in their pockets."
Some fire companies are choosing to offer length-of-service award programs to volunteers who remain with the fire company for a specified amount of time. It is one of the tools departments are using to recruit and retain personnel during an ongoing, statewide firefighter shortage.
More than 90% of Pennsylvania’s 2,400 fire companies are volunteer based.
Kerwin and Fleming introduced the bill when they learned that contributions made by a fire company to a volunteer firefighter through a length-of-service award program can currently be considered compensation and taxed as income. Officials with Lower Paxton Township’s volunteer fire departments raised the issue with the representatives, who jointly serve the municipality.
House Bill 1306 now goes to the Senate for its consideration.