(35 ILCS 5/209)
    Sec. 209. Tax Credit for "TECH-PREP" youth vocational programs.
    (a) Beginning with tax years ending on or after June 30, 1995, every taxpayer who is primarily engaged in manufacturing is allowed a credit against the tax imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 in an amount equal to 20% of the taxpayer's direct payroll expenditures for which a credit has not already been claimed under subsection (j) of Section 201 of this Act, in the tax year for which the credit is claimed, for cooperative secondary school youth vocational programs in Illinois which are certified as qualifying TECH-PREP programs by the State Board of Education because the programs prepare students to be technically skilled workers and meet the performance standards of business and industry and the admission standards of higher education. The credit may also be claimed for personal services rendered to the taxpayer by a TECH-PREP student or instructor (i) which would be subject to the provisions of Article 7 of this Act if the student or instructor was an employee of the taxpayer and (ii) for which no credit under this Section is claimed by another taxpayer.
    (b) If the amount of the credit exceeds the tax liability for the year, the excess may be carried forward and applied to the tax liability of the 2 taxable years following the excess credit year. The credit shall be applied to the earliest year for which there is a tax liability. If there are credits from more than one tax year that are available to offset a liability, the earlier credit shall be applied first.
    (c) A taxpayer claiming the credit provided by this Section shall maintain and record such information regarding its participation in a qualifying TECH-PREP program as the Department may require by regulation. When claiming the credit provided by this Section, the taxpayer shall provide such information regarding the taxpayer's participation in a qualifying TECH-PREP program as the Department of Revenue may require by regulation.
    (d) This Section does not apply to those programs with national standards that have been or in the future are approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship Training or any federal agency succeeding to the responsibilities of that Bureau.
(Source: P.A. 92-846, eff. 8-23-02.)