California renters could get a big break from state under proposal to expand tax credit

Dozens of California lawmakers are getting behind a bill that would raise a tax credit for renters by hundreds of dollars, marking the first potential increase in the tax break in decades.

The bill, Senate Bill 843 would increase the tax credit for joint filers making $87,066 or less from $120 to $1,000, and from $60 to $500 for single filers who earn $43,533 or less. It would be the first increase in the tax credit since 1979 if the proposal passes.

The bill also would make single parents eligible for the same credit as couples, and would allow people to receive the full credit even if the amount exceeds their tax liability.

“For too long, we’ve treated renters like the doormat outside California’s economic recovery house,” said bill author Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda. “We cannot make an economic comeback without renters having their rightful place inside. Renters have waited 42 years for a modest level of fairness in our tax code. We can’t make them wait any longer.”

The bill would make the tax credit available to nearly 2.4 million renters in California, according to Glazer, who cited 2019 Franchise Tax Board estimates.

“An increase in the renters’ tax credit will mean that people don’t have to choose between putting food on the table, taking their kids to the doctor, and making the rent,” Glazer said in a statement.

Glazer’s bill has the support of 42 other lawmakers, including Republicans Assemblyman Steven Choi, R-Irvine, Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen, R-Huntington Beach, and Sen. Brian Jones, R-Santee.

One lawmaker cited the state’s projected budget surplus is arguing for the bill.

“The state’s $45 billion budget surplus was built on the backs of hardworking Californians, including renters, who now deserve a break,” Jones said in a statement.

The renter’s credit first was established in 1972. Lawmakers increased it in 1979, where it has remained ever since.

“Since its only increase in 1979, rents in California have more than quintupled while the renters credit remained flat. Median state rent exceeds $1,500 a month for a two-bedroom apartment, and rentals in cities like San Francisco average more than $2,700 a month,” according to a statement from Glazer’s office.