The 2011 competition for New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) is open.

The Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund released the Notice of Allocation Availability for $3.5 billion in tax credits under the New Markets program.

NMTCs spur investment of private-sector capital into distressed communities by providing a tax credit to corporate or individual taxpayers who make qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities (CDEs). The CDEs, in turn, invest the capital raised into projects and businesses in low-income communities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the investment in a CDE and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period.

The key deadlines for this round are:

  • CDE certification application: June 22;
  • NMTC program application: July 27; and
  • Prior allocatees' issuance of qualified equity investments: Oct. 14.