Ohio tax credit would turn charity land into homes

Ohio would try to turn underused charitable land into something much harder to find: places to live. The proposal offers eligible nonprofit organizations a nonrefundable, transferable tax credit if they build student housing or owner-occupied housing on Ohio property they own.

That puts churches and other charities in a new position in the state’s housing supply push. The bill is written for organizations organized exclusively for charitable purposes and exempt from federal income tax, not for developers generally.

How the credit would work

To qualify, an eligible nonprofit organization would have to own the real property in fee simple, which means full ownership rather than a leasehold or some other limited interest. The property would also have to cover at least one acre.

The credit would be administered through the director of development. The bill breaks time into six-month development periods, running January through June and July through December, so the project would be tracked in set blocks rather than an open-ended timeline.

What kinds of housing count

The proposal is not limited to one kind of project. It would cover student housing and owner-occupied housing, and it also includes manufactured homes and industrialized units in the eligible housing mix.

For student housing, the tenant’s occupancy would have to depend on continued enrollment in an educational program offered by a nonprofit institution holding a certificate of authorization. The bill also makes clear that churches can qualify if they meet the definition of an eligible nonprofit, though the credit is not limited to religious groups.

Available key vote records show the bill advanced without recorded no votes.