WHEDA has recently modified the 2017/2018 QAP to allow for the administration of the new Wisconsin Housing Tax Credit (HTC).  The modification to the 2017/2018 QAP can be found on https://www.wheda.com/LIHTC/2018-program/ – the modification describes timelines, threshold requirement, scoring options and procedures for the 2018 state HTC round.

WHEDA has also published a draft 2019/2020 QAP.  Public hearings for the draft 2019/2020 QAP are scheduled for May 30th, and written comments will be accepted through June 1st.  A copy of the draft QAP, along with public hearing details, can be found on https://www.wheda.com/LIHTC/2019-Program/.

Proposed changes to the QAP include the following:

  • Scoring: Elimination of the Financial Participation and Credit Usage categories. These categories would be replaced with a Financial Leverage category – calculated by considering LIHTC equity as a percentage of total development budget:

o Less than 45% – 40 points

o 45.1% to 48.0% – 35 points

o 48.1% to 51.0% – 30 points

o 51.1% to 54.0% – 25 points

o 54.1% to 57.0% – 20 points

o 57.1% to 60.0% – 15 points

o 60.1% to 63.0% – 10 points

o 63.0% to 70.0% – 5 points

o Above 70% – 0 points

  • Opportunity Zone Category: this category is renamed Areas of Economic Opportunity so as not to cause confusion with the new federal program.
  • Tiebreaker: The 2019 tiebreaker will consist of
  1. Points awarded in the Areas of Economic Opportunity category, and
  2. Amount of Housing Tax Credits (HTCs) per low-income unit
  • Rural Set-Aside: The metrics have been changed to determine eligibility for what is rural. Beginning in 2019, the areas eligible for the Rural Set-Aside will be based on the USDA Rural Development’s Property Eligibility criteria (for Multifamily Housing). The RD eligibility web site can be found at https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do?pageAction=mfhc.
  • Developer Fees: Developer fees will be the lesser of the current developer fee calculation or $21,000 per unit.