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4 Percent Only HTC for Use with Projects Financed by Tax-Exempt Volume Limited …
Final Housing Tax Credit Allocation or Award Certification - Form 8609
Qualified Allocation Plan
Development Team Qualification forms
Multifamily Customer Portal Resources
Rent and Income Limits
MF Consolidated Request for Proposals & Housing Tax Credits Funding Selections
Prevailing Wage Requirements
Underwriting Standards

Housing Tax Credits

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Tax Credit) Program awards and allocates federal housing tax credits to owners of qualified affordable rental housing projects. These Housing Tax Credits which offer a 10-year reduction in tax liability, are sold to investors in exchange for capital to build eligible affordable rental housing units in new construction, rehabilitation, or acquisition with rehabilitation.

Minnesota Housing offers two types of Housing Tax Credit (HTC): 9% and 4% with Tax-Exempt Volume Limited Bonds

The 9% HTCs are allocated twice a year through a competitive process:

  • Round 1 – Also known as the annual Multifamily Consolidated Request for Proposals (RFP)/HTC Round 1, when much of our other funding is also available.
  • Round 2 – Generally a smaller round allocating the remaining available HTC for the year.

4% HTCs are available year-round. There are two ways to apply for 4% HTCs from Minnesota Housing:

  • Annual Multifamily Consolidated RFP – Projects that were selected for deferred funds with 4% HTC financial structure in the annual Multifamily Consolidated RFP with Minnesota Housing as the bond issuer must apply for 4% HTCs through the 42M application using the Multifamily Customer Portal. The checklist is located within the funding round that project was selected.
  • 4% HTC Only Application Round – Projects expected to be financed with tax-exempt volume limited bonding authority from Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) that don’t need or have not been awarded funding from Minnesota Housing must apply through the applicable 4% HTC Only Application Round using the Multifamily Customer Portal.
Application Rounds

2025 Multifamily Consolidated RFP/2026 HTC Round 1 is closed. Visit the Multifamily Consolidated Request for Proposals/Housing Tax Credits Funding Rounds webpage for more information and application materials. Stay up to date on Multifamily Consolidated RFP news and updates by signing up for our eNews to learn about important dates, trainings, and more.

2026 HTC Round 2 is now Closed. The application period for the 2026 Housing Tax Credit Round 2 closed on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Selection recommendations for this round are anticipated to be presented at Minnesota Housing's board meeting on May 28, 2026. All applicants will be directly notified of outcomes. Visit the Housing Tax Credit Round 2 webpage for more information.

2026 4% HTC Only Application Round is available year-round! Minnesota Housing is currently accepting pre-applications and full 42M applications for an award of 2026 4% HTC Only (4% HTC Only) for projects anticipated to be financed with tax-exempt volume limited bonding authority from Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB). Learn more about the 4% Housing Tax Credit (4% HTC) Program and how to apply for 4% HTC Only.

State Prevailing Wage Requirement

In the 2024 legislative session, the state prevailing wage statutes (Minnesota Statute 116J.871) were amended to include new reporting requirements and to broaden prevailing wage applicability for multifamily rental housing projects that receive funding from Minnesota Housing.

Projects selected for an award or allocation of federal low-income housing tax credits (Housing Tax Credits) on or after January 1, 2025: For purposes of an award, selection is defined as the issuance of the 42M preliminary determination letter by Minnesota Housing. For purposes of an allocation, selection is defined as Minnesota Housing board action to select a project for future reservation and allocation of LIHTC through Round 1 or Round 2.

Visit Minnesota Housing’s Prevailing Wage webpage and review the Frequently Asked Questions document for more information on the prevailing wage requirements, applicability, and reporting.

Housing Tax Credit Documents

The following documents set forth the overall funding priorities for all HTC funding rounds and the annual Multifamily Consolidated RFP.

The Governor has approved the amendments to the 2026-2027 Qualified Allocation Plan and the 2024-2025 Qualified Allocation Plan. The final versions of the Qualified  Allocation Plan documents are available below and on the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) webpage.

Amended HTC Documents Accordion
2026 Original HTC Documents
HTC Application Reference Materials

Eventual Tenant Ownership Guide

Eventual Tenant Ownership (ETC) Guide - RTF Fillable version | PDF Fillable version - Allows property owners to convert HTC rental units to homeownership units after the initial 15-year compliance period. For information on ETO, contact a member of the Housing Tax Credit Team at htc.mhfa@state.mn.us.

