The low‐income housing tax credit as an aid to housing finance: How well has it worked?

Abstract

The Low‐Income Housing Tax Credit program has been operating for over 10 years and has helped finance thousands of developments with units set aside for low‐ or moderate‐income households. However, the program has been criticized for requiring additional layers of subsidy to leverage investment and for providing benefits to developers in excess of the amount necessary to induce them to invest.

An analysis of a sample of developments from Missouri finds that the tax credits are syndicated, with virtually all of the syndication proceeds (about 33 percent of the financing) used to pay for development costs. Conventional lending provides another 44 percent of the financing. Unfortunately, because these sources do not cover all of the costs, developers enter into a complex, costly process of layering additional subsidies, one on top of another, to fully finance the development.

Keywords:

• Low‐income housing
• Rental housing
• Tax policy