STATE LIHTC RESEARCH

Iowa
QAP scoring guide.

Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) — a division of the Iowa Economic Development & Finance Authority · 2026-2027 QAP

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● Verified guideChecked Sep 12, 2026View source QAP ↗

THE POINT TABLE

Competitive scoring

20 categories

Not stated. The QAP notes that IFA posts point-in-time scoring exhibits on its website each round but does not publish an aggregated "typical winning score," and no such summary was found on the agency's program pages during this research.

Select a category to read its scoring criteria.

Affordability for Residents — A. Serving 40% AMI LIHTC Residents

5 pts per each 4.0% of Tax Credit Units (part of 30-pt section cap) pts

Units set aside and occupied by tenants at ≤40% AMI, rent-restricted, with annual recertification (income may rise to 60% AMI and still count if rent stays restricted at 40% AMI).

Affordability for Residents — B. Rent Reduction

5 pts per each 4.0% of Tax Credit Units (part of 30-pt section cap) pts

60% or 50% AMI Units rented at 40%-AMI rent levels while tenant income eligibility stays at 60%/50% AMI; unavailable to projects with a Federal Project-Based Rental Assistance Contract.

Affordability for Residents — C. Permanent Supportive Housing

5 pts per each 2.5% of Tax Credit Units (part of 30-pt section cap) pts

Units leased only to persons experiencing homelessness; requires a Full Team (developer, service provider, property manager) that completed the Iowa Supportive Housing Institute per CSH Quality Dimensions.

Affordability for Residents — D. Project-Based Rental Assistance

30 (shared 30-pt Affordability for Residents section cap with A/B/C, not additive) pts

Federal PBRA contract (HUD/RD) covering ≥25% of units = 15 pts, ≥50% = 20 pts, ≥75% = 30 pts; OR local PHA project-based vouchers (≥10-year commitment) covering 10% of Tax Credit Units = 10 pts.

Affordability for Residents — E. Average Income Test with 40% AMI

30 (shared 30-pt section cap; only available if NOT electing Average Income Test as the minimum set-aside) pts

For applicants electing Average Income Test as the minimum set-aside: ≥30% of units set aside/occupied at ≤40% AMI with annual recertification.

Affordability for Residents — F. Average Income Test (100% Units, 6% credit rate)

30 (shared 30-pt section cap; only available to applicants who DID elect Average Income Test) pts

Applicants electing Average Income Test who cap the Tax Credit request based on the 6% tax credit rate and make 100% of units Average Income Test units.

Location — A. Underserved Cities

2 pts

Project in a city that has not received a Tax Credit award in the last 4 years (2 pts) or last 2 years (1 pt), per Appendix E.

Location — B. Rent Burdened Households

1 pts

Project in an Appendix F city with above-average rent-burdened renter households, combined with an extra 4% of units under category A or B of Affordability for Residents.

Location — C. Density

2 pts

Project in a census tract with low Tax-Credit-unit density relative to total households (Appendix G).

Location — D. Disaster Recovery

5 pts

Project in a county with an active state/federal major disaster declaration and individual-assistance activation (Appendix K); IFA may activate this scoring for specific counties/cities/tracts.

Location — E. High Quality Jobs Award

2 pts

Project in a city that received an IEDA High Quality Jobs award in the past 2 years (Appendix I).

Location — F. Targeted Tenant Population (Disabilities)

1 pts

Project in a county with an above-average population of individuals with disabilities per 5-yr ACS data (Appendix J).

Location — G. Iowa Thriving Communities

2 pts

Project in a city designated an Iowa Thriving Community (Appendix Q), possibly within a targeted sub-area.

Location — H. Site Appeal

5 pts

Composite score (0-5, IFA-determined) averaged across 12 sub-factors: site neighborhood change, proximity to services, proximity to grocery, proximity to daycare/school/senior center, proximity to public transit, adjacent-property character, ambient noise, site frontage/road access, paved road & storm drainage, offsite utilities, ease of site development (new construction) or building condition (rehab/adaptive reuse), and historic significance/Concerted Community Revitalization Plan status.

