I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 764 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for 
employer-provided employee housing assistance, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 31, 2017 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
incentives for employer-provided employee housing assist-
ance, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing America’s 
Workforce Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Resurgent housing markets are pricing out 
low- and moderate-income families and are pro-
ducing few lower-cost units. 
(2) In many markets, housing costs have far 
outgrown the rate of inflation and the gap between 
wages and housing costs is widening, pushing afford-
able housing beyond the reach of an increasing num-
ber of working families. 
(3) Despite some of the lowest mortgage rates 
in our Nation’s history, millions of working families 
still find it extremely difficult to rent or purchase a 
home. Many workers who fill jobs that provide the 
backbone of our communities—teachers, firefighters, 
and police officers—often cannot afford to live in the 
communities in which they serve. 
(4) The United States Department of Housing 
and Urban Development (HUD) considers housing 
affordable when a family spends no more than 30 
percent of its monthly income on rent and utilities. 
Entry-level wage earners with annual incomes of up 
to $30,000 spending no more than 30 percent of 
their income on rent can only afford to pay up to 
$750 for rent. In the high job growth areas, such 
rents are not readily available. 
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(5) Affordable housing is the key to creating 
and sustaining healthy, economically vibrant commu-
nities. 
(6) The lack of affordable housing across the 
United States has been shown to cause or contribute 
to labor shortages. 
(7) Under employer-assisted housing (EAH) 
programs employers provide much needed housing 
assistance to their employees. 
(8) EAH programs are innovative local solu-
tions that have increased affordable housing oppor-
tunities for thousands of working families across 
America while benefiting the economy. 
(9) According to findings of the Rutgers Uni-
versity American Affordable Housing Institute, em-
ployer-assisted housing increases productivity by re-
ducing commuting time as well as saves money on 
recruitment and retention. 
(10) The future growth of EAH programs will 
remain dependent upon increasing individual em-
ployer knowledge and implementation of these pro-
grams. 
(11) EAH programs will not solve the Nation’s 
housing problems but such programs do seek to ad-
dress the challenge from a new perspective and allow 
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the private sector to play a direct role in promoting 
housing affordability. Additionally, EAH programs 
can help to promote redevelopment and reinvestment 
in distressed communities. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To expand affordable housing opportunities 
to low- and moderate-income working individuals 
and families. 
(2) To encourage employers, counties, and mu-
nicipalities to invest in employer-assisted housing 
programs. 
SEC. 3. TAX CREDIT FOR EMPLOYER-PROVIDED EMPLOYEE 
HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 45S. EMPLOYER-PROVIDED EMPLOYEE HOUSING AS-
SISTANCE. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, 
the employer-provided employee housing assistance 
credit determined under this section for any taxable 
year is an amount equal to 50 percent of the quali-
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fied housing expenses paid by the employer during 
the taxable year if such expenses are furnished pur-
suant to a program described in subsection (b). 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR SMALL BUSINESS EM-
PLOYERS.— 
‘‘(A) In the case of an employer that is a 
small business employer, paragraph (1) shall be 
applied by substituting ‘100 percent’ for ‘50 
percent’. 
‘‘(B) SMALL
BUSINESS
EMPLOYER.—For 
purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘small 
business employer’ means an employer that is a 
small business concern (within the meaning of 
section 3 of the Small Business Act) which— 
‘‘(i) is engaged in a trade or business, 
and 
‘‘(ii) employs one or more individuals 
in such trade or business. 
‘‘(3) PER EMPLOYEE LIMITATION.— 
‘‘(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
aggregate 
amount of qualified housing expenses taken into 
account with respect to any eligible employee 
for any taxable year shall not exceed, when 
added to any qualified housing expenses taken 
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into account for any preceding taxable year 
with respect to such employee— 
‘‘(i) in the case of homeownership as-
sistance, the lesser of $10,000 or 6 percent 
of the purchase price of such employee’s 
principal residence, and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of rental assistance, 
$5,000. 
‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 
taxable year beginning after 2017, each 
dollar amount referred to in subparagraph 
(A) shall be increased by an amount equal 
to— 
‘‘(I) such dollar amount, multi-
plied by 
‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust-
ment determined under section 26 
U.S.C. 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in 
which the taxable year begins, by sub-
stituting ‘2016’ for ‘1992’. 
‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If any amount as 
adjusted under clause (i) is not a multiple 
of $50, such amount shall be rounded to 
the nearest multiple of $50. 
