Bipartisan Companion LIHTC Bill Introduced in Senate

Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) have introduced NAHB-supported legislation that would improve the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and allow builders to increase production of badly needed affordable rental housing.

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025, legislation introduced earlier this month in the House by Reps. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), addresses the need to boost housing production to ease the nation’s housing affordability crisis. The bill would help finance more than 2 million additional multifamily units over the next decade.

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would:

• Increase 9% LIHTC allocations, which are generally reserved for new construction, by 50%.
• Prohibit states from requiring special approvals that treat affordable rental housing differently from any other multifamily project.
• Make historic tax credit projects in rural and Native American areas eligible for an increased credit from the current 20% to 30%.
• Lower the 50% “financed by” threshold to 25% for private activity bonds to enable more bond deals. Private activity bonds are tax-exempt bonds issued on behalf of a state or local government to provide special financing benefits for qualified projects.

Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are also co-sponsoring the Senate bill.

NAHB will urge Congress to move quickly to pass this legislation.