The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit in 2024: Where have we been and where are we going?

Authors

Kelley Moore, J.D., Duncan School of Law, Lincoln Memorial University

First & Last Page

242-257

Abstract

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit was introduced by Congress to incentivize private developers to create more affordable housing supply in the United States. The LIHTC is the largest affordable housing development program and is responsible for the creation of most affordable housing in the U.S. In simple terms, developers are given tax credits for committing to keep rent affordable for a minimum of 30 years. Given that that program is approximately 32 years old, we are just now seeing what is happening to properties that were created by the help of the LIHTC when their developers or owners no longer have a tax incentive to keep their rent affordable. This paper will discuss the history of affordable housing and the LIHTC in America, and how the credit became what it is today. At its creation, the drafters did not contemplate what happens to properties when the LIHTC expires. This paper demonstrates what the trend has been, but how the modern housing market creates significant uncertainties as to what happens to LIHTC properties when the credit expires.

Recommended Citation

Kelley Moore, J.D., The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit in 2024: Where have we been and where are we going?, 12 Lincoln Mem’l U. L. Rev. (2025).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmunet.edu/lmulrev/vol12/iss2/9