Ways and Means Committee Votes to Advance Larson and Courtney Tax Relief Plan for Connecticut Homeowners with Crumbling Foundations

"More than a decade since the crumbling foundations crisis was first discovered in Eastern and North Central Connecticut, as many as 35,000 homes and condos have been impacted," said Larson. "This legislation will go a long way to provide tax relief so more homeowners can afford to make the repairs they need, and those who already replaced their foundations can be made whole. I am pleased that the Ways and Means Committee approved our bill with such a strong, bipartisan vote this morning. I urge the House to swiftly take it up and thank my friend and colleague Joe Courtney for his partnership on this."

"Thousands of homes in northcentral and eastern Connecticut have been plagued with crumbling concrete foundations caused by the mineral pyrrhotite, leaving families with exorbitant repair costs up to the hundreds of thousands of dollars through no fault of their own," said Courtney. "By finally restoring the casualty loss deduction for all taxpayers after it was drastically restricted by President Trump's 2017 tax law and allowing homeowners to amend prior-year tax returns for repairs to crumbling foundations caused by pyrrhotite made during calendar years 2021-2025, Congress can provide overdue relief to impacted homeowners. Thank you to my friend and colleague, Congressman Larson, for his continued work on the Ways and Means Committee to advance this issue and for the determined grassroots advocacy of Connecticut homeowners impacted by crumbling foundations."

Today's bipartisan committee vote follows Rep. Larson's work with the Republican Ways and Means Committee ChairJason Smith (MO-08), and the Democratic Ranking Member, Richard E. Neal (MA-01), to find a bipartisan path forward on tax relief for homeowners with crumbling foundations. The bill now advances to the House floor for a vote.

This legislation builds on the work of Rep. Larson and Rep. Courtney, who secured guidance from the IRS in 2017 that allowed homeowners to use the casualty loss deduction to help pay for foundation repairs. Once the provision was limited by the 2017 Republican Tax Law, the lawmakers secured a second ruling allowing homeowners to continue to use the deduction through 2021. Starting in 2021, that law left the thousands of Eastern and Central Connecticut homeowners impacted by crumbling foundations unable to claim a tax deduction for unreimbursed costs related to fixing their home. Larson and Courtney's legislation will ensure no Connecticut homeowners are left out simply because of when the repairs were made.

Additionally, the Congressmen secured $2 million for the Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) Gap Foundation Funding to assist with expenses not covered by the state's relief program, celebrating the first foundation repaired with federal funding in Manchester last year.