STATE LIHTC RESEARCH

Arkansas
QAP scoring guide.

Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA) · 2026 QAP

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● Verified guideChecked Sep 12, 2026View source QAP ↗

THE POINT TABLE

Competitive scoring

15 categories

Not stated. No historical winning-score data, prior-round award summary, or "typically competitive score" language appears in the QAP or the companion documents reviewed.

Select a category to read its scoring criteria.

Location (Area of Opportunity Index)

10 pts

Census-tract-level index (0–10, to two decimals) based on unemployment rate, vacancy rate, and population growth; published on ADFA's AOI ArcGIS map for every census tract.

Tenant Needs

6 pts

Choose one: 6 pts for a development that is 100% elderly-designated (42 USC 3607(b)(2)); OR 6 pts for a family development with ≥20% of units having 3+ bedrooms (mutually exclusive with the elderly option); OR 6 pts for Supportive Housing for disabled persons with ≥20% of units set aside for special-needs tenants, supported by required applicant and service-provider statements.

Rehabilitation Point Deduction

-12 pts

Deduction (up to 12 pts) if the development acquires/rehabs building(s) that received a LIHTC allocation within the last 20 years: 12 pts deducted if <16 years since the prior allocation, sliding down to 4 pts deducted at 19–20 years; no LIHTC at all is allowed if the prior 15-year compliance period is still ongoing at the application deadline.

Profit and Overhead

5 pts

1 pt each for general requirements ≤6% of construction hard costs, contractor profit ≤8% of hard costs plus general requirements, and contractor overhead ≤3% of hard costs plus general requirements; plus 2 bonus points for meeting all three simultaneously.

Historic Developments

4 pts

4 pts for a rehabilitation development involving structures individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places or determined to contribute to a Registered Historic District.

Development County

3 pts

3 pts for building in an Arkansas county that has not received a 9% LIHTC allocation for 10 years or more (qualifying counties listed by name in the QAP appendix).

Income Targeting

10 pts

Up to 10 pts for targeting units below 60% AMI: 7 pts for reserving 10% of total units at 50% AMI, or 10 pts for reserving 20% of total units at 50% AMI.

Site Selection

27 pts

3 pts each (points not formally capped, but 9 listed amenity types × 3 pts = 27) for proximity — within 3 miles (urban) or 5 miles (rural) — to a grocery/supermarket, pharmacy, school/daycare, public park/green space, public library, senior center (elderly properties only), hospital/clinic/doctor's office, public transportation, and pedestrian trails, each verified via Google Maps driving distance; plus 3 pts if ≥4 occupied residential units sit within 0.5 miles of the site. Uncapped point deductions apply for incompatible adjacent uses (3 pts for adjacent junk yard/farm/prison/airport, 2 pts if within 0.3 miles) and for poor site suitability (topography, low-lying areas, floodplain, wetlands).

Total Development Costs Per Unit

15 pts

Sliding scale based on total development uses of funds divided by unit count: 15 pts for <$200,000/unit, 12 pts for $200,000–209,999, 9 pts for $210,000–219,999, 7 pts for $220,000–229,999, 5 pts for $230,000–239,999, 2 pts for $240,000–249,999, 0 pts for >$250,000.

Serves Lowest Income Group Possible

7 pts

7 pts if at least 5% of total residential units are rent- and income-restricted for households at ≤30% AMI (extremely low income), evidenced in rent schedules; unavailable to developments that receive/anticipate project-based rental assistance on more than 75% of units.

Extended Affordability / Tenant Ownership / Acquisition-Rehab

6 pts

Choose one: 6 pts for extending the affordability period to a minimum of 35 years (new construction only); OR 6 pts for committing to eventual tenant ownership under IRC §42(i)(7) via a proposed right-of-first-refusal contract (not available to HOME/NHTF applicants); OR 6 pts for acquisition/rehabilitation of an existing, operating, affordable housing development.

