Sept. 16, 2025: Decision Time: How States Are Tackling the Pivot to the 25% Financed-By Test

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law July 4, lowered the tax-exempt bond financed- by test for low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) properties from 50% to 25%. In this episode of the Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, Michael Novogradac, CPA, and Novogradac Housing Policy Consultant Mark Shelburne discuss the ways in which state housing agencies are implementing the new test. They discuss how the 25% financed-by test gives states the ability to finance more affordable housing with the same amount of bond cap. The pair then explain how states can begin implementing the new test. States can implement the test on its effective date in one as of Jan. 1, 2026; wait until 2027 and spend 2026 deciding how they will implement it; or lean into the new rule and start taking actions in 2025.