State · LIHTC 2026

LIHTC in Iowa: 2026 allocations, QAP and data

Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) allocates Iowa's housing tax credits. The population-based part of Iowa's 2026 9% credit ceiling, before carryforwards and returned credits, is $11,062,330. That is $3.416 times 3,238,387 residents. Its 2026 private activity bond cap, which 4% deals compete for, is $437,182,245 ($135 per person).

$11.06 million2026 9% ceiling (population amount)
$437 million2026 bond volume cap
812027 qualified census tracts
536monitored LIHTC properties in HUD's database

Agency and qualified allocation plan

Allocating agencyIowa Finance Authority (IFA)
Tax credit program pageIFA LIHTC page
Current QAP2026-2027 Second Amended 9% Qualified Allocation Plan (2026-2027)
QAP statusGoverns the 2026 and 2027 9% allocation years (Iowa Code 16.35). IFA posts separate 4% QAPs. IFA site now lives under opportunityiowa.gov (iowafinance.com redirects).

Agency and QAP links checked 2026-10-30.

2026 credit ceiling and bond cap

Item2026Per resident
Population (IRS Notice 2026-22)3,238,38732nd of 52
9% ceiling, population amount$11,062,330$3.42
Formulagreater of $3.416 × pop or $3,953,600per-capita applies
Private activity bond cap$437,182,245$135.00
Formulagreater of $135 × pop or $397,625,000per-capita applies

Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 secs. 4.08 and 4.19 (the 9% amounts already include the 12% increase from Pub. L. 119-21 sec. 70422); IRS Notice 2026-22 (2026-15 I.R.B.). Computed by us and rounded to the dollar; agencies may round differently.

Only the population amount is shown. The full 2026 ceiling adds credits unused from 2025, credits returned by projects and any share of the national pool, which the agency reports in its allocation materials. See every state side by side on the 2026 ceilings and bond caps table.

Basis boost areas: 2027 QCTs and DDAs

HUD's 2027 lists, which apply from January 1, 2027, put 81 Iowa census tracts in qualified census tracts, spread across 23 counties. No nonmetropolitan county is a 2027 DDA. In metro areas, 1 ZIP code areas (ZCTAs) are Small Area DDAs. A building in either can take 130% of eligible basis. Check an address with the QCT and DDA lookup.

Metro areas with Small Area DDAs: Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL MSA.

Every Iowa qualified census tract, with its population, poverty rate and median income, is on the Iowa QCT list by county.

Source: HUD 2027 QCT and DDA designations, FR Doc. 2026-20390 (91 FR 63573, Oct. 6, 2026).

Tax credit properties in Iowa

HUD's database lists 536 Iowa properties financed with housing tax credits that the allocating agency still monitors, with 23,041 income-restricted units. The largest city totals are below; see all cities on the Iowa apartments page.

CityPropertiesRestricted units
Des Moines914,735
Cedar Rapids301,933
Davenport301,558
Council Bluffs231,204
Sioux City21833
West Des Moines8813
Waterloo14781
Dubuque16690
Iowa City14621
Muscatine11473
CountyPropertiesRestricted units
Polk County1176,178
Linn County372,275
Scott County351,800
Pottawattamie County251,264
Dallas County181,039
Black Hawk County18959
Johnson County21907
Woodbury County21839
Dubuque County18746
Jasper County14516

For buyers and lenders: the Iowa Year 15 and Year 30 list shows which of these properties reach the end of the compliance period or the 30-year extended use minimum from 2022 to 2034, by county.

Source: HUD's national LIHTC database (LIHTCPUB, revised May 28, 2026; projects placed in service through 2024). City pages cover cities with at least five properties; county links go to that county's 2026 income and rent limits.

Financing a LIHTC deal in Iowa

A 9% deal in Iowa competes for IFA's 2026 ceiling of $11,062,330 (population amount) under the 2026-2027 Second Amended 9% Qualified Allocation Plan. A 4% deal needs an award from the state's $437,182,245 private activity bond cap: tax-exempt bonds must finance 50% of the aggregate basis of the building and land, or at least 25% if one or more of those bonds, from an issue dated after December 31, 2025, together finance at least 5% of that basis (the 25% bond test, for buildings placed in service in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025). Sites in Iowa's 81 qualified census tracts for 2027 can take the 130% basis boost.

On HUD's records for the 356 Iowa properties on this site's city pages, 3% of those reporting the field were financed with tax-exempt bonds and 92% took 9% (70% present value) credits; 64 received allocations in 2015 or later.

Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32; HUD 2027 QCT list; HUD's national LIHTC database (LIHTCPUB, revised May 28, 2026; projects placed in service through 2024), bond and credit-type fields. What to read in a QAP: state LIHTC programs. Sizing a Iowa deal: get a financing quote.

State housing tax credit

No state LIHTC found. IFA's housing tax credit program and 9% QAP cover only the federal LIHTC; no state LIHTC found. Iowa's Workforce Housing Tax Credit is a separate general housing incentive.

More Iowa data

Questions people ask

How much 9% LIHTC does Iowa get in 2026?

The population part of Iowa's 2026 housing credit ceiling is $11,062,330: the greater of $3.416 per resident or $3,953,600, applied to the 3,238,387 population in IRS Notice 2026-22. The agency's actual 2026 authority also adds unused and returned credits and any national pool share, so its own published figure can be higher.

Who allocates housing tax credits in Iowa?

Iowa Finance Authority (IFA). It awards 9% credits under its qualified allocation plan (2026-2027 Second Amended 9% Qualified Allocation Plan, 2026-2027) and sets the rules 4% bond deals must meet to receive credits.

Does Iowa have a state low-income housing tax credit?

Not a state LIHTC as of October 2026. IFA's housing tax credit program and 9% QAP cover only the federal LIHTC; no state LIHTC found. Iowa's Workforce Housing Tax Credit is a separate general housing incentive.

Financing a Iowa tax credit deal?

Construction, bond, bridge-to-equity and permanent debt for Iowa 4% and 9% deals.

Get a financing quote