Maryland’s Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) recently issued a notice of guidance with respect to the Tax Credit Exchange Program (TCAP) and the Tax Credit Monetization (Exchange) provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The notice provides application timelines and allocation criteria for the TCAP program, as well as guidance for the tax credit monetization process. The TCAP timeline will be as follows:

  • May 18, 2009 – Mandatory 5 Day Public Comment Period Opens.
  • May 22, 2009 – Public Comment Period Closes.
  • June 3, 2009 – Department submits application for TCAP funds to HUD.
  • June 13, 2009 – Deadline for completion of TCAP application review by HUD

Maryland will allocate TCAP funds based on the following priorities:

  • Projects in DHCD pipeline with Tax Credit awards that have not closed on financing will be eligible for funding.
  • Shovel Ready: Demonstrated Readiness to Start Construction in 2009.
  • Demonstrated ability to expend 75% of TCAP funds by February 2011.
  • Projects must Place in Service by December 2011.
  • Priority to Projects with Tax Credit investors.

The notice also states that the Department will request to monetize 40% of its 2009 tax credit allocation (about $5.6 million) in exchange for about $47.6 million of funds from the U.S. Treasury. Applications from eligible projects with tax credit awards from 2008 and 2007 are due by May 29, 2009.

Finally, the notice sets a deadline of October 6 for the October 2009 competitive funding round.