(a)
- (1) The Internal Revenue Code specifies that LIHTC housing must be for the use of the general public on a nontransient basis.
- (2) Further, the regulations state no dormitory may be a qualified low-income project.
(b)
- (1) An LIHTC development cannot be entirely occupied by full-time students.
- (2) Student status becomes an issue when everyone in the household is a full-time student.
(c) The tenant, in order to be considered a full-time student, must be:
- (1) Taking at least twelve (12) credit hours per semester;
- (2) Taking the school's full-time requirement (as defined by the institution); or
(3)
- (A) Enrolled five (5) months out of twelve (12) months in an institution of higher learning.
- (B) The five (5) months need not be consecutive.
(d)
(1)
- (A) Student status must be reverified at annual recertifications to confirm continuing eligibility of the household.
- (B) If owner has obtained a recertification waiver, he or she, too, must continue to check student status annually.
- (2) Student status must be verified through the registrar's office of the educational institution.
- (3) Children in grades kindergarten through twelve (K – 12) are considered full-time students.
- (e) Full-time students who are not entitled to file a joint tax return are not eligible for the tax credit unit.
- (f) There is no grandfathering of eligibility because the tenant was not a student when he or she moved in and later became one.
(g) Exceptions. A unit would not be disqualified for tax credits if it is occupied as specified in I.R.C. § 42(i)(3)(D):
(1) By an individual who is:
- (A) A student and receiving welfare (Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) assistance under Title IV of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.; or
- (B)
- (i) Enrolled in a job training program receiving assistance under:
- (a) (a) The Job Training Partnership Act [repealed]; or
(b) (b) Other similar federal, state, or local laws.
(ii) Note. The Workforce Investment Act [repealed] replaced the Job Training Partnership Act [repealed].
- (iii) A similar program must get federal, state, or local government funding and have a mission similar to the one for the Job Training Partnership Act [repealed] program; or
(2) Entirely by full-time students if such students are:
- (A) Single parents and their children and such parents are not dependents (as defined in I.R.C. § 152, determined without regard to subsections (b)(1), (b)(2), and (d)(1)(B) thereof) of another individual and such children are not dependents (as so defined) of another individual other than a parent of such children;
- (B) Married and entitled to file a joint tax return; or
(C)
- (i) At least one (1) household member was under the care and placement responsibility of the state agency responsible for foster care services.
- (ii) It is the authority’s position that the household member would have been in foster care during the last five (5) calendar years prior to applying for residency.
- (iii) Owners must obtain court or state agency documents to confirm foster care.
(h)
- (1) The authority considers a household eligible if it contains at least one (1) part-time student.
(2) Children in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K – 12) are considered full-time students.
- (i) The Arkansas welfare-to-work program known as the Transitional Employment Assistance Program qualifies as a job training program.
Codification Notes: "LIHTC" means low-income housing tax credit.