Committee briefed on Senate’s one‑year renter credit expansion, estimated $4 million cost

The Ways & Means committee received a briefing on a Senate amendment to H.949 that would temporarily expand the state renter credit for one claim year by raising the credit rate from 10% of HUD fair market rent to 12.5% and increasing the statutory cap from $2,500 to $3,250.

John, of the Office of Legislative Council, walked lawmakers through the amendment and the statutory language, saying, “this is a 1 year expansion of the renter credit” and explaining that the proposal both increases the percentage used to compute the credit and lifts the statutory cap. He described how eligibility is defined in statute (domiciled in the state for the taxable year, not claimed as a dependent, and renting at least six calendar months) and how statewide income bands determine whether a claimant receives the full benchmarked credit or a proportionally…