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What Is the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program?

  • The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program helps create affordable apartment communities with lower than market rate rents by offering tax incentives to the property owners.
    • It does not offer tax credits to the tenant renting the unit.
  • LIHTC properties may contain market rate units that are not financially assisted, in addition to reduced rent LIHTC units under a tiered rent structure.
    • A tiered rent structure means that the same unit may have different rent amounts for tenants with different incomes.
  • Private management companies and individual owners manage these low-income housing apartment communities. LIHTC units may also have a rental subsidy program attached to them, such as the Project-Based Section 8 program.

Start the guide at Part 1: Who Qualifies for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program? or choose a topic from the list below.

Low Income Housing Tax Credit Guide

  1. Who Qualifies for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program?
    1. Basic Requirements
    2. Income Eligibility
    3. Restrictions and Preferences
    4. Common Disqualifiers
  2. How Do I Find a Low Income Housing Tax Credit Apartment?
  3. How Do I Apply to a Low Income Housing Tax Credit Apartment?
    1. Obtain the application.
    2. Complete the application.
    3. Submit the application.
  4. What Do I Do After Applying to a Low Income Housing Tax Credit Apartment?
    1. Wait for your application to be processed.
    2. Confirm your waiting list status.
    3. Estimate your wait time.
    4. Stay in contact with the housing office.
    5. Move into offered unit.