Low- and middle-income renters may soon be eligible for tax credits
Rent-burdened tenants with a household income of less than $125,000 will be eligible for tax credits, if a new federal bill proposed by Joseph Crowley, chairman of the Democratic Caucus and Queens County Democratic Party , is signed into law. The Rent Relief Act would make individuals across the country with a household income of less than $125,000 whose primary residence is rental housing, and who pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent, eligible for one of two kinds of tax credits. The first would be a refundable tax credit for those living in non-subsidized housing within the fair market value for rentals. The size of the credit would be determined by taking into account the household’s annual income, the total amount spent annually on rent, and a stimulated rate of the federal government’s established fair market annual rent caps . The second would be available for individuals who live in government- subsidized rental housing like Section 8 or NYCHA, and allow them ...