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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 (HTCs) to owners of qualified affordable rental housing projects. These HTCs, 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 HTCs: 9% and 4% with Tax-Exempt Volume Limited Bonds.

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

  • Multifamily Consolidated Request for Proposals (RFP)/HTC Round 1, when much of our other funding is also available.
  • HTC Round 2, generally a smaller round allocating the remaining available HTCs 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 selected for deferred funds with a 4% HTC financial structure where Minnesota Housing is the bond issuer must apply for 4% HTC by submitting a 42M application in the Multifamily Customer Portal. The checklist is located within the applicable funding round that the project was selected.
  • 4% HTC Only Round – Projects expected to be financed with tax-exempt volume limited bonding authority from Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) that do not need or have not been awarded funding from Minnesota Housing must apply through the applicable 4% HTC Only Round in the Multifamily Customer Portal.
Current Application Status

2026 Multifamily Consolidated RFP/2027 HTC Round 1 is now closed. Visit the Multifamily Consolidated Request for Proposals/Housing Tax Credit 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 were approved at Minnesota Housing's board meeting on May 28, 2026. Visit the Housing Tax Credit Round 2 webpage for more information.

2027 4% HTC Only Application is available year-round! Minnesota Housing is currently accepting pre-applications. Starting Tuesday, January 12, 2027, will begin accepting full 42M applications for an award of 2027 4% HTC Only for projects anticipated to be financed with tax-exempt volume limited bonding authority from MMB. Learn more about the 4% Housing Tax Credit (4% HTC) Program and how to apply for 4% HTC Only.

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.

Visit our Housing Tax Credits Allocation Manuals and Documents Archived webpage to view the original versions of the QAPs.

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.

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 projects selected for an allocation of HTCs commission a comprehensive market study of the housing needs of low-income individuals in the area to be served by the project before the credit allocation is made. This study must be made at the developer’s expense by a disinterested party who is approved by Minnesota Housing. Approved analysts are outlined on the Minnesota Housing Authorized Marked Analyst List.

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 Update: New Applications and Renewals

The application period for placement on the Authorized Market Analyst List is closed. Applications are accepted annually from July 1st through October 1st.

Application Materials

Market Analyst Requirements and Application - RTF Fillable version | PDF Fillable version

Market Study Guidelines - Updated October 30, 2025

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% HTC is eligible to apply for a Carryover Allocation of HTC.

The Carryover checklist found in the Multifamily Customer Portal (Portal) must be submitted by October 1 of the HTC year.

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 HTC. 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.

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