Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman JAY WEBBER
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman DAVID W. WOLFE
District 10 (Ocean)
Assemblyman ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Giblin, McGuckin and Eustace
SYNOPSIS
Provides gross income tax deduction for certain home elevation expenses.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on May 19, 2016, with amendments.
An Act providing a gross income tax deduction for certain home elevation expenses and supplementing Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes 1.1
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016 but before January 1, 2019, a qualified taxpayer shall be allowed to deduct from the taxpayer’s gross income for the taxable year, an amount equal to 25 percent of the qualified expenses paid in the taxable year to a registered home elevation contractor for elevating the taxpayer’s primary residence.
b. As used in this section:
“Qualified expenses” means expenses paid for jacking and resetting only, exclusive of costs for construction, disconnecting and re-connecting utilities, building a new foundation, painting, landscaping, re-attaching porches or decks and similar attendant home elevation services.
“Qualified home elevation contractor” means a home elevation contractor registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs 1in the Department of Law and Public Safety in accordance with P.L.2014, c.34 (C.56:8-138.2 et al.),1 and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
“Qualified taxpayer” means a resident taxpayer whose primary residence in the State is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area as identified on the current Flood Insurance Rate Map 1[(FIRM)]1 or Preliminary Work Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and whose primary residence before home elevation is undertaken is below the base flood elevation on the current Flood Insurance Rate Map or Preliminary Work Map.
c. A taxpayer who benefits from home elevation assistance through the Flood Mitigation Assistance, Pre-Disaster Mitigation, or Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs funded by FEMA, or Increased Cost of Compliance coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program, or the New Jersey Low-to-Moderate Income Homeowners Rebuilding Program shall not be eligible to claim the deduction provided by this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.