Community Revitalization Plan

1 pts

1 pt for a development located in a Qualified Census Tract that contributes to a planning-authority-approved Community Revitalization Plan specifically addressing affordable housing need.

Energy Efficiency / Air Quality

5 pts

2 pts each (up to 2 categories) for installing a SEER 16+ HVAC system or keeping the air handler/ductwork fully within conditioned space; 1 pt each for R-44+ ceiling insulation, .35 U-factor/.30 SHGC windows, advanced framing techniques, or a documented air-sealing package.

Past Performance Point Deduction

-25 pts

Up to 25 pts deducted, assessed round-by-round, if the applicant/developer/application preparer failed to meet ADFA program requirements on a prior ADFA development — e.g., not following through on award-winning representations, chronic slow responses to ADFA, missed deadlines (including Form 8609/cost certification), final costs exceeding the awarded amount, or missed monthly draw/inspection reporting.

Non-Compliance Point Deduction

-20 pts

Up to 20 pts deducted on a sliding scale tied to the development team's 3-year average IRS Form 8823 / NSPIRE non-compliance percentage across ADFA-monitored properties: 0 pts at 0–15%, 5 pts at 16–30%, 10 pts at 31–40%, 15 pts at 41–50%, 20 pts at 51% or more.

Scoring source

2026 QAP, "Multifamily Housing Application Guidelines," Section II "Procedures for Awarding Points and Ranking Applications" — Part A "Points Criteria" (pp.21–26) and Part B "Ranking and Award Determination" (p.27); minimum self-score threshold set out separately at Section I(C), Item 31 "Minimum Score" (p.20); qualifying-county list for the Development County category in the unlabeled appendix (final page of the PDF).

WHEN SCORES ARE CLOSE

Tie-breakers

Review the agency’s tie-breaker rules alongside the scoring criteria.

Highest number of affordable rental units produced
Lowest amount of LIHTCs requested per unit
Least aggregate participation by one owner/team member across that round's funded applications
Most equitable geographic distribution of awarded LIHTCs

MODEL ASSUMPTIONS

Underwriting parameters

2026 QAP, "Multifamily Housing Application Guidelines," Section I(C) "Requirements for a Complete Application": Item 10 "Financial Feasibility" (p.11); Item 11 "Operating Deficit Reserve and Replacement Reserve Funds" (pp.12–14); Item 12 "Developer Fee" (pp.14–15); Item 13 "General Requirements, Contractor's Overhead, and Contractor's Profit" (pp.14–15); Item 14 "Per-unit Credit and Cost Limits" (p.15); Item 15 "Minimum Debt Coverage Ratio" (p.15). Reserve terms also restated in the 2026 Affordable Housing Compliance Manual, Chapter 10, Section F.

OPERATING ASSUMPTIONS

Utility allowance

Preferred method: local_pha

None (no ADFA-published UA calculator; agency relies on HUD's own HUD Utility Schedule Model web tool/spreadsheet) ↗

2026 QAP (signed, Sept. 2025) Section I.C.23 "Utility Allowance Calculation" (application-stage requirement); detailed methodology in ADFA LIHTC Affordable Housing Compliance Manual (Preliminary Version, rev. 1/26/2026), Chapter 1, Section D "Income & Rent Limits," subsection "Utility Allowance (UA)" / "Utility Allowance Methods and Requirements," pp. 9-17

YOUR NEXT STEPS

Development guides for Arkansas

PHASE 1Site sourcing and screening PHASE 2Site control, title, and the diligence clocks PHASE 3Clearing the zoning gate PHASE 4Picking a credit program and competition bucket PHASE 5Restricted rents and the operating pro forma PHASE 6Cost, construction type and the labor package PHASE 7Building the capital stack and closing the gap PHASE 8Assembling and filing the application — Arkansas PHASE 9The post-award clock: reservation to carryover PHASE 10Construction, the 10% test, and getting to 8609 PHASE 11Compliance monitoring through Arkansas's 30-year LURA

Use the LIHTC feasibility checklist →