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‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—For pur-
poses of this section, a housing assistance program is a 
separate written plan of an employer for the exclusive ben-
efit of such employer’s employees to provide the qualified 
housing expenses of such employees and which meets re-
quirements similar to the requirements of paragraphs (2) 
through (6) of section 127(b). 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible em-
ployee’ means any individual— 
‘‘(i) employed by an employer, 
‘‘(ii) whose household income does not 
exceed 120 percent of the area median 
gross income (adjusted for household size) 
for the metropolitan statistical area (as de-
fined in section 143(k)(2)(B)) in which the 
housing is located, and 
‘‘(iii) in the case of homeownership 
assistance, who is a qualified homebuyer. 
If the housing with respect to such employee is 
located in a high housing cost area (as defined 
in section 143(f)(5)(C)), the income limitation 
under subparagraph (B) shall be adjusted (but 
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not reduced) by the application of the rule 
under section 143(f)(5) by substituting ‘120 
percent’ for ‘115 percent’ in subparagraph 
(B)(I) thereof. 
‘‘(B) CERTAIN
EMPLOYEES
NOT
ELIGI-
BLE.—The term ‘eligible employee’ shall not in-
clude— 
‘‘(i) any individual described in sub-
paragraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 
51(i)(1), and 
‘‘(ii) any 5-percent owner (as defined 
in section 416(i)(1)(B)). 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED HOUSING EXPENSES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 
housing expenses’ means rental assistance or 
homeownership assistance towards the lease or 
purchase of housing. 
‘‘(B) RENTAL
ASSISTANCE.—The term 
‘rental assistance’ means assistance with secu-
rity deposits and rental payments. 
‘‘(C) HOMEOWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE.—The 
term ‘homeownership assistance’ means assist-
ance for the purchase of a principal residence, 
including— 
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‘‘(i) payment of qualified acquisition 
costs (as defined in section 72(t)(8)(C)), 
‘‘(ii) providing (or reducing the costs 
of) financing, including the funding of a 
permanent interest rate buydown, 
‘‘(iii) contributions to second mort-
gage pools or low interest loan programs 
accessible to eligible employees, 
‘‘(iv) mortgage guarantee programs 
for the repayment of any loans in default 
that are secured by an eligible employee 
and guaranteed by the employer, 
‘‘(v) contributions to Individual Devel-
opment Accounts (within the meaning of 
section 404(h) of the Social Security Act) 
which are designated exclusively for the 
purchase of a home, and 
‘‘(vi) contributions to homebuyer edu-
cation and homeownership counseling of el-
igible employees. 
‘‘(3) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘prin-
cipal residence’ has the same meaning as when used 
in section 121, except such term shall not include a 
residence with a purchase price exceeding the great-
er of— 
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‘‘(A) 90 percent of the average area pur-
chase price applicable to the residence, or 
‘‘(B) 3.5 times the family income limit ap-
plicable to the eligible employee under para-
graph (1)(A)(ii). 
‘‘(4) QUALIFIED HOMEBUYER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 
homebuyer’ means any individual if such indi-
vidual (and if married, such individual’s spouse) 
had no present ownership in a principal resi-
dence during the 3-year period ending on the 
date of the purchase of the principal residence 
to which this section applies. 
‘‘(B) ONE TIME ONLY.—If an individual is 
treated as a qualified homebuyer with respect to 
any principal residence, such individual may not 
be treated as a qualified homebuyer with re-
spect to any other principal residence. 
‘‘(5) APPLICABLE RULES.—Rules similar to the 
rules under section 127(c)(5)(A) shall apply for the 
purposes of this section. 
‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYERS NOT ABLE TO 
USE ENTIRE CREDIT.— 
‘‘(1) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—Except as oth-
erwise provided in this subsection, any credit allow-
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able under subsection (a) to any employer described 
in paragraph (2)(C) may be transferred as provided 
in this subsection and the determination as to 
whether the credit is allowable shall be made without 
regard to the tax-exempt status of the employer. 
‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF CREDIT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employer described 
in subparagraph (C) may transfer any credit to 
which paragraph (1) applies through an assign-
ment to any other person. Such transfer may be 
revoked only with the consent of the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 
prescribe such regulations as necessary to en-
sure that any credit described in subparagraph 
(A) is assigned once and not reassigned by such 
other person. 
‘‘(C) EMPLOYER
DESCRIBED.—An em-
ployer is described in this subparagraph if the 
employer is— 
‘‘(i) a State or political subdivision 
thereof, the District of Columbia, a posses-
sion of the United States, or an agency or 
instrumentality of any of the foregoing, 
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‘‘(ii) an Indian tribal government 
(within the meaning of section 7871) or 
any agency or instrumentality thereof, or 
‘‘(iii) any entity exempt from taxation 
under section 501(a). 
‘‘(D) TRANSFER PROCEEDS TREATED AS 
ARISING FROM ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT FUNC-
TION.—Any proceeds derived by a person de-
scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (C) 
from the transfer under subparagraph (A) of 
any credit to which paragraph (1) applies shall 
be treated as arising from the exercise of an es-
sential government function. 
