Virginia's state match to the federal LIHTC — and, paired with a flat 25% state historic credit, one of the strongest adaptive-reuse stacks on the East Coast.
| Quick Facts — Virginia Housing Opportunity Tax Credit | |
|---|---|
| Structure | A state credit mirroring the federal LIHTC, allocated alongside it |
| Administered by | Virginia Housing, under the Commonwealth’s Qualified Allocation Plan |
| Eligibility | Developments allocated federal 9% or 4% LIHTC and approved for the state credit |
| Capacity | Subject to annual appropriation — confirm the current cycle before underwriting |
| Stacks with | Federal LIHTC; the Virginia historic rehabilitation credit and the federal historic credit on adaptive-reuse conversions |
As with South Carolina’s state housing credit, the discipline is to treat the state credit as upside in the base case rather than as the thing that makes the deal work — unless the award is confirmed. State housing credit investor markets are narrower than the federal market, which affects pricing as well as availability.
We prepare projections with and without the state credit, track the allocation cycle, and structure adaptive-reuse deals so the historic and housing credits land with the investors best able to use them.
Ask about current HOTC capacityOfficial references: Virginia Housing; Commonwealth of Virginia Qualified Allocation Plan. Confirm current-year appropriation and allocation status directly with Virginia Housing.
Virginia’s combination is unusually strong because the state historic credit is a flat 25% limited by an annual per-taxpayer claim rather than a per-project cap.
| Program | Stacks? |
|---|---|
| Federal LIHTC (9% or 4%) | Yes — the state credit is allocated alongside it |
| Virginia historic credit (25%) | Yes, on a certified historic adaptive reuse |
| Federal historic credit (20%) | Yes — note the LIHTC basis adjustment changes the historic credit calculation |
Yes — the Virginia Housing Opportunity Tax Credit, administered by Virginia Housing as a state match to the federal low-income housing tax credit for qualified developments allocated federal LIHTC.
Availability depends on the annual appropriation, so capacity should be confirmed with Virginia Housing for the current allocation cycle before a deal is underwritten on it.
Yes. On a certified historic adaptive reuse, a project can carry federal LIHTC, the Virginia HOTC, the 25% Virginia historic credit and the 20% federal historic credit — though LIHTC basis adjustments change the historic credit calculation and the two credits go to different investors.
Virginia's adaptive-reuse stack is among the strongest we work with. Send us the deal.
