More than 500,000 construction jobs were created or retained by new markets tax credit (NMTC) investments through fiscal year 2021 (FY 2021), according to a Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund summary report released today. In addition to the creation or retention of 512,000 construction jobs, more than 344,000 permanent jobs were created in NMTC-financed businesses through FY 2021. According to the report, community development entities (CDEs) disbursed $62.5 billion in qualified equity investments (QEIs) to 7,510 qualified active low-income community businesses (QALICBs) from the launch of the incentive in 2003 through 2021. NMTC financing was used to build or rehabilitate more than 238 million square feet of commercial real estate and nearly $25 billion in investments were made in community facility projects. Approximately 17,000 housing units were created through QEIs in the reporting period. The data comes because the CDFI Fund requires all CDEs that receive NMTC allocations to submit an annual report detailing their QEIs.

The CDFI Fund and recommended practices for NMTC investment will be topics at the Novogradac 2023 Fall New Markets Tax Credit Conference, Oct. 26-27 in New Orleans.