The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) is now accepting applications for the upcoming round of federal and state tax credits, which finance affordable workforce housing.
The application period for the highly competitive 2021-22 LIHTC programs runs from November 20, 2020 until December 11, 2020. The application process covers federal nine percent as well as state four percent and federal four percent tax credits estimated at a total of $31 million for the upcoming year.
This year’s application incorporates a series of changes developed through a robust public engagement process with developers and community members that included in-person and online meetings as well as an online public survey. The application gating document can be requested here.
Among the highlights of the 2021-22 allocation plan:
- A set-aside of ten percent of state housing tax credits for developments that provide supportive services for hard-to-house individuals in at least 25 percent of the units. This provision expands the universe of organizations able to provide rental subsidies in these supportive units to include qualified for-profit organizations;
- A set-aside of 25 percent of state housing tax credits for developments in qualified rural areas;
- Increased scoring for sustainability features related to energy efficiency, public transportation and other environmental factors;
- Increased scoring for projects that include minority developers; and
- Introduction of a “cure period” during which developers may resubmit applications to fix errors that would otherwise result in rejection based on failure to meet minimum standards.
