Advisory Center for Affordable Settlements & Housing

acash

Advisory Center for Affordable Settlements and Housing
ACASH

Document DownloadDownload
Document Type
Publish Date
Author
Published By
Edited By
Uncategorized

USA – An Introduction to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

The low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) was created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-514) to provide an incentive for the development and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing. These federal housing tax credits are awarded to developers of qualified projects via a competitive application process administered by state housing finance authorities (HFAs).  Developers either use the credits or sell them to investors to raise capital for real estate projects, which, in turn, reduces the debt or equity contribution that would otherwise be required of developers. With lower financing costs, tax credit properties can potentially expand the supply of affordable rental housing. In late 2017, there was a revision to the Internal Revenue Code (P.L. 115-97) that substantially changed the federal tax system. The revision did not directly alter the LIHTC program; however, there have been early reports of downward pressure on tax credit demand stemming from the 2017 tax revision. It is not yet clear what, if any, impact there may be on the affordable housing supply in the long run as the result of the recent changes to the federal tax code. Two types of LIHTCs are available depending on the nature of the construction project. The so called 9% credit is generally reserved for new construction, while the so-called 4% credit is typically used for rehabilitation projects and new construction that is financed with tax-exempt bonds. 2Each year, for 10 years, a tax credit equal to roughly 4% or 9% of a project’s qualified basis (cost of construction) is claimed. The applicable credit rates have historically not actually been 4% and 9%.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *