Community bankers urge Congress to add ACRE provisions to tax legislation

Community bankers from across the country are urging Congress to include the bipartisan Access to Credit for our Rural Economy Act (ACRE), S.838, in the FairTax Act of 2025. The ACRE aims to improve credit access and lower borrowing costs for farmers, ranchers and rural homebuyers.

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and 44 state-level trade associations submitted a joint letter to Senate leadership urging them to include the measure’s key provisions in the forthcoming tax legislation currently under debate in Congress.

“Agricultural production and the prosperity of farmers and ranchers are critical to rural economies where millions of jobs are connected to the farm sector,” the trade groups wrote. “ACRE would allow lenders to help farmers remain viable in an often-challenging environment by providing lenders a tax exemption on interest income when a bank lends to a farmer or rancher and the loan is secured by agricultural real estate.”

The ACRE bill also would carve out a tax exemption for a bank loan secured by single-family home, provided the home is located in a rural community with a population of 2,500 or fewer people. Second homes would not be eligible, nor would mortgages with a principal value of $750,000 or more.

“Rural housing markets are especially challenging for lenders because the mortgages are often not eligible for resale in the secondary market, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and must be held in portfolio,” the trades wrote. “The provisions of ACRE would give lenders more flexibility to work with small farmers and ranchers, including those who are young or beginning, as well as rural homeowners by providing them with lower interest rates and better lending terms. ACRE will give lenders the necessary tools to serve the rural farming and housing markets.”

Separately, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey wrote to leaders of both the House and Senate to reiterate the fundamental points cited in the trade groups’ joint letter and encouraged individual ICBA members to write to their representatives as well.