H.R. 10049: Visitable Inclusive Tax credits for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act

This bill would change the federal low-income housing tax credit program to encourage more affordable housing that is designed for older adults and people with disabilities.

What the bill is trying to do

• Increase the amount of tax credits available to states so they can support more affordable housing projects.
• Push states to use those tax credits for housing that is more accessible and better suited to an aging population and to people with disabilities.
• Increase guidance and technical assistance around how the housing credit program can meet these housing needs.

Main changes to the tax credit program

The bill would raise the amount of low-income housing tax credits each state can allocate. In practical terms, that means states would have more federal tax-credit capacity to support more housing projects. The state allocation formula would be updated starting in 2026, and the amounts would be adjusted for inflation in later years.

Extra credit for disability-accessible housing

The bill would create a bigger tax credit benefit for certain apartment buildings if at least half of the low-income units are designed for people with mental, physical, sensory, or developmental disabilities. To qualify for the higher credit:

• The units must meet specified accessibility design standards.
• The building must be in a census block group with above-average walkability, or next to two or more such areas.
• The state housing credit agency must determine that the extra credit is needed to make the project financially feasible.

For the qualifying portion of the building, the bill would treat the project as if it had a 50 percent larger eligible cost basis for tax credit purposes, which would increase the size of the credit.

State planning requirement

The bill would also require state housing agencies to include a rule in their qualified allocation plans so that, over any three-year period, at least 40 percent of the housing units receiving credits are in projects designated to serve households with people with disabilities. Units in projects that meet both of the bill’s disability-related criteria would count twice toward that percentage.

When the changes would take effect

• The higher state allocation amounts would apply starting in calendar year 2026.
• The extra credit for disability-accessible projects would apply to allocations made after December 31, 2026.
• The new state planning requirement would apply to allocation plans adopted after December 31, 2026.

Relevant Companies

• None found