Sponsors (2)
The bill incentivizes resilient investment in working waterfronts with a targeted 30% tax credit and phased-financing rules, but strict eligibility, a $300K cap, a 10-year limit, nonrefundable status, and added compliance costs reduce how much and how quickly many businesses can benefit.
Small business owners and other taxpayers investing in qualifying working-waterfront projects receive a 30% tax credit (capped at $300,000 per taxpayer), lowering upfront project costs and improving project economics.
Working waterfront properties and nearby communities benefit from stronger ICC-based building standards for projects, increasing resilience and reducing future flood and erosion damage risk.
Taxpayers can claim the credit for qualifying progress expenditures under special rules, enabling phased project financing and improving cash-flow flexibility for multi-stage builds.
Loss-making or newly formed small businesses cannot fully benefit because the credit is nonrefundable and requires tax liability to use, limiting access for firms without taxable income.
Stronger design, code compliance, and Secretary-prescribed methods increase upfront design and construction costs and administrative burden to qualify for the credit, potentially offsetting some of the financial benefit.
The $300,000 per-taxpayer cap (aggregated across related employers) may leave larger or capital-intensive projects with limited tax relief, forcing more out-of-pocket spending or scaling back scope.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a nonrefundable 30% tax credit (max $300,000 per taxpayer, inflation‑indexed after 2026) for investments in qualifying working waterfront disaster mitigation projects.
Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit for hazard mitigation projects in connection with certain working waterfront property.
Introduced August 1, 2025 by Chellie Pingree · Last progress August 1, 2025
Creates a new federal tax credit that pays 30% of qualified investments in “working waterfront disaster mitigation” projects, with a per-taxpayer cap of $300,000 (indexed for inflation starting after 2026). The credit is nonrefundable, subject to aggregation rules for related taxpayers, excludes certain rehabilitation expenditures, and includes a rolling 10-year restriction that generally prevents a taxpayer from claiming the credit more than once in any 10-year period.