On December 16, 2019, congressional leaders released the end of the year tax package, Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019. This bill includes federal tax breaks for brewers, distillers, churches with parking lots, and some wind energy producers. However, last minute objections ended the possibility of any housing credit provisions from being incorporated – specifically the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act – to reduce the scope of the bill in order to deliver a “skinny package.”
On the bright side, the FY 2020 spending bill passed by both House and Senate leader, and signed by President Trump, will provide increase spending for federal housing programs. The budget plan includes:
- $1.35 billion for HOME, up from $1.25 billion in fiscal 2019;
- $3.43 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program, up from $3.37 billion;
- $2.78 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, up from $2.64 billion;
- $2.87 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund, up from about $2.78 billion;
- $4.55 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund, down from $4.65 billion;
- $175 million for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, up from $150 million;
- $793 million for the Sec. 202 elderly housing program, up from $678 million;
- $202 million for the Sec. 811 housing for persons with disabilities program, up from $184 million;
- $40 million for USDA Sec. 515 rental housing direct loans, no change from the fiscal 2019 enacted amount;
- $12.1 million for Sec. 515 subsidies, up from $9 million;
- $1.38 billion for USDA Sec. 521 rental assistance, up from $1.33 billion; and
- $60 million for USDA multifamily preservation and revitalization, up from $51.5 million.