ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the most important tax incentive for producing affordable housing and the largest active subsidy program for rental housing today. The chapter describes the basic operation of the tax-credit program and how it generates equity for low-income housing. It also provides an overview of the existing stock of tax-credit housing, including the distribution of tax-credit housing across census tracts with varying levels of poverty and racial segregation, and the financial performance of tax-credit properties. The chapter also assesses the program’s strengths and weaknesses.
