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HB 51 2026
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hb51-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to tax credits for housing for 2
homeless employees; creating s. 220.1985, F.S.; 3
providing definitions; creating specified tax credits 4
for certain businesses that provide housing for 5
employees; providing application requirements; 6
requiring the Department of Commerce to approve all 7
applications that meet specified criteria; requiring 8
the department to make certain notifications; 9
providing the maximum amount of tax credits that may 10
be distributed; requiring such credits be approved by 11
the Department of Revenue before use; requiring such 12
approval be included with specified returns; requiring 13
approval of such credits be done in a specified order; 14
authorizing the Department of Commerce and the 15
Department of Revenue to adopt rules, including 16
emergency rules; authorizing tax credits to be carried 17
forward for a specified period; prohibiting tax 18
credits from being transferred; providing an effective 19
date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. Section 220.1985, Florida Statutes, is created 24
to read: 25
HB 51 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
220.1985 Tax credits for employee housing.— 26
(1) As used in this section, the term: 27
(a) "Converted housing" means property that was sitting 28
idle, unoccupied, unused, or abandoned for at least 24 months 29
before being rehabilitated to serve as workforce housing. 30
(b) "Employee" has the same meaning as established under 31
the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and its implementing 32
regulations, and includes an apprentice, as defined in s. 33
446.021(2), a preapprentice, as defined in s. 446.021(1), or a 34
student intern, as defined in s. 220.198(2). 35
(c) "Homeless" means a person who: 36
1. Meets the definition of homeless as that term is 37
defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C 38
s. 11302; or 39
2. Is experiencing a temporary state of lacking a 40
permanent home due to a sudden crisis or catastrophic event such 41
as job loss, a natural disaster, a medical emergency, or 42
domestic violence. 43
(d) "Qualified business" means a business which provides 44
housing for a qualified employee at a rate that does not exceed 45
the rent limit specified for the 50 percentage category by the 46
most recent multifamily rental programs income and rent limit 47
chart posted by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. 48
(e) "Qualified employee" means an employee who was 49
homeless immediately before receiving housing from a qualified 50
HB 51 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
business, and who first received such housing within the 51
previous 3 years. 52
(2)(a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 53
2027, a qualified business is eligible for a credit against the 54
tax imposed by this chapter in the amount of $2,000 per 55
qualified employee. 56
(b) The qualified business is eligible for an additional 57
credit against the tax imposed by this chapter in the amount of 58
$1,000 per qualified employee if the housing provided by the 59
qualified business is converted housing owned by the qualified 60
business. The converted housing must meet all building, housing, 61
and health codes, as defined in s. 83.43. 62
(3)(a) In order to receive a tax credit under this 63
section, the qualified business must submit an application to 64
the Department of Commerce that identifies the number of 65
qualified employees, the location of the provided housing and 66
whether such housing is converted housing, the rent charged to 67
the qualified employees, and any other information required by 68
the department. 69
(b) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), the 70
Department of Commerce shall review applications with urgency 71
and approve all those determined to: 72
1. Contain all the information required by this 73
subsection; and 74
2. Meet the criteria set out in this section. 75
HB 51 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(c) The Department of Commerce shall notify the qualified 76
business, in writing, of their decision and, if applicable, the 77
maximum credit allowed. The Department of Commerce shall 78
transmit a copy of such notification to the Department of 79
Revenue. 80
(4) The combined total amount of tax credits which may be 81
granted to qualified businesses each year under this section is 82
$5 million. The Department of Commerce must approve the tax 83
credit prior to the taxpayer taking the credit on a return, and 84
the return attempting to apply the credit must include a copy of 85
such approval. The Department of Commerce must approve credits 86
on a first-come, first-served basis. 87
(5) The Department of Commerce and the Department of 88
Revenue may adopt rules, including emergency rules pursuant to 89
s. 120.54(4), governing the manner and form of applications for 90
the tax credit and establishing qualification requirements for 91
the tax credit. All conditions are deemed met for the adoption 92
of emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4). 93
(6) A qualified business may carry forward any unused 94
portion of a tax credit under this section for up to 2 taxable 95
years, but the credit may not be transferred to another entity. 96
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 97