Section 265.10.1. General.

Mortgage credit certificates (MCCs) were authorized by Congress in the 1984 Tax Reform Act as a new concept for providing housing assistance. The Iowa finance authority may elect to allocate a portion of its mortgage revenue bonding authority for single-family housing toward an MCC program. The program will be made available to home buyers through participating Iowa lenders on a first-come, first-served basis.

The MCC operates as a federal income tax credit. The MCC tax credit will reduce the federal income taxes of qualified home buyers purchasing qualified residences, in effect assisting buyers with their house payments.

A purchaser of a new or existing single-family residence may apply for an MCC through a participating lender at the time of purchasing a home and obtaining financing through the lender. An MCC cannot be issued to a home buyer who is refinancing an existing mortgage or land contract, nor can it be used in conjunction with a mortgage financed through a mortgage subsidy bond.

MCCs will be made available to home buyers with generally the same noncredit eligibility requirements as are in effect for the authority’s single-family mortgage program. However, mobile and manufactured housing are eligible under the MCC program.