STATE LIHTC RESEARCH

Idaho
QAP scoring guide.

Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) · 2026 QAP

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● Verified guideChecked Sep 12, 2026View source QAP ↗

THE POINT TABLE

Competitive scoring

26 categories

null — not stated in the QAP or its companion documents; no historical award-score summary was found published by IHFA in the sources reviewed. The QAP only states the qualifying thresholds (70 pts for 9% competitive credits, 50 pts for 4% bond deals).

Select a category to read its scoring criteria.

Proximity to Goods, Services, or Major Employer

5 pts

1/2 point per qualifying amenity category (grocery, retail, police/fire, pharmacy, post office, bank, park, school, library, health club, hospital/clinic, social services/childcare, transit stop, greenbelt path, major employer) within 1.5 mi (urban) / 3.0 mi (rural) driving distance, or 5.0/10.0 mi for major employer; third-party mileage documentation required.

Development Amenities

5 pts

Points for a menu of physical amenities (hard flooring, central A/C, high-speed internet, in-unit storage, computer room, fiber cement siding, security cameras, electronic access controls, private outdoor space); requires licensed architect pre- and as-built certification and becomes a covenant in the Regulatory Agreement.

Public Housing Authority Waitlist Preference

2 pts

Development commits to giving 100% of rent-restricted units a leasing preference to households on a Public Housing Authority waiting list; requires Sponsor/management certification and inclusion in the Tenant Selection Policy.

Market-Rate Unit Mix

3 pts

Development includes 10% or more market-rate (non-restricted) units among total residential units.

Handicap/Disability Waitlist Preference

2 pts

Development commits to a waitlist preference for households containing a member with a Fair Housing Act-defined handicap; requires certification and Tenant Selection Policy language.

Housing for Older Persons

3 pts

Development qualifies as "housing for older persons" under the Fair Housing Act (62+ exclusive occupancy, or 55+ community meeting the 80% occupancy/policy test).

Family/Children Unit Set-Aside

3 pts

2 points for 5.00%-9.99%, or 3 points for 10%+, of rent-restricted units designated 3-bedroom-or-larger for families with children, with supporting amenities; not available to developments claiming the elderly/senior points.

Non-Related Contributions / Donations

10 pts

Points scaled to the cumulative percentage of Total Development Cost (excluding developer fees/reserves) funded by charitable donations, local/federal government assistance (e.g., FHLB AHP, CDBG), or qualifying land donations from an unrelated party, rounded down to the nearest 1/2 point.

Sponsor Compliance History

15 pts

Sponsor has a history of satisfactory LIHTC compliance ratings on its existing §42 portfolio (at least one placed-in-service development with 3+ years of compliance reviews and no substantial noncompliance, open 8823s, or late monitoring fees/reports).

Areas of Opportunity

2 pts

Development is located in a census tract with a poverty rate at or below Idaho's statewide average poverty rate (10.5% per the 2026 published benchmark), per FFIEC census data.

Community Revitalization (Rehabilitation)

1 pts

Rehabilitation development using existing housing is located within a certified urban renewal district or city-designated area with an affordable-housing goal.

Eventual Tenant Ownership

1 pts

100% of units are rent-restricted and the development is structured for conversion to tenant/home ownership after the 15-year compliance period, meeting detailed conversion-feasibility conditions.

City Without Recent Competitive Award

5 pts

1 point per year lapsed (up to 5) since the development's city last had a project receive a competitive 9% award, based on the annually published 5-year award-city list.

Cost Containment

8 pts

New construction/adaptive reuse developments scored on hard construction cost per residential sq ft and all-remaining-development-cost per sq ft, each against a rolling 3-year adjusted average (2026 benchmark: $265.99/sf hard costs, $150.53/sf remaining costs); tiered points from 4.0 (≤80% of average) down to 0.0 (≥125.1% of average) in each of the two categories.

Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits

1 pts

Development uses Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits as a funding source, evidenced by National Park Service certification of the structure's historic status.

Low Vacancy Primary Market Area

6 pts

Development is located in a Primary Market Area with a documented LIHTC rental vacancy rate of 3.00% or less, per the submitted market study/appraisal.

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Units

4 pts

1 point per dedicated PSH unit (with accessible parking) for Special Housing Needs Households (≤30% AMI, disabled, homeless/at-risk/fleeing DV), up to 4 points; requires a Supportive Services Plan, HMIS/CMIS participation, Coordinated Entry usage, and multi-party certifications.

VASH Voucher Waitlist Preference

2 pts

Development commits to a waitlist preference for households holding HUD-VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) vouchers.

Low LIHTC Cost Per Unit

2 pts

Development utilizes $25,000 or less in LIHTC per affordable (tax credit) unit.

Sponsor/Developer Fast Completion Track Record

6 pts

Sponsor/Developer completed a prior LIHTC development (award through complete IRS Form 8609 application) within 24 months (3 pts) or 36 months (2 pts) of the current application, within the last 60 months; +1 additional point if that prior project was in Idaho; multiple qualifying developments may stack up to the max.

