Vermont Renter Credit: How It's Figured and What to Do Before You File
Vermont gives renters a refundable credit based on what a typical apartment costs in their county. It doesn't depend on what your own rent is. The claim for 2025 closed on October 15, 2026, so here's how the credit works and what to line up now for your 2026 claim.
AT A GLANCE
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How the Renter Credit works
The Vermont Department of Taxes calls the Renter Credit a refundable tax credit for Vermont renters, based on income. "Refundable" means it can make your refund bigger or lower what you owe. The FL-1305 fact sheet adds that you may qualify even if you don't have to file a tax return.
Your credit isn't based on the rent you actually pay. It's based on 10% of HUD's fair market rent for an apartment sized to your family in your county.
The department's own example: two people living in Middlebury get a credit based on a two-bedroom apartment in Addison County. HUD put that at $16,920 a year for 2025, so the credit was $1,692.
You have to file a new claim every year. The credit doesn't renew on its own.
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The four eligibility tests
According to the department's Renter Credit page and the 2025 RCC-146 instructions, you must meet all of these:
You were domiciled in Vermont for the whole calendar year. Living part of the year in another state disqualifies you.
You rented in Vermont for at least six months. They don't have to be in a row.
No one claimed you as a dependent on their taxes that year.
Your income was at or below the limit for your county and family size.
Some situations don't qualify. The instructions say not to file for lot rent on a mobile home; that goes on the Homestead Declaration and Property Tax Credit Claim (HS-122) instead. A claim also can't be filed for someone who has died, even if they rented for six months or more.
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Income limits: full credit, partial credit, or none
The limits come from HUD county figures. The page says the top limit is 65% of county median income by family size. If your income is below HUD's extremely low-income level, 30% of median, you get the full credit.
Between those two levels the credit phases down gradually. There's no "cliff" where one extra dollar wipes it out.
This table shows the 2025 figures for a household of one, from the department's income-limit and credit-amount pages:
County | Full credit if income is at or under | No credit above | Maximum credit (1 bedroom) |
|---|---|---|---|
Addison | $24,400 | $52,850 | $1,324 |
Bennington | $22,900 | $49,530 | $1,283 |
Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Windham | $21,800 | $47,190 | $1,025 to $1,334 (varies by county) |
Chittenden | $27,300 | $59,090 | $1,771 |
Franklin, Grand Isle | $22,790 | $49,340 | $1,269 |
Washington | $23,200 | $50,250 | $1,298 |
Windsor | $23,050 | $49,920 | $1,352 |
And for a household of two:
County | Full credit at or under | No credit above | Maximum credit (2 bedrooms) |
|---|---|---|---|
Addison | $27,900 | $60,390 | $1,692 |
Bennington | $26,150 | $56,620 | $1,470 |
Chittenden | $31,200 | $67,540 | $2,323 |
Franklin, Grand Isle | $26,030 | $56,390 | $1,558 |
Washington | $26,500 | $57,460 | $1,703 |
Windsor | $26,350 | $57,070 | $1,561 |
Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Windham | $24,900 | $53,950 | $1,135 to $1,625 (varies by county) |
The department's pages cover family sizes up to eight. In Chittenden County, for example, a family of eight can have up to $111,410 and still get a partial credit. The largest credit in any county was $2,500, in Chittenden for three bedrooms or more.
These limits are adjusted each year, so the 2026 numbers will be different.
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What counts as "income"
You don't fill out a separate household income form. RCC-146 has a short income section:
Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
10 | Total income from federal Form 1040, line 9. If you didn't file federally: wages, pensions, unemployment and other income that would count. |
11 | 75% of Social Security benefits that weren't taxed. Non-filers include SSDI and SSI here too. |
12 | Tax-exempt interest. Non-filers enter all interest and dividends. |
13 | Losses added back: business, capital, farm and similar losses, entered as a positive number. |
14 | Lines 10 through 13 added together. This is the number compared with the limits. |
If you didn't file a federal return, the instructions include a short worksheet for counting exemptions. Count yourself, your spouse, and dependents who lived with you 183 days or more.
