How to Attend Public Hearing on Average Income Test Proposed Rule

The IRS recently posted a notice of public hearing in the Federal Register. On March 24, the IRS will hold a public hearing on the proposed regulations setting forth guidance on the implementation of the average income test.

Last October, the IRS published proposed regulations related to the Average Income Minimum Set-Aside Test under the LIHTC program. Every tax credit site must meet and maintain a minimum set-aside throughout a 15-year compliance period to qualify for the tax credit program. A minimum set-aside is the federally required minimum level of tax credit units at a site. To meet the set-aside, you must rent a certain percentage of the units in your building or site to qualified low-income households.

The proposed regulations address a new option for the minimum set-aside election that was created in 2018 with the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. This income-averaging option allows LIHTC-qualified units to serve households earning as much as 80 percent of the area median gross income (AMI) as long as the average income limit at the property is no more than 60 percent of the AMI.

The public hearing is being held by teleconference. Individuals who want to testify (by telephone) at the public hearing must send an email to publichearings@irs.gov to receive the telephone number and access code for the hearing. The subject line of the email must contain the regulation number [REG–119890–18] and the word TESTIFY. For example, the subject line may say: Request to TESTIFY at Hearing for REG–119890–18.

The email must include the name(s) of the speaker(s) and title(s). The email must be received by March 5, 2021.

For those wishing to attend (by telephone) the public hearing must also send an email to publichearings@irs.gov to receive the telephone number and access code for the hearing. The subject line of the email must contain the regulation number [REG–119890–18] and the word ATTEND. For example, the subject line may say: Request to ATTEND Hearing for REG–119890–18. The email requesting to attend the public hearing must be received by 5 p.m. two (2) business days before the date that the hearing is scheduled.