News

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released 24 Community Reinvestment Act performance evaluations that became public in August, with seven institutions receiving outstanding ratings and 17 receiving satisfactory ratings. The list includes national banks, federal savings associations and insured federal branches of foreign banks.

Friday, September 1, 2023

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund today announced its release of updated eligibility data for the new markets tax credit (NMTC) incentive. The updated information on low-income communities (LICs) is based on 2016-2020 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimate data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The new data may be used as of today (Sept. 1). The CDFI Fund also published information on the transition from 2011-2015 to 2016-2020 data, based on the date the qualified low-income community investment (QLICI) closes. Similar information on island areas֪–not included in this release–is tentatively scheduled for release in December. The New Markets Tax Credit Working Group will analyze the data and transition guidance.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today published fair market rents (FMRs) for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and other HUD programs for fiscal year 2024. HUD stated that the FMR will increase by an average of 12% nationally and take effect Oct. 1. In another move, HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing announced an additional $113 million in HCV funding awards for 118 high-performing public housing authorities (PHAs) in 36 states. California ($37 million) and Texas ($33.7 million) were the only states to receive more than $5 million in extra vouchers.

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will publish proposed regulations in Wednesday’s Federal Register related to prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for projects to receive bonus clean energy tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Taxpayers can increase their credits or deductions by a factor of five–going from 6% to 30% for the investment tax credit (ITC), for example–if they meet the requirements for construction, installation, alteration or repair of a qualified property. The proposed guidance defines to whom the prevailing wage requirements apply, the statutory cure for failing to meet or incorrectly reporting prevailing wages and a provision that Treasury will waive penalties if there is a “qualifying project labor agreement” with workers. The proposed regulations require that qualified apprentices must perform 12.5% of total labor hours for facilities beginning construction in 2023 and 15% of total labor hours for facilities beginning construction Jan. 1, 2024, or later. The IRS released frequently asked questions document and a publication that provides an overview of the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. Comments or requests for a public hearing must be received by Oct. 30 and a public hearing is scheduled for at 10 a.m. Nov. 21.

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

The number of households with worst-case housing needs hit a record level in 2021, according to the executive summary of the Worst Case Housing Needs: 2023 Report to Congress, released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Monday, August 21, 2023

More than 500,000 construction jobs were created or retained by new markets tax credit (NMTC) investments through fiscal year 2021 (FY 2021), according to a Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund summary report released today.

Thursday, August 17, 2023

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) first application period for the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) Comprehensive awards closes at 11:59 p.m. ET Aug. 31. This is the third of 12 deadlines–approximately one a month–for the program. The deadlines rotate among Comprehensive, Elements and Leading Edge awards. The first application periods for Elements and Leading Edge awards were earlier this summer. GRRP provides more than $4 billion in loan authority and $840 million in grant funding for investment in clean energy initiatives at multifamily properties that receive HUD assistance. Applications submitted after the deadline are eligible for the three subsequent review periods. For details on how to apply, visit www.hud.gov/grrp.

Thursday, August 10, 2023

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will publish in Friday’s Federal Register a notice and request for comments concerning recapture events for the new markets tax credit (NMTC). The notice reviews the current requirement that community development entities (CDEs) provide notice to any taxpayer holder of a qualified equity investment (QEI) that a recapture event has occurred. The IRS seeks feedback on the current form. Comments are due by Oct. 10.

Thursday, August 10, 2023

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will publish final regulations in Tuesday’s Federal Register for “adder” investment tax credit (ITC) percentages for solar or wind facilities built in low-income communities or in connection with federally subsidized residential buildings. The IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury also released a revenue procedure describing procedures to apply for allocation of the credits.

Friday, August 4, 2023

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published updated guidance this week for public housing authorities (PHAs) and other properties participating in HUD multifamily assisted housing programs concerning financial benefits from participation in community solar energy programs or on-site solar facilities.