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Social Security Benefits Verification Now Available Online

January 9, 2013

Social Security recipients can now get their benefits verification letter and conduct other business online, as part of enhanced Web services introduced on January 7, 2013 by the federal government. The letters, which state the amount of the recipient’s monthly…

Section 45L Energy Tax Credit

January 7, 2013

Section 45L Energy Tax Credit When Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, it extended the Section 45L tax credit, which provides eligible contractors of homes -including apartments -, with a tax credit of $2,000 per energy…

Treatment of Basic Housing Allowance for purposes of Income Eligibility Rules

January 2, 2013

Treatment of Basic Housing Allowance for purposes of Income Eligibility Rules The Tax Act Passed last night once again excludes the military Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) (37 U.S.C sec. 403) for purposes of tax credit and tax-exempt bond…

Ten States Increase Minimum Wage

January 2, 2013

Ten States Increase Minimum Wage Happy New Year! For workers in ten states, the new year will bring an increase in minimum wages. Nine of the ten states already had minimum wage levels higher than the federal minimum of $7.25…

Rural Designation at Risk for Some Areas

December 20, 2012

Some Areas May Lose Rural Designation Approximately 55 areas around the country with MTSP income limits lower than the National Non-Metropolitan Income (NNMI) limits are in danger of losing their status as rural areas. These areas are found in…

Proposed Sandy Relief Legislation Includes Additional Low-Income Housing Tax Credits

December 13, 2012

On December 10, 2012, Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation to give tax relief to victims of Superstorm Sandy. The provisions apply to victims of Sandy, as well as any state that has suffered from a…

Revised 2013 Section 8 and MTSP Income Limits Released

December 12, 2012

(Update 12/26/13) The 2014 income limits have been released. More information can be found here. HUD has revised and released the 2013 income limits. These new income limits supersede the limits released on 12/4/12. The revision is due to an…

GAO Study of HERA and the LIHTC Program

December 11, 2012

As required by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), the General Accountability Office (GAO) of Congress has conducted a study of the impacts of HERA on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program. Findings of the study were…

Setting Up a Home Visit Program

December 9, 2012

One of the best practices to assist a management company in determining whether an applicant will be a good resident is a home visit program. Before considering the establishment of such a program, management should be aware of the difficulties…

IRS Publishes Sandy Disaster Relief Notice

November 6, 2012

Low-Income Housing Credit Disaster Relief for Hurricane Sandy The IRS issued Revenue Notice 2012-68 on November 5, 2012, effective after October 22, 2012, providing emergency housing relief as a result of Hurricane Sandy. The Notice allows State Housing Agencies…

HUD Implements New Rental Assistance Demonstration Program

September 17, 2012

On July 26, 2012, HUD published a Final Notice in the Federal Register implementing the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program. The program offers new opportunities to public housing agencies and some private owners of affordable housing projects. The program…

Dealing with Reverse Mortgages on Affordable Housing Properties

August 24, 2012

Dealing with Reverse Mortgages on Affordable Housing Properties While not common on affordable housing properties such as LIHTC, Section 8 or Section 515, occasionally, an applicant with a reverse mortgage will turn up, and staff must know how to…

IRS Proposed Rule on Utility Allowances

August 11, 2012

The IRS has published a proposed regulation that will amend the IRS utility allowance regulation 1.42-10. This regulation outlines requirements relative to utility allowances on low-income housing tax credit buildings. The proposed regulation updates 1.42-10 to clarify that utility costs…

Must a Tax Credit Unit be a Tenant’s Only Residence?

