{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s1106-116/featured_rent-relief-act-of-2019-1564683651.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s1106-116/featured_large_rent-relief-act-of-2019-1564683651.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s1106-116.png"},"introduced_on":"2019-04-10","title_override":"Should the Feds Give Refundable Tax Credits to Help People Whose Rent Exceeds 30% of Their Gross Income?","summary_override":"

This bill — the Rent Relief Act of 2019 — would create a refundable tax credit for individuals who pay rent for a principal residence that exceeds 30% of the individual's gross income for the taxable year. The amount of the credit would range from 25% to 100% of the excess rent, depending on the taxpayer’s gross income.

Households would be eligible for credits in the amount of following percentages at the corresponding gross income threshold:

Gross income < $25,000: 100%
Gross income between $25,000 and $50,000: 75%
Gross income between $50,000 and $75,000: 50%
Gross income between $75,000 and $100,000: 25%
Gross income over $100,000 (or $125,000 in a high-cost area): 0%

Rent that exceeds 100% of the small area fair market rent (including the utility allowance) for the residence could not be taken into account for the purpose of determining the amount of the credit.

For individuals who reside in government-subsidized housing, the bill would allow a credit equal to 1/12 of the rent paid by the taxpayer (and not subsidized under the program) during the year with respect to the residence.

To implement this bill, the Treasury Dept. would establish a program for making advance payments of the credit on a monthly basis.

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Thus, rather than helping low-income families, this bill will only further enrich landlords by allowing them to jack rents up even further. 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Chad

Should the Feds Give Refundable Tax Credits to Help People Whose Rent Exceeds 30% of Their Gross Income?