House committee amends H.479 — adds five‑year sunset on first‑generation homebuyer credit and removes municipal short‑term‑rental tax authority

The House Ways & Means Committee on March 19 approved amendments to H.479, a committee housing bill, that extend an existing down‑payment assistance tax credit, add a five‑year sunset to a first‑generation homebuyer tax credit and strike a provision that would have given municipalities authority to impose a 1% tax on short‑term rentals.

The changes were presented by Cameron Wood, Office of Legislative Counsel, who described the amendment as a combination of technical cleanups and two substantive changes: extending the down‑payment assistance program and adding a five‑year sunset for the first‑generation (first‑time) homebuyer tax credit; and removing the bill's section that would have allowed municipalities to implement a 1% short‑term rental tax.

The amendment replaces Section 6 of the committee bill, leaving the program language largely intact while extending the enrollment period, and inserts a new Section 6(a) that sunsets the first‑generation homebuyer tax credit five years after the effective date. Wood said the effective date language will be amended so the repeal for the first‑generation credit takes effect July 1, 2030. He also said the short‑term‑rental provision (Section 16 in the draft) is being removed and replaced with a "deleted" placeholder to avoid renumbering subsequent sections.

Why it matters: the committee discussed the bill's fiscal implications at length. James Duff of the…