Senators Reject Tax Bill with Housing Credit Improvements

August 02, 2024

BY Juliana Bilowich

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LeadingAge had urged members to reach out to their Senators to remind them what's at stake for affordable housing and urge them to vote in support of the legislation.

The Senate failed to secure the 60 votes necessary to proceed with consideration of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which passed the House in January by a bi-partisan vote of 357 to 70. Among the bill's provisions are two improvements to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, which would increase the supply of affordable Low-Income Housing Tax Credit homes by 200,000 over the next ten years.

The first provision would restore the 12.5% increase in 9% Housing Credit authority the program suffered after a temporary increase expired in 2021 for 2023-2025. The second provision would lower the bond-financing threshold from 50% to 30% for 4% Housing Credit developments financed with bonds that have an issue date prior to 2026. This change would be particularly helpful in the 20 states whose private activity bond caps are oversubscribed.

About 30% of the nation's almost three million LIHTC units serve older adults, which are a key part of financing for the preservation and expansion of affordable housing. LeadingAge supports these provisions and will continue to work to enact a larger package of LIHTC program improvement and expansion proposals within the separate Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (H.R. 3238 and S. 1557).

Other provisions in the Tax Relief forAmerican Families and Workers Act would have expanded the child tax credit and other tax policies; these provisions, rather than LIHTC provisions, were the ones that garnered opposition to the bill by 44 Senators (48 Senators supported the bill).

LeadingAge had urged members to reach out to their Senators to remind them what's at stake for affordable housing and urge them to vote in support of the legislation.