LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT
President Obama and Congress are finalizing an economic recovery bill that could be signed into law by next month. The bill has important implications for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).
The LIHTC is the nation’s largest, most successful affordable rental housing production program. But it has been hit hard by the financial crisis. Investment in the LIHTC fell from about $9 billion in 2007 to about $4-5 billion in 2008. It could drop even further in 2009.
Bringing the LIHTC program back to its full potential is one of the fastest ways to provide an economic stimulus while also assisting low-income working families, including victims of the foreclosure crisis.
BACKGROUND
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the nation’s largest and most successful affordable rental housing production program to date, financing more than two million homes since 1987 and about 120,000 annually in recent years. According to the National Council of State Housing Agencies, approximately 90 percent of all affordable rental housing is financed through the LIHTC. According to the National Association of Homebuilders, building 120,000 homes annually through the LIHTC supports 180,000 jobs annually.