Market Appeal (overall section cap)

5 pts

Applicant selects from amenity options that individually total well over 5 pts, but the section is capped at 5 pts maximum: Kitchen Pantry (1), Walk-In Closets (1), Fitness Center (1), Playground — family only (2), Patio/Balcony (2), Free Heating (2), Fenced Dog-Walking Area (2), Storage Units (up to 2), In-Unit Laundry add — Acq/Rehab only (4), Built-in Dishwashers add — Acq/Rehab only (2), Olmstead Goals — senior only (2), Single Family/Duplex/Townhome (3), Exterior Materials (5), Energy Efficiency/NGBS certification (up to 3).

Qualified Development Team — A. Tax Credit Experience

3 pts

1 pt per prior Iowa Tax Credit project (8609 issued in the applicable look-back window) where the Developer/Affiliate was also GP/MM, up to 3 pts; alternate path awards a flat 3 pts for 3 qualifying projects.

Qualified Development Team — B. Developer/GP/MM Performance (penalty)

0 to -2 (deduction) pts

-1 pt for an approved material-change request in the current round's look-back year; -1 pt for an approved Carryover/10%-Test extension in the prior calendar year.

Qualified Development Team — C. Closing Timeframe

2 pts

Developer/GP/MM (or affiliate) closed a 9% Tax Credit project with its Syndicator/Direct Investor within 10 months of the Award Letter since the applicable look-back date.

Other — A. Iowa Title Guaranty

2 pts

Applicant uses Iowa Title Guaranty from Tax Credit Award through IRS Form 8609 issuance, with a Final Title Guaranty Owner Certificate covering land, pre-existing improvements, and hard construction costs.

Other — B. Existing Tax Credit Projects – Resyndication

1 pts

Existing Tax Credit project in good standing with IFA applying for resyndication at the end of Year 20 of the Compliance/Extended Use Period.

Scoring source

Iowa 2026-2027 Second Amended 9% QAP (opportunityiowa.gov/media/7360/download), Section 6 – Scoring Criteria, pp. 25-33, and Section 7 – Selection Criteria and Award Process, pp. 34-35 (tiebreakers at §7.4, set-asides/prioritization at §1.2 and §7.3). Threshold eligibility at Section 3, pp. 13-19. For comparison, the 4% program's scoring rubric is in the 2026-2027 First Amended 4% QAP (opportunityiowa.gov/media/7770/download), Section 5, pp. 19-24, and Section 6, pp. 24-25.

WHEN SCORES ARE CLOSE

Tie-breakers

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

Project offers a homeownership opportunity via the Iowa ROSE Program
Developer/GP-MM has gone longest (up to 7 years) without an Iowa Tax Credit award
Application requests the least Tax Credits per Unit
Project's community has gone longest without a Tax Credit reservation
Decided at IFA Board discretion

MODEL ASSUMPTIONS

Underwriting parameters

Iowa 2026-2027 Second Amended 9% QAP (opportunityiowa.gov/media/7360/download), Section 4 – Application Underwriting Standards, pp. 20-23 (§4.1 Project Development Costs, §4.2 Project Funding Sources, §4.3 Project Operating Costs and Cash Flow). Parallel provisions in the 2026-2027 First Amended 4% QAP (opportunityiowa.gov/media/7770/download), Section 4, pp. 17-18, and Section 1.2 (Private Activity Volume Cap), p. 5.

OPERATING ASSUMPTIONS

Utility allowance

Preferred method: not specified

IFA HOUSING Compliance Manual (LIHTC | HOME | NHTF), Chapter 2 - Income Limits & Rents, "Utility Allowances" section (pp. 41-44), current edition Date Released 05-04-2026. The 2026-27 Second Amended 9% QAP itself never addresses UA methodology; QAP Section 12.2 ("Compliance") instead defers all compliance-period requirements to "the IFA Compliance Manual and supporting documentation."

YOUR NEXT STEPS

Development guides for Iowa

PHASE 1Site sourcing and screening PHASE 2Site control, title, and the diligence clocks PHASE 3Clearing Iowa's zoning and site-control threshold 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 8Application assembly and submission PHASE 9The post-award clock: reservation to carryover PHASE 10Construction, the 10% test, and getting to 8609 PHASE 11Compliance, Year 15, and the 55-year tail

Use the LIHTC feasibility checklist →