Personal Income Tax: tax credits: fire-resistant home improvements.

Assembly Member Wallis, joined by seventeen coauthors, proposes a new personal income tax credit aimed at California homeowners who make fire-resistant improvements to properties in high-risk areas. The measure would provide qualifying taxpayers a credit equal to 40% of expenses for specific fire-hardening measures, including Class A fire-rated roofs, enclosed eaves, fire-resistant vents, and proper ground clearance, with annual claims capped at $400 and a cumulative limit of $2,000 per taxpayer.

The tax credit would be available from January 2025 through December 2030 to property owners in zones designated as high or very high fire hazard severity areas by the State Fire Marshal. Income eligibility limits are set at $250,000 for joint filers and heads of household, and $125,000 for other individual filers. Taxpayers may carry forward unused credits for up to three years. The Franchise Tax Board must analyze usage patterns and average claim amounts, reporting findings to the Legislature by December 2030.

The measure contains an urgency clause allowing it to take effect immediately upon enactment as a tax levy under the California Constitution. This provision aims to make the credit available for the full 2025 tax year.