SB 269 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Personal income taxes: Fire Safe Home Tax Credits Act.

Summary

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the tax imposed by that law. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax credit to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would allow credits against the tax imposed by the Personal Income Tax Law for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, to a qualified taxpayer for qualified costs relating to qualified home hardening, as defined, and for qualified costs relating to qualified vegetation management, as defined, in specified amounts, not to exceed an aggregate amount of $50,000,000 per taxable year. This bill would require a qualified taxpayer to reserve a credit for qualified costs relating to qualified home hardening or qualified vegetation management to be eligible for the above-described credits and provide all necessary information for this purpose, as specified. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new income tax credit and would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to prepare a written report regarding the credits, as provided. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 3, 2025 Last action Feb 2, 2026

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What changed between versions

02/03/25 - Introduced → 04/09/25 - Amended Senate · 4 edits · Apr 9, 2025

MODERATE

The Senate amendment to SB 269 (Fire Safe Home Tax Credits Act) primarily broadens the timing requirement for claiming credits by changing 'incurs' and 'incurred and paid' language to 'pays or incurs' throughout both credit sections, allowing taxpayers to claim credits in the year costs are incurred even if not yet fully paid. The amendment also updates coauthorship (adding Senator Seyarto as principal coauthor and three Assembly members) and clarifies filing status terminology from 'spouse filing separately' to 'spouse married individual filing separately.'

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the cost timing requirement from 'incurred and paid' to 'paid or incurred' in multiple provisions across both Section 17052.13 (home hardening credit) and Section 17052.14 (vegetation management credit). This means taxpayers can now claim the credit in the taxable year they incur a cost, even if payment has not yet been made, rather than requiring both incurrence and payment within the same year.

DEFINITION

Changed the income threshold filing status language from 'a spouse filing separately' to 'a spouse married individual filing separately' in both credit sections. The dollar thresholds ($140,000 for joint/HH/Surviving Spouse and $70,000 for single/separate filers) remain unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Updated coauthorship: Senator Seyarto added as principal coauthor, and Assembly Members Alanis, Jeff Gonzalez, and Patterson added as coauthors. Original coauthors Jones and Niello retained.

Renumbering in subsection (d) of both sections: an empty paragraph (3) was inserted and the former paragraph (3) regarding one credit per property per year was renumbered to (2). This appears to be a drafting or placeholder change with no substantive policy effect.

04/09/25 - Amended Senate → 05/07/25 - Amended Senate · 10 edits · May 7, 2025

MAJOR

The May 7 amendment dramatically reduces the financial scope of SB 269, cutting the annual aggregate credit cap from $500 million to $50 million (a 90% reduction) and lowering individual per-property credit maximums for home hardening in high and very high fire hazard zones. The vegetation management credit cap is also halved from $1,000 to $500. Additional changes include removing a lien-reimbursement prohibition, adding a shared-ownership anti-duplication rule, broadening the definition of qualified costs by dropping 'actual out-of-pocket' language, and adding new reporting obligations for the Franchise Tax Board.

FISCAL

The aggregate annual credit cap was reduced from $500,000,000 to $50,000,000 per taxable year, cutting total available credits by 90%.

The maximum home hardening credit for properties in a high fire hazard severity zone was reduced from $5,000 to $1,000 per taxable year.

The maximum home hardening credit for properties in a very high fire hazard severity zone was reduced from $10,000 to $2,000 per taxable year.

The maximum vegetation management credit was reduced from $1,000 to $500 per taxable year.

REQUIREMENT

A provision prohibiting taxpayers from using the credit to be reimbursed for a lien (even one that paid for qualified costs) was removed from both the home hardening and vegetation management sections.

ELIGIBILITY

A new rule was added stating that taxpayers who share ownership in a qualified property but are ineligible to file a joint return shall not claim more than one credit on the same property.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'qualified costs' was broadened by removing the phrase 'actual out-of-pocket,' now simply requiring that the expense be paid or incurred and documented by receipt.

New definitions for 'incentive' (a payment made by a third party under a cost-sharing or grant program) and 'in-kind contribution' (nonmonetary resources provided by a third party) were added to the vegetation management section.

ENFORCEMENT

A new provision requires the Franchise Tax Board to provide all information needed for the Legislative Analyst's Office report, notwithstanding any other law.

TECHNICAL

The report recipient was expanded to include the Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation in addition to the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

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Committee

Amendments

May 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

upper

May 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 1081.) (May 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

May 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

upper

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

upper

Feb 3, 2025

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 7 co-sponsors