Bill > H2506

This bill establishes a disaster emergency tax credit for individuals who own or rent a principal residence that is directly impacted by a Presidential Declaration of Emergency or Disaster, as authorized by the Stafford Act. To qualify, an individual must have applied for federal disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) and been denied relief. Additionally, the individual must be eligible for the earned income credit, which is a tax credit for low-to-moderate income working individuals and families. The credit is calculated as 25 percent of the net expenditure for replacing personal property, defined as durable items purchased directly due to the disaster and not covered by FEMA or the SBA, or $1,200, whichever is greater, with a maximum credit of $1,500. The bill also clarifies definitions for "residence," "tenant of residential property," and "personal property," and states that joint owners will share the credit proportionally to their ownership interest. Importantly, any credit received will not be counted as income when determining eligibility for other means-tested assistance programs. The Commissioner of the Department of Revenue will be responsible for creating the necessary rules and regulations to implement this act.