The CDFI Fund is tentatively planning to open the calendar year (CY) 2021 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Allocation Application round in the fall of 2021. If you are considering applying in the upcoming CY 2021 NMTC round, you may find the following information helpful.
NMTC Allocation Application Updates
Earlier this year, the CDFI Fund requested public comments on proposed changes to the NMTC Allocation Application. We received a large number of responses and appreciate the thoughtful comments submitted. The updated NMTC Allocation Application will be released along with the CY 2021 Notice of Allocation Availability (NOAA) and other guidance documents when the round opens this fall.
Please note the following updates:
Disadvantaged Businesses and Communities: As part of the recent public comment process for the Allocation Application, the CDFI Fund proposed revised definitions to these terms. Ultimately, the CDFI Fund has decided to retain the existing definition of Disadvantaged Businesses and Communities used in prior Allocation Applications in determining an Applicant’s track record for statutory priority. Applicants will be required to demonstrate their track record using the existing definition in the CY 2021 Application.
Controlling Entity: The CDFI Fund has adopted a new definition for Controlling Entity in the Allocation Application for Applicants that have not received an NMTC allocation in the CY 2013 through CY 2020 rounds. Applicants that have received an NMTC allocation during those rounds will be required to meet the definition of Controlling Entity in their prior Allocation Agreements. The CDFI Fund will also publish guidance on a process for a past Allocatee to remove its existing Controlling Entity, if desired.
There are a number of other updates to the Allocation Application. Please review the NOAA, Allocation Application, and guidance documents that will be published on the CDFI Fund’s website when the CY 2021 round opens.
Application Registration
Once the NOAA is published and the CY 2021 round opens, the first step potential Applicants must take is to complete and save the Application Registration section of the NMTC Allocation Application in AMIS1 by the Application Registration deadline. Potential Applicants that do not complete and save the Application Registration by the Application Registration deadline will not be able to subsequently submit a CY 2021 Allocation Application in AMIS. Please be sure to complete this important step.
Community Development Entity (CDE) Certification
Potential Applicants will have 14 days from the publication date of the NOAA to submit applications for CDE Certification if they are not currently certified. CDE Certification Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and potential applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible. For more information on applying for CDE certification, please visit: www.cdfifund.gov/cde.
1The CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System, or AMIS, is a cloud-based, enterprise-wide business platform that supports all CDFI Fund programs through each phase of a program’s life cycle, including certification, program applications and awards or allocations, data analysis, compliance, and reporting.