‘‘(E) CREDIT NOT INCOME.—Any transfer 
under subparagraph (A) of any credit to which 
paragraph (1) applies shall not be treated as in-
come for purposes of section 501(c)(12).’’. 
(b) CREDIT ALLOWED AS PART OF GENERAL BUSI-
NESS CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 (defining current year business credit) is 
amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (35), 
by striking the period at the end of paragraph (36) and 
inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
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‘‘(37) the employer-provided employee housing 
assistance credit determined under section 45S(a).’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Subsection (c) of section 196 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end of paragraph (13), by striking the period 
at the end of paragraph (14) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, 
and by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(15) the employer-provided employee housing 
assistance credit determined under section 45S(a).’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subpart D of part 
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘Sec. 45S. Employer-provided employee housing assistance.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2016. 
SEC. 4. EXCLUSION FROM INCOME OF EMPLOYER-PRO-
VIDED EMPLOYEE HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap-
ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
items specifically excluded from gross income) is amended 
by inserting after section 139F the following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 139G. EMPLOYEE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Gross income of an eligible 
employee does not include amounts paid or incurred 
by the employer of such employee for qualified hous-
ing expenses provided to the employee if the assist-
ance is furnished pursuant to a program described 
in subsection (b). 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.— 
‘‘(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
aggregate 
amount of qualified housing expenses which 
may be excluded under paragraph (1) with re-
spect to any eligible employee for any taxable 
year shall not exceed, when added to any quali-
fied housing expenses excluded in any preceding 
taxable year with respect to such employee— 
‘‘(i) in the case of homeownership as-
sistance, the lesser of $10,000 or 6 percent 
of the purchase price of such employee’s 
principal residence, and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of rental assistance, 
$5,000. 
‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 
taxable year beginning after 2017, each 
dollar amount referred to in subparagraph 
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(A) shall be increased by an amount equal 
to— 
‘‘(I) such dollar amount, multi-
plied by 
‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust-
ment determined under section 26 
U.S.C. 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in 
which the taxable year begins, by sub-
stituting ‘2016’ for ‘1992’. 
‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If any amount as 
adjusted under clause (i) is not a multiple 
of $50, such amount shall be rounded to 
the nearest multiple of $50. 
‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—For pur-
poses of this section, a housing assistance program is a 
separate written plan of an employer for the exclusive ben-
efit of such employer’s employees to provide the qualified 
housing expenses of such employees and which meets re-
quirements similar to the requirements of paragraphs (2) 
through (6) of section 127(b). 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS; SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes 
of this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any term used in section 
45S which is also used in this section shall have the 
same meaning as given such term by section 45S. 
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‘‘(2) APPLICABLE RULES.—Rules similar to the 
rules under section 127(c)(5)(A) shall apply for pur-
poses of this section. 
‘‘(3) BASIS
ADJUSTMENT.—For purposes of 
this subtitle, if an exclusion is allowed under sub-
section (a) with respect to a residence, the basis of 
such residence shall be reduced by the amount of the 
exclusion.’’. 
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (d)(1) 
of section 6039D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(relating to returns and records with respect to certain 
fringe benefit plans) is amended by striking ‘‘or 137’’ and 
inserting ‘‘137, or 139G’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) The table of sections for part III of sub-
chapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 139F the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 139G. Employee housing assistance programs.’’. 
(2) Subsection (a) of section 1016 of such Code 
(relating to adjustments to basis) is amended by 
striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (36), by 
striking the period at the end of paragraph (37) and 
inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
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‘‘(38) in the case of a residence with respect to 
which amounts were excluded from income under 
section 139G, to the extent provided in section 
139G(c)(3).’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning Decem-
ber 31, 2016. 
SEC. 5. GRANTS TO COVER EMPLOYER-ASSISTED HOUSING 
PROGRAM COSTS. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award a 
grant to an eligible entity to pay— 
(A) the operating costs of administering an 
employer-assisted housing program; 
(B) for technical assistance provided by 
the eligible entity to an employer in connection 
with such a program; and 
(C) for costs associated with promoting, 
publicizing, or otherwise attempting to dis-
tribute information relating to such a program. 
(2) DURATION.—Grants in an annual aggregate 
total of not more than $5,000,000 may be awarded 
under this subsection during each of fiscal years 
2017, 2018, and 2019. 
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(3) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall award 
grants under this section on a competitive basis. 
(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, an entity shall demonstrate that 
it is— 
(1) a nonprofit housing organization with a rel-
evant mission and demonstrated track record in 
housing counseling or employer-assisted housing con-
tracted by an employer to assist the employer in es-
tablishing or maintaining an employer-assisted hous-
ing program; or 
(2) a city, county, town, township, parish, vil-
lage, hamlet, or other general purpose political sub-
division of a State that seeks to establish or main-
tain, or otherwise participate in an employer-assisted 
housing program for its own employees. 