July 1, 2012

Must a Tax Credit Unit be a Tenant’s Only Residence? I get asked the question above fairly often, and I always reply, “yes,” without ever providing a regulatory or statutory source for that answer. So, in order to ensure…

Dealing with Bed Bug Infestation

May 29, 2012

Bedbugs: Addressing and Preventing Outbreaks in Tax Credit Properties By A. J. Johnson Outbreaks of bedbug infestation in apartments are increasing at an alarming rate in most metropolitan areas of the country, and low-income housing tax credit properties are…

HUD Streamlining Inspection & Subsidy Layering Review of LIHTC Properties

June 1, 2011

HUD is launching two pilot programs to test the feasibility of streamlined physical inspections and subsidy layering reviews for projects with low-income housing tax credits and rental assistance. The pilot programs are the result of an interagency task force involving…

IRS Hardens Position on Loss of Credits for Violation of Rent Limits Due to Utility Allowance Errors

June 1, 2011

During a meeting of the National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies (NCSHA) in June, an IRS official made it clear that violation of Section 42 gross rent limits because of a utility allowance error will result in a loss…

New York Congressman Introduces Bill Excluding Military Housing Allowance from Income for LIHTC Properties

June 1, 2011

On June 2, 2011, Congressman Bill Owens of New York introduced legislation that would exclude the military Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from income for eligibility purposes for properties operating under the Section 42 program. Currently, only a small number…

HUD Makes it Clear that LIHTC Compliance Monitoring Fees are Includable in Section 8 Budgets

June 1, 2011

In a May 31, 2011 memo to field offices, HUD reiterated, “Projects with low income housing tax credits may include in their budgets the cost of the annual compliance reports (a.k.a. state allocating agency’s compliance and asset monitoring fees) that…

Program Relief for Flood & Tornado Victims

April 1, 2011

State Housing Finance Agencies in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi are relying on IRS Revenue Procedure 2007-54 to provide relief for owners and tenants affected by recent flooding and tornados. The Procedure provides temporary relief from carryover allocation rules, recapture,…

Nations Top Four Apartment Owners are Tax Credit Firms

April 1, 2011

The National Multi Housing (NMHC) as released its annual list of the nation’s 50 largest apartment owners for 2011. The top four on the list are all deeply involved in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, and are as follows:…

Virtually All HFAs Now Providing Incentives for Preservation Projects

April 1, 2011

According to a National Housing Trust Survey of state qualified allocation plans (QAPs), almost all State Agencies are now awarding points, providing set-asides, and seeking preferences for preservation in the development of tax credit projects. 16 agencies have included preservation…

IRS Releases Updated 8823 Guide

April 1, 2011

The IRS has released the third version of the 8823 Guide, designed to assist State Agencies and taxpayers in understanding IRS requirements relative to compliance with the Section 42 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program. Changes were not as sweeping as…

Affordable Housing Investors Council Issues New Underwriting Guidelines

April 1, 2011

The Affordable Housing Investors Council (AHIC) has revised their guidelines for the underwriting of low-income housing tax credit projects, calling for increased scrutiny of development and management teams. The revised recommendations include the following: • Investors should closely investigate developer…

President Proposes Changes to Section 42

March 1, 2011

The Obama Administrations fiscal 2012 budget makes changes in the tax provisions that govern the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program. One change would permit a 30 percent basis increase for bond-financed preservation projects that were originally financed with federal funds,…

TCAP Grants Considered Income By IRS

March 1, 2011

In Chief Counsel Advisory (CCA) 201106008, issued December 3, 2010, the Office of Chief Counsel of the IRS stated that because the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act) did not specifically exclude Tax Credit Assistance Program…

State Agencies Getting Tough on Developers

March 1, 2011

Agencies in a number of states have tightened the requirements for developers with regard to being eligible to apply for tax credits. Iowa, Texas, and Florida have all added requirements that expand the ways applicants may be deemed ineligible for…

State Allocating Agency Priorities for 2011

March 1, 2011

A review of the Qualified Allocation Plans (QAPs) of the State Allocating Agencies indicates some new priorities and directions for a number of states with regard to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program. For example, the Massachusetts Department of Housing…

HUD/IRS Agree on Protocols for Physical Inspections

March 1, 2011

The Internal Revenue Service and HUD have reached a preliminary agreement that will allow HUD REAC inspections to satisfy IRS physical inspection requirements for tax credit properties with project-based Section 8 assistance. Also, HUD will be able to rely on…

Lack of Habitability – Impact on the Applicable Fraction

March 1, 2011

The LIHTC program requires that in order for credits to be claimed, low-income projects and units must be suitable for occupancy under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Units that are not suitable for occupancy on the last…

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