Market Study

Internal Revenue Code section 42(m)(1)(A)(iii) requires that all selected HTC projects select an authorized market analyst to conduct a comprehensive market study of the housing needs of low-income individuals in the project area before credit allocation. Review the Housing Tax Credits Market Study Guidelines for more information.

Typically, the market study will be collected as a post-selection checklist item and must be submitted via the Multifamily Customer Portal by the due date listed on the project’s selection letter. Projects applying through the 4% HTC Only Round are required to submit a market study at application/42M.

Authorized Market Analysts List

The Authorized Market Analyst List has been updated as of December 2025.

Minnesota Housing is not currently accepting new applications and renewals for the Authorized Market Analysts List. The next application period opens in July 2026. Subscribe to our eNews for updates.

Authorized market analysts must renew their applications every three years to remain eligible. If your organization is currently on the list, please refer to the renewal date provided. New applicants who have not yet completed a Minnesota Housing market study will be added to the Pilot List until they successfully complete one. Analysts should review the Authorized Market Analysts List to check their renewal date and confirm their current status.

Application Materials

Questions?

Contact the Housing Tax Credit Team at htc.mhfa@state.mn.us.

Average Income Test (AIT)

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 established an Average Income Test (AIT) as a third minimum set-aside election for new HTC projects. Under appropriate circumstances, this option can be elected by owners in lieu of the existing minimum set-aside elections of 40% of the units at 60% of Multifamily Tax Subsidy Project (MTSP), and 20% of the units at 50% of MTSP.

Census Data

To determine the census tract or census tract number for a particular address, visit the following:

Minnesota Statutes

Housing Tax Credit Team and Suballocators Contact Information

Current Applicable Percentage

Carryover Procedure

Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code requires all 9% Housing Tax Credit (HTC) projects to carryover or be placed in service by the end of the HTC year. A project that received or is eligible for a reservation of 9% HTCs is eligible to apply for a Carryover Allocation of HTCs.

The Carryover checklist found in the Multifamily Customer Portal (Portal) must be submitted by November 1 of the HTC year. If you are requesting additional HTCs, the Carryover Application should be submitted by noon Central time October 15 of the HTC year, to allow sufficient time to process the request.

Provided that all requirements of the Carryover Allocation Agreement are met in a timely manner, the project will receive a Carryover Allocation. A Carryover Allocation Agreement allows qualified buildings to be placed in service up to two years after the year in which an allocation is received.

A project that has not received a Carryover Allocation or is not placed in service before December 31 of the HTC year will lose its entire reservation of that year’s HTCs. To the extent permissible, late fees will be imposed on Carryover Applications submitted after the submission deadline, as outlined in the applicable Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).

Questions  

For project specific questions, contact the assigned Minnesota Housing staff listed in the Portal system. If you have questions about the Portal system, contact mhfa.app@state.mn.us or review the information on the Portal webpage.

For Housing Tax Credits questions, contact the HTC team at htc.mhfa@state.mn.us

Other HTC Information

Other HTC Information

Changes in Ownership or Proposed Development

Minnesota Housing strongly discourages the transfer of ownership or any material project or building design changes for developments that have been awarded tax credits. Any unapproved transfers or changes could be penalized by the partial or complete loss of tax credits, as well as the assessment of penalty points. If an owner wishes to change or transfer ownership, they should contact Minnesota Housing’s Request for Action (RFA) team for more information. To contact the RFA Team, visit the Minnesota Housing's Request for Action (RFA) webpage.

Qualified Contract

The Internal Revenue Code, Section 42(h)(6)(E)(i)(II) created a provision that housing credit agencies respond to a request for presentation of a qualified contract for HTC projects with expiring compliance periods. The request for presentation of a qualified contract is a request that the housing credit agency find a buyer (who will continue to operate the property as a qualified low-income property) to purchase the property for a qualified contract price pursuant to IRS regulations.

If the housing credit agency is unable to find a qualified buyer within one year of the request, the extended use period for the property as affordable housing terminates. However, during the three years following the termination, existing low-income tenants cannot be evicted or have their tenancy terminated, other than for good cause, and rents cannot exceed the allowable HTC rent limits.

Required Documents

Housing Tax Credit Property for Sale Notice:

Buffalo Heights Apartments - Available for sale through the Housing Tax Credit Program Qualified Contract Process.

  • Location: Buffalo, MN

  • Number of units: 11

  • Year Built: 2004

View the Property Summary for details and contact information.

Contact