Certification, Compliance, Feature, Income Calculations, Maintenance, Rents, Verification

Certification, Compliance, Feature, Income Calculations, Maintenance, Rents, Verification

Follow Five Rules to Reduce Risk of Sexual Harassment Claims

March 31, 2015    

Claims for sexual harassment, which is considered a form of housing discrimination based on sex, can cost thousands—if not millions—in settlements or court awards, civil penalties, and attorney’s fees—not to mention lasting damage to the reputation of the site, management...

HUD Releases 2015 Multifamily Tax Subsidy Income Limits

March 31, 2015    

On March 6, HUD released the 2015 income limits, available at huduser.org. According to Revenue Ruling 94-57, you have 45 days to begin using them to certify and recertify low-income households at your tax credit site. This means this year’s income...

Characterization of Employee Units When Charging Rent, Utilities

March 31, 2015    

The IRS recently released a memorandum issued by the Office of Chief Counsel dated June 2, 2014, which addressed circumstances that could affect the eligibility of employee units such as manager or maintenance personnel units in a LIHTC site to qualify for the tax credit. Specifically, the memo...

Follow Five Tips When Calculating Rents for Low-Income Units

February 26, 2015    

When charging restricted rents for low-income units at your tax credit site, it’s important to calculate the amount of each household’s rent properly. Managers too often make mistakes in their calculations and this can lead to big problems.

Charging more than the maximum rent...

How to Get an Extension to Correct State Agency Noncompliance Citations

January 29, 2015    

Despite your efforts at good site management, your state housing agency may one day cite you for noncompliance with tax credit rules. As a tax credit manager, it’s your job to correct compliance violations, which means you must be familiar with how to request an extension of time to...

Make Sure Self-Employed Resident's Tax Returns Are Accurate, Complete

December 23, 2014    

In most cases, you need to verify household income with third-party employers because household members usually earn their income through jobs. But you may encounter a household member who works for herself. In this situation, you must follow the HUD Handbook’s requirements for verifying...

How to Document Resolutions of Discrepancies Found While Verifying Income

December 23, 2014    

When you verify a household’s income with employers or other verification sources, you may get information that contradicts what household members told you during the household’s certification or annual recertification. For instance, a household member may tell you that he gets $50...

IRS Issues New Standard Mileage Rates

December 23, 2014    

The IRS recently issued the 2015 optional standard mileage rates. Starting Jan. 1, 2015, when calculating the deductible costs of operating an automobile, the new rates will be 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, and 14 cents...

How to Set Aside Employee Units Without Jeopardizing Owner’s Tax Credits

November 26, 2014    

Like many tax credit managers, you might want to set aside a unit for a member of your leasing, management, or maintenance staff. Or you may already be renting to one or more of your employees. The tax credit law doesn’t bar you from renting to employees. In fact, you may have three...

Six Tips for Avoiding Violations When Using Model Units

November 26, 2014    

You may want to keep a unit at your tax credit site available as a model to show prospects. But you should be careful about which unit you choose to set aside as your model, and what you do with that unit as occupancy changes occur.

New Passbook Rate to Be Effective Feb. 1, 2015

November 26, 2014    

On Oct. 31, 2014, HUD issued Housing Notice 2014-15, “Passbook Savings Rate Effective February 1, 2015 and Establishing Future Passbook Savings Rates.” The HUD passbook rate is used to impute asset income on households who have $5,000 or more in assets. Currently, the HUD passbook...

Healthy Food Access: Improve Resident Health, Save Site Money

November 12, 2014    

By Carolyn E. Zezima, Esq.