Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP)

The Mississippi Home Corporation (the "Corporation" or “MHC”) is charged with the responsibility of administering the Housing Tax Credit Program (the “Tax Credits”, “Housing Credit” or the "Tax Credit Program"), which was created by Congress in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which has been further amended by acts of Congress and amendments to Section 42, as amended, of the Internal Revenue Code.

MHC is required by Section 42 to develop a qualified allocation plan

• i. which shall set forth the selection criteria to be used to determine housing priorities of the State of
  Mississippi that are appropriate to local conditions;
• ii. which also gives preference in allocating housing credit dollar amounts among selected developments that
  (a) serve the lowest income tenants, and (b) obligate to serve qualified tenants for the longest time period;
  and (c) are located in qualified census tracts and the development of which contributes to a concerted
  community revitalization plan;
• iii. which provides a procedure that MHC (or an agent or other private contractor of MHC) will follow in
  monitoring for noncompliance and notifying the Internal Revenue Service of such noncompliance.

The selection criteria set forth in a qualified allocation plan must include: (i) development location, (ii) housing needs characteristics, (iii) development characteristics, (iv) sponsor characteristics, (v) tenant populations with special housing needs, (vi) public housing waiting lists, (vii) tenant populations of individuals with children, (viii)
developments intended for eventual tenant ownership, (ix) the energy efficiency of the development, and (x) the
historic nature of the development. The Code also requires that the qualified allocation plan be subject to public
review in accordance with rules similar to those in Section 147(f) (2) of the Code.

The delegation of authority to the states to administer the Tax Credit Program, a tax incentive program, is unique and unprecedented. However, the delegation is limited. While recognizing the value of decentralized decision-making, Congress also imposed a uniform set of procedures each state must follow in administrating the Tax Credit  Program. These procedures are designed to ensure that the low-income renters, whom the program is intended to benefit, are those actually served. These procedures are also designed to make certain that the Tax Credit is rationed in the amount necessary to make each development feasible and viable, taking into account all sources of funding.

In December 1997, the National Council of State Housing Agencies (“NCSHA”) established a Task Force of Housing Finance Agency Executive Directors to develop Best Practice Standards for LIHTC administration in response to suggestions by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, as well as other interested parties.