Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- H.R. 6784
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Taxation
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-12-17: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Last Updated
- 2026-01-21T16:02:47Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2025 aims to encourage homeowners and property owners to safely remove or reduce lead-based hazards from older homes. By providing a financial incentive through the tax system, it seeks to protect children from lead poisoning, which can cause developmental delays, behavioral issues, learning difficulties, and in severe cases, death. The bill highlights that lead hazards affect millions of U.S. housing units built before 1978 and notes limitations in existing federal programs due to funding shortages.
Key Provisions
- Tax Credit Introduction: Adds a new Section 36C to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), offering a non-refundable tax credit equal to 50% of qualified costs for lead hazard reduction activities in eligible homes. Taxpayers can elect to apply costs to the prior tax year.
- Eligible Activities and Costs:
- Assessment by a certified risk assessor to identify lead hazards (e.g., paint, dust, soil, or pipes).
- Full abatement measures, such as removing or enclosing lead sources, replacing surfaces, or covering soil, performed by certified supervisors.
- Interim control measures (temporary fixes like cleaning, painting, or containment) that last over 10 years, if done by qualified contractors.
- Related costs for preparation, cleanup, disposal, testing, and temporary relocation of residents.
- Costs cannot include those funded by grants or government aid.
- Dollar Limits:
- Up to $3,000 per dwelling unit for abatement activities (50% credit means up to $1,500 credit).
- Up to $1,000 per dwelling unit for interim measures (up to $500 credit).
- Lifetime cap of $4,000 in total credits per unit across all years.
- Reduced if state or local tax credits already apply to the same costs.
- Eligible Properties: Any U.S. dwelling unit (e.g., house, apartment) built before 1978, regardless of federal subsidies. "Dwelling unit" means a home or part of a home used as a residence.
- Requirements:
- Work must be done by certified professionals (e.g., lead abatement supervisors, qualified contractors trained in lead-safe practices).
- Post-work documentation from a certified inspector or assessor confirming hazards are reduced to safe levels, per federal or state standards set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- Property basis (tax value) reduces by the credit amount; no double-dipping with deductions for the same costs.
- Adjustments and Timeline:
- Dollar limits inflate annually after 2025 based on cost-of-living changes.
- Applies to costs incurred after December 31, 2024; expires for costs after December 31, 2028.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- New Tax Incentive: Creates a first-of-its-kind federal tax credit specifically for lead hazard reduction, amending the IRC by inserting Section 36C after Section 36B (premium tax credit). This expands subpart C of IRC Part IV, which covers other non-refundable personal tax credits.
- Conforming Updates: Adds the credit to lists in U.S. Code for advance payment eligibility and updates the IRC table of sections.
- No direct changes to existing lead abatement laws (e.g., HUD/EPA regulations), but it integrates tax relief with those standards by requiring certified compliance.
Potential Impacts
- On Citizens: Provides financial relief to homeowners and landlords, potentially lowering out-of-pocket costs for lead removal and improving home safety. This could reduce childhood lead poisoning rates, benefiting families in older, low-income, or urban areas with high hazard prevalence (e.g., 22 million affected units nationwide).
- On Government Agencies: The IRS will administer claims, increasing workload for verifying documentation and processing credits, which may raise federal tax expenditures (revenue forgone). HUD and EPA will consult on definitions and standards but gain no new funding; it supplements underfunded programs like Lead Hazard Control grants, which have aided only ~400,000 homes since 1993.
- On International Relations: No direct impact, as the bill focuses on domestic housing and public health.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Homeowners and Renters: Primary beneficiaries, especially those in pre-1978 homes, who can claim credits for remediation.
- Families with Children: Indirectly protected from lead exposure risks.
- Certified Professionals: Risk assessors, abatement supervisors, inspectors, and trained contractors, who will see increased demand for services.
- Government Entities: IRS (tax administration), HUD and EPA (standard-setting and consultation), and state/local programs (coordination on credits and evaluations).
- Low-Income Communities: Disproportionately affected by lead hazards, potentially gaining more accessible abatement options.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Ensures compliance through strict documentation and certification requirements, preventing fraud; includes anti-double-benefit rules to avoid overlapping tax advantages. Relies on existing HUD/EPA definitions for "lead-based hazards" (surfaces with lead paint over federal limits) and "occupant protection" (safe temporary relocation).
- Constitutional: No apparent challenges; uses Congress's taxing and spending powers under Article I to promote public health without infringing on states' rights (allows state/local program integration).
- Political: Promotes preventive health via tax policy rather than direct spending, potentially appealing across party lines for child welfare. Short-term (4-year) sunset provision allows future evaluation; could influence broader housing safety debates but raises concerns over IRS enforcement burdens.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Recent Actions
- 2025-12-17: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- 2025-12-17: Introduced in House
- 2025-12-17: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2025 — issued 2025-12-17 — PDF (10 pages)