Department of Housing and Urban Development November 24, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document designates ``Difficult Development Areas'' (DDAs) and ``Qualified Census Tracts'' (QCTs) for purposes of the Low- Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 42 (26 U.S.C. 42). The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) makes new DDA and QCT designations annually. As previously announced, the 2016 metropolitan DDA designations use for the first time Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs), rather than metropolitan-area Fair Market Rents (FMRs), for designating metropolitan DDAs. Compared to previous designations, this notice: (1) Describes a strengthening of the data quality standard HUD uses in designating the 2016 QCTs, (2) extends from 365 days to 730 days the period for which the 2016 lists of QCTs and DDAs are effective for projects located in areas not on a subsequent list of DDAs or QCTs but having submitted applications while the area was a 2016 QCT or DDA, and (3) establishes the effective date of the new QCTs and DDAs as July 1, 2016 rather than January 1.