Financing Supportive Housing with Tax-Exempt Bonds and 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits

October 2007

Tax-exempt bonds partnered with 4% Low-income Housing Tax Credits have been widely used by affordable housing developers.  It has taken longer for this financing structure to be used by permanent supportive housing developers since most assume their projects cannot support debt service on the bonds.  In recent years, a number of states have devised strategies to address the debt service issue and non-profit sponsors of supportive housing have become increasingly sophisticated in the use of these financing tools.  This approach can expand the funding sources available for supportive housing, especially in those states and localities lacking dedicated capital programs for supportive housing and where competition for every affordable housing dollar is intense.  This report is intended to introduce this technique to local and state officials considering bond financing, presenting several case studies and answering some of the most commonly asked questions.