Sponsor
Stephen Cohen
Representative · D-TN
Representative · D-TN
Creates a nonrefundable tax credit covering 50% of qualifying home lead hazard reduction costs with per‑unit caps and a $4,000 lifetime limit, effective 2025 and sunsetting end of 2028.
The bill makes lead‑hazard remediation much more affordable and verifiable—likely preventing childhood lead exposure and helping older, disadvantaged communities—while leaving gaps for the poorest renters, creating fiscal costs, and imposing tax/administrative tradeoffs for property owners and governments.
Children and families in older housing: the credit will substantially increase the likelihood that homes get lead abatement or interim controls, reducing childhood lead exposure and its lifelong IQ, learning, and behavioral harms.
Homeowners and landlords (and the renters who live in their units): a federal tax credit (50% up to specified yearly/lifetime limits) lowers out‑of‑pocket costs for eligible lead‑hazard reduction work, making remediation more affordable and encouraging more properties to be treated.
Low-income and minority communities in older housing: by subsidizing remediation in pre‑1978 housing stock, the policy targets environmental‑justice hotspots that disproportionately bear lead risks.
Low‑income renters and the poorest households: because the credit is structured around tax liability, often requires owner action/upfront spending, and excludes costs paid by grants, the people most at risk may get little or no immediate benefit.
Taxpayers/federal budget: creating or enlarging a lead‑abatement tax credit increases federal expenditures or reduces revenue, adding fiscal pressure (more so if structured as refundable).
Homeowners who claim the credit: the credit reduces the property's tax basis, which can raise future capital‑gains tax when the property is sold, increasing long‑term costs for owners who use the benefit.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for taxpayers who remove lead-based hazards.
Introduced December 17, 2025 by Stephen Cohen · Last progress December 17, 2025
Creates a new federal tax credit that pays 50% of qualified home lead hazard reduction costs for each eligible dwelling unit, subject to per-unit caps ($3,000 for abatement, $1,000 for interim controls) and a $4,000 lifetime cap per dwelling. The credit requires post‑work certification from a qualified inspector or risk assessor, disallows double‑claiming with state/local credits or funded work, reduces the property's tax basis by the credit amount, and expires for costs paid or incurred after December 31, 2028.