The EXPIRE Act of 2014 is a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain expiring provisions, including the 9% credit rate freeze for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC).
LIHTC provides a tax credit over a period of ten years after a housing facility occupied by low-income tenants is placed-in-service. In 2008, Congress adjusted the formula and set a minimum credit amount of 9%, based on the original credit rate of the program. The provision was to expire at the end of 2013, but was extended for housing credit dollars allocated before January 2014.
In April, the Senate Finance Committee led the effort to extend once again, this time until 2016, approving the “tax extenders” by bipartisan vote. Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., stated, “It makes no sense to let these incentives disappear without a comprehensive reform proposal to replace them when jobs, innovation and research, and people’s homes are on the line.”
In May, the Senate voted to advance the bill, but now it moves to the House. EXPIRE still has a long way to go, but for those of us committed to the affordable housing effort, it represents good news from the Hill!