Dos & Don'ts, In the News, Keeping It Straight, Private Letter Rulings, Q & A

Dos & Don'ts, In the News, Keeping It Straight, Private Letter Rulings, Q & A

Federal District Court Rules Disparate Impact Lawsuit Against Insurer May Proceed

August 30, 2017    

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia recently issued an opinion finding that the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) has standing to bring a discrimination claim against Travelers Indemnity Corporation and Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America (Travelers). In...

Separate Op-Eds Emphasize LIHTC Benefits, Urge Support for Affordable Housing Legislation

August 30, 2017    

In an op-ed recently published by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Phyllis Chamberlain, the executive director of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, wrote about the impact of the LIHTC program nationally and in Pennsylvania. According to Chamberlain, each year, the Pennsylvania Housing...

Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Nominee Discusses LIHTC Program During Confirmation Hearing

July 31, 2017    

On July 18, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of David J. Kautter as Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy of the Treasury Department. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who introduced The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act to expand and strengthen the LIHTC...

Research Finds More U.S. Households Are Renting than at Any Point in 50 Years

July 31, 2017    

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau housing data, more households are headed by renters than at any point since at least 1965. The total number of households in the United States grew by 7.6 million between 2006 and 2016. But over the same period, the number of...

Guam Attorney General Charges Housing Officials with LIHTC Conspiracy

July 31, 2017    

The Chief Prosecutor of the Attorney General’s office in Guam recently filed charges of official misconduct and conspiracy against former board members and the current executive director of Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority (GHURA). The charges stem from federal investigations into...

New Maps Help Professionals Locate Low-Income Housing Development Opportunities

July 31, 2017    

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently introduced new maps for industry professionals interested in providing homes for lower-income families and learning more about development and financing opportunities using the LIHTC.

NAHB’s Economics and Housing Policy group...

House Speaker Paul Ryan Delivers Speech on Tax Reform

June 30, 2017    

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently delivered a speech on his vision for tax reform at the 2017 National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Summit. He indicated his hopes to see a comprehensive tax reform bill passed by the end of 2017. “Our goal is to get it done by the end of the...

Joint Center for Housing Publishes 2017 State of the Nation's Housing Report

June 30, 2017    

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) recently released “The State of the Nation’s Housing” report for 2017. The report shows that 37 percent of American households now rent. This marks a 50-year high. The report also finds that the supply of rental...

Senator Hatch Invites Stakeholder Feedback on Tax Reform

June 30, 2017    

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) recently released a letter inviting feedback on tax reform. Hatch invited recommendations on a variety of tax-related topics, including four key issue areas—individual income tax relief for middle-class individuals and families,...

IRS and Treasury Representatives Speak on LIHTC Topics

June 30, 2017    

Representatives from the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently spoke at the annual meeting of the American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development. The representatives did not speak on behalf of their respective agencies, but rather provided personal...

Include Unrelated Household Members When Calculating Household Income

June 30, 2017    

When you calculate a household’s income to determine if it’s qualified, total the income of all the household’s members, even if they’re not related. If you make the mistake of counting members’ incomes separately, you’re likely to determine that their...

Don't Include Approved Rent Subsidies When Calculating Household Income and Rent

June 30, 2017    

Don’t include the value of any approved federal or state rent subsidies the owner gets for a household when you calculate the household’s income and rent. If you do, you may charge the household too much rent. Or you may lose out on renting to a qualified household because you...