Tax Credits Available for Investments to Help Low-Income Communities

May 31, 2011

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released today its 2011 Notice of Allocation Availability (NOAA) which officially opens the 2011 round of competition for $3.5 billion in tax credits under the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program).

“Despite the signs of growth we see in our nation’s economy, the economic recovery has not reached the hardest-hit communities we serve. The New Markets Tax Credit is a critical tool being used to attract private sector capital for underserved communities, and I am delighted to announce the opening of this year’s round making available $3.5 billion of tax credit authority,” said CDFI Fund Director, Donna J. Gambrell. “These credits will help economically-distressed communities to create or retain thousands of jobs and provide low-income community residents with access to quality education, health care, job training, healthy food options and other critical retail services in their communities.”

The New Markets Tax Credit spurs investment of private sector capital into distressed communities by providing a tax credit to corporate or individual taxpayers who make qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities (CDEs). The CDEs in turn, invest the capital raised into projects and businesses in low-income communities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the investment in a CDE and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period.

Since the inception of the NMTC Program, the CDFI Fund has made 594 awards—totaling $29.5 billion in tax credit allocation authority—to CDEs through the NMTC Program. The equity raised through the tax credit is stimulating economic growth, supporting job creation and fostering small business growth in distressed communities across America.

Important Deadlines

• CDE Certification Application: June 22, 2011
• NMTC Program Application: July 27, 2011
• Prior Allocatees' Issuance of Qualified Equity Investments:
  October 14, 2011

Application Materials

NMTC application materials and resources are available on the CDFI Fund's NMTC Program web page.

CDE Certification application materials and resources are available on the CDFI Fund's CDE Certification web page.

Learn About Applying to the NMTC Program

In addition to the detailed information that is available through the NOAA and NMTC application, the CDFI Fund has also recorded an application workshop which will be available for viewing on June 13th on the CDFI Fund’s How to Apply web page.

The CDFI Fund will also conduct two one-hour conference calls to answer applicant questions. Please see below for the dates and times for each call. No presentations will be given during the calls; only questions from participants will be addressed. The dial-in number pass codes are the same for all calls. The dial-in number is (888) 566-6196 and the pass code is NEW MARKETS, or 6396275387. No prior registration is necessary.

Questions

For more information on the NMTC application or certification as a CDE, please contact the CDFI Fund at cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov.

About the CDFI Fund

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded almost $1.3 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations and financial institutions through the CDFI Program, the Bank Enterprise Award Program, Capital Magnet Fund, the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program, and the Native Initiatives. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $29.5 billion in tax credit authority to CDEs through the NMTC Program.

For more information about the CDFI Fund or the NMTC Program, please visit: www.cdfifund.gov.