The CDFI Fund, a branch of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has announced that it has received a record number of applications for the CY 2022 round of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. The program is designed to promote economic development in distressed communities by offering tax credit allocations to Community Development Entities (CDEs) for investments in eligible areas.
A total of 197 applications were submitted for the program, with CDEs from 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico applying for a share of the $5 billion in allocation authority available for the 2022 round. However, these applicants requested an aggregate total of $14.8 billion in NMTC allocation authority, almost three times the available amount.
The NMTC Program was created by Congress in 2000 to encourage individual and corporate taxpayers to invest in CDEs, offering a tax credit equal to 39% of the cost of the investment over a seven-year period. The CDEs must then use the investment to make qualified investments in low-income communities.
The CDFI Fund administers a competitive application and review process to select successful applicants, and the $71 billion in tax credit allocation authority awarded through the program has been used to promote economic development in distressed communities across the United States. This amount includes $3 billion in Recovery Act Awards and $1 billion of special allocation authority for the Gulf Opportunity Zone.
The demand for the NMTC Program highlights the continued need for economic development in distressed communities across the United States. For more information about the NMTC Program, visit the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/nmtc.