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Special situations that change the amount
Renting part of the year
If you rented at least six months but less than twelve, the credit is prorated by month. The department's example: nine months of renting gets 75% of the full-year amount.
Roommates
Unmarried adults who live together can each file their own claim. Each claim is cut by 50%. Nobody has to share income information with roommates or split their credit.
A spouse you file jointly with isn't a roommate. Line 5 of the form asks only about other adults.
Subsidized rent
If you get federal or Vermont housing aid that helps pay your rent, you can still claim. Your credit is based on the rent you actually paid. Your landlord reports the details and the department figures your credit for you. Lines 6 and 6a ask whether, and for how many months, your rent was subsidized.
Subleasing
People who sublease can claim. You have to file on paper and attach a copy of the sublease agreement and proof of payment.
Sold your home during the year
If you sold your Vermont home before April 1 and didn't file (or withdrew) a Property Tax Credit Claim for it, you may be able to claim the Renter Credit for rent you paid between the sale and December 31.
The credit amount in the Renter Credit program is 10% of the fair market rent for an apartment of your family size in your county. (Vermont Department of Taxes)
A worked example
This is our own math, using the 2025 tables. A single renter in Chittenden County with $25,000 of RCC-146 income is under the $27,300 full-credit limit, so the maximum is the one-bedroom amount, $1,771.
If that renter only rented for nine months, it drops to 75%, about $1,328.
If they also shared the apartment with an unmarried roommate, half of that, about $664.
For incomes in the phase-down range, use the department's Renter Credit Calculator spreadsheet.
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Your landlord's part
You don't need a certificate or any form from your landlord anymore. Your landlord files a Landlord Certificate directly with the department for each building and unit, and your claim can't be honored without it.
If your landlord won't file one, the department asks you to call 802-828-2865.
What you do need is the School Property Account Number (SPAN) for your unit. Find it with the department's SPAN Finder by typing in your street address, or ask your landlord. Line 1 asks for the SPAN of the unit you were renting on December 31, or the last one you rented.
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How to file
You can file RCC-146 three ways:
Online at myVTax (myvtax.vermont.gov, under Returns). The department says e-filing is processed faster.
With your Vermont income tax return in online tax software.
On paper. Print RCC-146, order one through the online form, or call 802-828-2515 to have one mailed. Mail it to Vermont Department of Taxes, PO Box 1881, Montpelier, VT.
Every question on lines 2 through 6 has to be answered and the claim has to be signed. Claims that are unsigned or missing key information are treated as unfiled.
The form also asks whether you want to use the Renter Credit to pay any Vermont income tax you owe.
Before you file
☐ Your SPAN for the unit, from the SPAN Finder or your landlord
☐ A count of the months you rented, and the months your rent was subsidized
☐ Your federal Form 1040, or W-2s, 1099s and SSA-1099 if you didn't file one
☐ Your school district code for the town where you lived on December 31
☐ For a sublease: the agreement and proof of rent paid
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Deadlines and what to do now
For 2025 claims, the due date was April 15, 2026. Claims could be filed late, without penalty, up to October 15, 2026. The department says no claims are accepted after that October date. If you missed it, the 2025 credit is gone.
The next claim covers rent you pay in 2026. To be ready:
Keep track of every month you rent in Vermont in 2026, especially if you move.
Write down your SPAN now while you're in the unit.
Make sure your mailing address on file is current. The department says a wrong address delays your credit, and you can update it with Form IN-110.
Check the department's Renter Credit page in early 2027 for the 2026 due dates, limits and calculator.
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Who to call
Individual Income Tax Section: 802-828-2865, or toll-free in Vermont 866-828-2865. Email tax.individualincome@vermont.gov.
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
In person: Taxpayer Assistance Window, 1st floor lobby, 133 State Street, Montpelier.
WHAT TO DO THIS MONTH
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More help
Related guides
Official sources
Last checked: October 30, 2026. Eligibility rules, 2025 income limits, credit amounts, filing methods, deadlines and phone numbers come from the Vermont Department of Taxes Renter Credit pages, the 2025 RCC-146 form and instructions, and fact sheet FL-1305.
This is general information, not tax advice. For your situation, contact the Vermont Department of Taxes or a tax professional.
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