Enhance Effectiveness of LIHTC

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House Bill Would Boost Effectiveness of Low Income Housing Tax Credit

Filed in Capitol Hill, Multifamily by NAHB Now on March 21, 2017 • 0 Comments

House Ways and Means Committee members Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) today introduced the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, legislation that contains a number of changes to enhance the effectiveness of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

The measure is a companion bill to legislation recently introduced in the Senate by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

Reps. Tiberi and Neal have been strong LIHTC supporters and this legislation shows their continued commitment to the program and its mission of housing low-income Americans. NAHB will continue to work with the lawmakers to move this bill forward.

Of note to the housing community, the bill would:

Establish a permanent minimum 4% credit floor for the acquisition of existing properties.
Allow the 60% area median income (AMI) ceiling to apply to the average of all units. Tenants with incomes up to 80% of AMI could be served as long as the whole project remains at the 60% average.
Prohibit state Qualified Allocation Plans from requiring, or granting additional points for, local approval or financial contributions.
Allow states to provide a 30% basis boost for bond-financed projects.

These provisions are also part of legislation recently introduced in the Senate by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

More details on the House bill can be found here.

For additional information, contact J.P. Delmore at 800-368-5242 x8412.

Introduce Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act

Representatives Tiberi and Neal Introduce Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act

Posted: 3/22/2017

Late yesterday, senior Ways and Means Committee member Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2017, H.R. 1661. The bill is companion legislation to the bill Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced earlier this month.

While the House bill does not contain the 50 percent phased-in cap increase, which is part of the Senate version of the bill, it includes all the other provisions of the Senate legislation. It would significantly strengthen the Housing Credit program by providing increased flexibility, simplifying program requirements, supporting the preservation of existing affordable housing, and facilitating Housing Credit development in challenging markets and for hard-to-reach populations. Importantly, it includes provisions that would significantly strengthen the 4 percent Credit and tax-exempt bond portion of the program by setting a minimum 4 percent rate for bond-financed units and providing states with the authority to give a 30 percent basis boost to those units. The only other difference between the House and Senate bills is a modification to the provision regarding taking certain energy tax credits for Housing Credit properties. Specifically, both the Senate and House bills would eliminate the basis reduction associated with taking the Section 48 investment credit used to finance solar panels; however, only the Senate bill also eliminates the basis reduction associated with the Section 45L Energy Efficient Home Credit and Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction. This section-by-section description of the bill provides more details on the bill’s provisions.

Tiberi and Neal were joined by the following House members as original cosponsors of the legislation: Mike Thompson (D-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Danny Davis (D-IL), Erik Paulsen (R-MN), Jason Smith (R-MO), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), John Faso (R-NY), John Katko (R-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), James Renacci (R-OH), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Patrick Meehan (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), and David Reichert (R-WA). Of the 18 original cosponsors, including Tiberi and Neal, 15 are members of the Ways and Means Committee.

Contact NCSHA’s Jennifer Schwartz with questions.