2026 Qualified Allocation Plan Engagement
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) is preparing updates to the state’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for the 2027 and 2028 award cycles. In April, OHCS released a QAP survey seeking feedback from our partners on the current QAP, financial challenges developers face, and policy questions to inform updates. These results were shared at the
2026 QAP engagement session in July.
OHCS is also anticipating a public hearing and open public comment period in fall 2026.
QAP updates will be sent through Technical Advisories, including notices when draft documents are available and opportunities to provide feedback.
The Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) is updated every other year and describes OHCS’ priorities for how
Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) will be used. The QAP is one of the key areas where Oregon can tailor the program to address state and local goals.
Oregon’s allocation plan provides both a competitive and non-competitive process for awarding tax credits to developments that address the state’s low-income housing needs. The plan also includes other selection criteria, such as resident services, site amenities and unmet housing needs.
Federal regulations require at least 10 percent of a state’s tax credits be set-aside for qualified nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501 (c)(3) or 501 (c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. Providing low-income housing must be one of the organizational purposes of the qualified organization, and among other things, must also have ownership and materially participate in the construction and management of the development during the applicable compliance period.
2025 State of Oregon QAP
2025 State of Oregon QAP redline version
Basis boost
Housing finance agencies like OHCS can provide up to a 30% "basis boost" for certain LIHTC projects, which translates to an increase in the amount of tax credits (and therefore equity) that developers receive.
Some projects have always been available for a basis boost, including those located in "Difficult Development Areas," (DDA) where construction, land, and utility costs are high relative to the area median income and "Qualified Census Tracts," (QCT) in which 50% or more of the households have incomes below 60% of the area median income or the poverty rate is 25% or more. More resources and latest updates around the basis boost are listed below.