Efforts to expand the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program have earned bipartisan support in the United States House of Representatives, where last month Congress members Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Darin LaHood (R-PA), Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Mike Kelly (R-PA) introduced the Historic Tax Credit growth and Opportunity Act (HTC-GO).

HTC-GO promises to "bring more value" to the nation's historic renovation projects by pursuing five interrelated improvements that include increasing the overall HTC from 20 to 30 percent for projects that incur rehabilitation expenses below $2.5 million and allowing nonprofits greater flexibility in partnering with developers on HTC projects. 

The changes would also eliminate an exiting tax penalty on projects that use the HTC by no longer requiring building owners to subtract the amount of credits earned from a building's taxable property value. The measure would also make it easier for building owners to meet the "substantial rehabilitation" standard that opens up HTC incentives to building owners. Proponents of the bill hope that the expanded credits will incentivize the owners of smaller, income-generating properties to rehabilitate their buildings. 

A similar piece of legislation will be introduced in the United States Senate in coming weeks, as well. 

The latest push to bolster the HTC comes after the program was nearly scrapped as part of President Donald Trump's 2017 corporate tax cut plan.