Public Hearing on Bill 21-688 - Displacement Prevention Amendment Act of 2016 - Testimony

Sep 19, 2026

A witness provides testimony before the Council of the District of Columbia’s Housing and Community Development and Finance and Revenue committees on Bill 21-688, the “Displacement Prevention Amendment Act of 2016,” focusing on Title I and the expansion of the Schedule H refundable income tax credit. The witness explains the current credit criteria, calculation method, and income caps, then describes changes for specified census tracts: a higher credit cap and an increased deemed property-tax percentage for renters. Administrative challenges are highlighted, including simplifying forms, manual address review, and a technical ambiguity about the targeted code paragraph.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Public Hearing and Witness

Bill 21-688 Scope and Title I Focus

Current Schedule H Credit Rules

Proposed Expansion for Specific Census Tracts

Administrative Challenges and Manual Review

Technical Code Amendment Comment

Closing Remarks

Public Hearing on Bill 21-688, the “Displacement Prevention Amendment Act of 2016” Before the Committee on Housing and Community Development The Honorable Anita Bonds, Chairperson Committee on Finance and Revenue The Honorable Jack Evans, Chairperson Council of the District of Columbia October 20, 2016, 10:00 A.M. John A. Wilson Building, Room 500 Testimony of Elissa F. Borges Assistant General Counsel Office of Tax and Revenue Office of the Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey S. DeWitt Chief Financial Officer Government of the District of Columbia Good morning, Chairperson Bonds, Chairperson Evans, and members of the Committees on Housing and Community Development and Finance and Revenue. I am Elissa Borges, Assistant General Counsel, for the Office of Tax and Revenue of the District of Columbia. I am pleased to present testimony today on Bill 21- 688 (“Bill”), the “Displacement Prevention Amendment Act of 2016 .” My testimony is limited to Title I of the bill regarding expansion of the Schedule H credit. The District of Columbia (the “District”) currently provides a refundable income tax credit up to $1,000 for all residents who meet certain criteria. The credit is claimed on the Schedule H tax form so this credit has become known asthe “Schedule H credit.” Claimants seeking the Schedule H credit must be residents of the District who either own or rent their principal place of residence in the District and pay real property taxes on that residence. The credit is calculated based on either the amount of property tax or a percentage of rent paid by the claimant if those payments exceed a certain percentage of the federal adjusted gross income of the claimant’s tax filing unit. The tax filing unit includes the claimant, the claimant’s dependents, and the claimant’s spouse or domestic partner. The eligible income amount is capped at $50,000 or, for eligible seniors, 70 years and older, at $60,000 . With regard to determining the amount of real property taxes paid, for homeowners, the amount is the actual property taxes paid by the claimant. For renters, the amount of property taxes paid is deemed to be 20% of the rent paid by the claimant. The Bill would expand the Schedule H credit for residents located in census tract 73 .04, census tract 74 .04, census tract 98.04 , and census tract 104 in two ways. First, the cap on the Schedule H credit would be increased to $2,000 . Second, the percentage of rent paid that is deemed payment of property taxes will increase from 20% to 30% . The $1,000 cap and the 20% of rent would remain unchanged for all other District residents not living in the four specific census tracts. The new changes to Schedule H will present several administrative challenges for the Office of Tax and Revenue. The Office of Tax and Revenue isin the process of working with the Committee on Finance and Revenue and community advocates to simplify the existing Schedule H form to make it more user friendly for eligible claimants. These changes, however, may substantially increase the length of the Schedule H form and instructions and may make eligible residents less likely to complete and file the forms necessary to receive the credit. More significantly, the Office of Tax and Revenue is unable systemically to match addresses with census tracts to determine if a Schedule H claimant is in oneof the census tracts. Therefore, all tax returns claiming the expanded Schedule H credit will have to be flagged and reviewed manually to confirm that the claimant is eligible for the expanded credit. This will be difficult to administer and will necessarily delay the processing of all returns claiming a Schedule H credit. Finally, as a minor technical point, the Bill indicates that it seeks to amend Section 47-1806.06 ofthe D.C. Official Code by adding “a new paragraph (3A) .”There are several provisions in Section 47-1806.06 and it is not clear which specific provision the new paragraph (3A) is intende

FAQs

What part of Bill 21-688 does the testimony focus on?

The testimony is limited to Title I of the bill regarding expansion of the Schedule H credit.

How is the Schedule H credit currently calculated and who is eligible?

The credit is a refundable income tax credit claimed on Schedule H. Eligible claimants are District residents who own or rent their principal residence and pay real property taxes; calculation is based on property tax or a deemed percentage of rent, subject to an income cap.

What changes does the Bill make to the Schedule H credit for the specified census tracts?

For residents in census tracts 73.04, 74.04, 98.04, and 104, the credit cap would increase to $2,000, and the deemed rent-to-property-tax percentage would rise from 20% to 30%, while other District residents keep the $1,000 cap and 20% deemed amount.

Why will the Office of Tax and Revenue face administrative difficulties with the expanded Schedule H credit?

The Office cannot systemically match addresses with census tracts, so returns must be flagged and reviewed manually, which will be difficult to administer and will necessarily delay processing.

Sep 19, 2026

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