Eligible Projects

(1) Project Eligibility. Qualified Massachusetts projects for which the Department has issued an eligibility statement are eligible for an allocation of Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit. (2) Special Eligibility for Preservation LIHTC. Only projects that will preserve and improve existing state or federally-assisted housing, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 62, § 6I(b)(1) and M.G.L. c. 63, § 31H(b)(1), are eligible for an allocation of Preservation LIHTC. (3) Limitation on Amount of Donation LIHTC. The maximum donation LIHTC available to a taxpayer for a qualified donation shall be equal to the approved donation percentage of the qualified donation's value, as determined by the Department. (4) Prioritization by the Department. From time to time, the Department shall amend or supplement its existing qualified allocation plan or its program guidelines, or both, to provide taxpayers guidance on how Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit will be allocated among competing projects. Such guidance shall adhere to the statutory requirements of providing the least amount of Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit necessary to ensure financial feasibility of selected projects while allocating the total available Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit among as many qualified Massachusetts projects as fiscally feasible. Subject to these statutory constraints, the Department may, in its discretion, provide guidance that (a) requires owners of projects with more than a designated dollar amount of federal credit to fund a portion of project equity from funds attributable to the Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit; (b) encourages owners of certain projects to raise equity primarily using the Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit while using a minimal amount of the so-called 9% federal low-income housing tax credit; (c) encourages the creation of projects funded through a combination of Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit and the so-called 4% federal low-income housing tax credit allowable to buildings financed with tax-exempt bonds; 54.04: continued (d) limits the amount of Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit that may be provided in the form of donation LIHTC in any year; and (e) encourages the creation of any other projects that the Department deems to be consistent with the statutory goal of increasing the overall number of low-income housing units. (5) A project that receives state financial assistance authorized under St. 2002, c. 244, § 7 (Capital Improvements and Preservation Fund) is eligible to receive an allocation of Massachusetts low income housing tax credit.