(c) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity seeking a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require. 
(d) LIMITATION
ON USE
OF FUNDS.—A grant 
awarded to an eligible entity under this section shall be 
used only for the purposes described under subsection (a). 
(e) REPORTS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity receiving 
a grant under this section shall annually prepare 
and submit to the Secretary a report that describes 
the— 
(A) amount of grant funds expended dur-
ing the year; 
(B) total amount— 
(i) of funds expended during the year 
to administer an employer-assisted housing 
program; and 
(ii) of down payment assistance pro-
vided by such a program; 
(C) total number of employees utilizing 
such a program; 
(D) number of employees utilizing such a 
program— 
(i) who are first-time homebuyers; 
(ii) who are previous homeowners; and 
(iii) who live in high-cost housing 
areas; 
(E) average— 
(i) income of employees utilizing such 
a program; 
(ii) age of employees utilizing such a 
program; and 
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(iii) cost of a home purchased under 
such a program; 
(F) ethnicity of employees utilizing such a 
program; and 
(G) number of housing units affected by 
such a program. 
(2) CLEARINGHOUSE AND DISSEMINATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall establish a national clearinghouse, 
including a website, designed— 
(i) to provide information about em-
ployer-assisted housing programs to— 
(I) Federal, State, and local gov-
ernment entities; and 
(II) 
interested 
groups, 
busi-
nesses, persons, and organizations; 
and 
(ii) to collect and disseminate the in-
formation gathered from the reports re-
quired under paragraph (1). 
(B) WEBPOSTING.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that— 
(i) each report submitted under para-
graph (1) is posted to the website of the 
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national clearinghouse established under 
subparagraph (A); and 
(ii) the website of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development provides 
a hyperlink to such reports on the website 
of the national clearinghouse. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 
(2) NONPROFIT HOUSING ORGANIZATION.—The 
term ‘‘nonprofit housing organization’’ means any 
organization that— 
(A) the Internal Revenue Service has ruled 
is exempt from income taxation under para-
graph (3), (4), or (5) of section 501(c) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 
(B) has as its stated purpose to produce, 
maintain, operate, or promote affordable hous-
ing. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019 to carry out this sec-
tion. 
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SEC. 6. EVALUATION OF EMPLOYER-ASSISTED HOUSING 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A study of employer-assisted pro-
grams shall be carried out in accordance with subsection 
(b) for the purposes of evaluating the effects of the tax 
benefits provided under sections 3 and 4 and the grant 
program established under section 5 on— 
(1) such programs; and 
(2) the private sector resources leveraged to 
further fund such programs. 
(b) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States (in this section referred to as the 
‘‘Comptroller General’’) shall conduct the study re-
quired under subsection (a). 
(2) 
REQUIREMENTS.—The 
study 
required 
under subsection (a) shall include an analysis and 
summary of— 
(A) the total number of— 
(i) employers participating in em-
ployer-assisted housing programs; 
(ii) States that have enacted em-
ployer-assisted housing program legisla-
tion; and 
(iii) States considering enacting such 
legislation; 
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(B) the extent to which Federal funds are 
being used to support employer-assisted housing 
programs; 
(C) the size and nature of existing Federal, 
State, and private employer-assisted housing 
programs; 
(D) the types of assistance offered to em-
ployees under employer-assisted housing pro-
grams; 
(E) the distribution of employers offering 
employer-assisted housing programs, including 
a review of the— 
(i) geographic distribution of such em-
ployers; 
(ii) industry distribution of such em-
ployers; and 
(iii) size distribution of such employ-
ers; 
(F) the extent to which employer-assisted 
housing programs are located in ‘‘high-cost’’ 
housing markets; 
(G) the extent to which employers are able 
to, and have made, use of the tax benefits pro-
vided under this Act; 
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(H) the information contained in the re-
ports submitted under section 5(e); and 
(I) any other information that the Comp-
troller General determines would be relevant 
and helpful to the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development (in this section referred to 
as the ‘‘Secretary’’) in evaluating the effects of 
the tax benefits provided under sections 3 and 
4 and the grant program established under sec-
tion 5. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study re-
quired under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 
consult with— 
(1) appropriate Federal, State, and local gov-
ernment entities; and 
(2) interested groups, businesses, persons, uni-
versities, and organizations. 
(d) REPORT.— 
(1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than January 
1, 2020, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
Secretary an interim report on the findings of the 
study required under subsection (a). 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than December 
31, 2021, the Comptroller General shall submit to 
the Secretary a final report that describes— 
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(A) the findings of the study required 
under subsection (a); and 
(B) any conclusions and recommendations 
of such study. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out 
this section. 
Æ 
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