Extended 40-Year Affordability Commitment (Preference Points)

15 pts

Development commits to 25 additional years of low-income use beyond the standard 15-year compliance period (40-year total obligation), including waiver of Qualified Contract conversion rights until the final year.

40% AMI or Less Unit Set-Aside (Preference Points)

6 pts

At least 2.5% of rent-restricted units (developments of 1-60 units) or 5% (61+ units) restricted to 40% AMI or less (30%/35% AMI units may count toward this threshold).

45% AMI Unit Set-Aside (Preference Points)

3 pts

At least 5% of rent-restricted units (1-60 units) or 10% (61+ units) restricted to exactly 45% AMI (lower-AMI units do not count toward this striated tier).

50% AMI Unit Set-Aside (Preference Points)

2 pts

At least 10% of rent-restricted units (1-60 units) or 20% (61+ units) restricted to exactly 50% AMI (lower-AMI units do not count toward this striated tier).

Qualified Census Tract Community Revitalization (Preference Points)

1 pts

Development is located within a qualified census tract that is also a certified urban renewal district or city-designated area with an affordable-housing revitalization goal (citywide designations do not qualify).

Negative Performance Points (deductions)

See criteria

No stated maximum — deducted per occurrence for: (1) Total Development Cost overrun >15% at Final Cost Certification within the prior year (-2); (2) failure to respond to an IHFA information request within 30 days within the prior year (-2); (3) reporting more than 60 days late within the prior year (-2); (4) 60+ days delinquent on any IHFA loan/default/tax lien within the prior year (-2); (5) each required application document that is omitted or materially incomplete (-1, capped functionally because >5 negative points renders the application automatically incomplete); (6) prior competitive award not yet under construction by the current round's deadline (-2 per outstanding project).

Scoring source

2026 QAP Section 6 - Selection Criteria Point System (pp. 25-41): Section 6.1 Competitive Ranking and 6.2 Point Threshold (p. 25), Section 6.4 Selection Criteria — the 20 base point categories (pp. 26-38), Section 6.5 Preference Points — the 5 additional categories (pp. 38-40), and Section 6.6 Negative Performance Points, uncapped per instance (pp. 40-41). Tie-breaker criteria are at Section 4.10.1 (p. 18), not in Section 6. Current-year numeric inputs for several categories (poverty rate, recent award cities, cost containment benchmarks) are republished annually in the companion "2026 Combined Annual LIHTC Application Information" document.

WHEN SCORES ARE CLOSE

Tie-breakers

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

Priority to development(s) in a county with no more than 2 credit awards in the prior 2 rounds
If still tied, priority to lowest average AMI of rent-restricted units (to two decimals)
Any residual tie resolved at IHFA's sole discretion

MODEL ASSUMPTIONS

Underwriting parameters

Primary source: QAP Exhibit E, "Underwriting Guidelines" (pp. 79-85), which is explicitly incorporated by reference from Section 7.3.12, "Operating Expenses, Replacement Reserves and Debt Service Coverage" (p. 48), and Section 4.9.3, "Economic Feasibility Threshold" (p. 14). Current-year numeric benchmarks (operating expense minimums, replacement reserve minimums, cost-containment cost/sq ft averages, average poverty rate) are republished annually in the companion "2026 Combined Annual LIHTC Application Information" PDF, as directed by Section 7.3.12 and Exhibit E. Additional underwriting-adjacent standards (developer fee caps, contractor/A&E fee caps, construction contingency caps, acquisition cost limits) live in Section 7.3 generally and its subsections 7.3.1-7.3.15 (pp. 42-49), also restated in Exhibit E.

OPERATING ASSUMPTIONS

Utility allowance

Preferred method: not specified

IHFA Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Compliance Manual (June 26, 2020 — still the version posted as current on IHFA's Tax Credit Compliance page), "Utility Allowance" section, pp. 25-26 (subsections "HUD Utility Schedule Model," "Engineering Consumption Model," "Public Housing Authority (PHA) Utility Allowance," "Actual Consumption Utility Allowance"); cross-referenced in the 2026 QAP at Exhibit B, application/carryover checklist items requiring "documentation substantiating utility allowance calculations," and Section 4.9.7 (Affordability Threshold, which nets a tenant-utility allowance against tax credit rent).

YOUR NEXT STEPS

Development guides for Idaho

PHASE 1Site sourcing and screening PHASE 2Site control and due diligence PHASE 3Entitlement pathway election PHASE 4Program election (9% vs. 4% vs. hybrid)PHASE 5Rents, income limits, and the operating pro forma PHASE 6Cost, construction type, and the labor package PHASE 7One agency runs the soft money too — except the trust fund nobody ever funded PHASE 8One round a year for 9%, a ten-month window for 4%PHASE 9A November 15 carryover deadline, a named 10% test, and a bond that outlives the ribbon-cutting PHASE 10Construction through placed-in-service: IHFA site visits, cost certification, and the two-year PIS clock PHASE 11Compliance, Year 15, and Idaho's 30-year floor — with a Qualified Contract right that isn't blanket-waived

Use the LIHTC feasibility checklist →