House Bill Would Raise, Adjust LIHTC Allocation Formulas

The LIHTC would be increased and its allocation formula adjusted under a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 6542, the Restoring Tax Credits for Affordable Housing Act, introduced by Representative James E. Clyburn (D-SC) would increase credit amounts and percentages while modifying allocation formulas including the discount rate, effective for calendar years after 2018. Rep. Clyburn also announced that he would be cosponsoring a package of affordable housing bills.

The proposed legislation would increase the per-capita LIHTC allocation from $2.70 to $2.90 and the small-state minimum LIHTC allocation from $3.1 million to $3.365 million. The legislation would also change the discount rate formula and add a one-time increase of 16 percent to the applicable percentage for the LIHTC. The legislation’s intent is to restore the 235,000 affordable housing units projected to be lost over the next 10 years as a result of the GOP’s tax reform efforts.

Clyburn also announced his co-sponsorship of the following bills:

• H.R.1146, Equal Opportunity for Residential Representation Act, which creates a new pilot program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide grants for legal and support services to low-income families facing evictions or tenancy or fair housing disputes;
• H.R.1661, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2017, which strengthens the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit by giving states greater flexibility, making financing more predictable, improving development in rural communities, increasing the ability to serve extremely low-income tenants, and supporting the preservation of existing affordable housing;
• H.R.4185, the Access to Affordable Housing Act, which increases the state allocations for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit;
• H.R.4999, Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act, which cracks down on some of the worst abuses of the payday lending industry to ensure that consumers have control of their own bank accounts and money, increases transparency, and prohibits anonymous payday lending; and
• H.Con.Res.74, affirming the right of all renters to a safe, affordable, and decent home, which is a concurrent resolution expressing support for fully funding affordable housing efforts across federal agencies, strengthening fair housing laws, expanding renters’ rights, and affirming that housing is a basic human right.