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Check Out Our Member Stories

Supporting small businesses nationwide

Read More
Read Our Annual Report

See the numbers of how we supported our communities

Learn More
Invest in What We Do

Connect with our team to see how you can be a part of the mission

Reach Out

New Markets Tax Credit Loans

Investing in lower-income communities

Self-Help's New Markets Tax Credit program provides NMTC allocation and source loans to help borrowers build or renovate education or health care facilities. 

If your project is located in an economically distressed area, you may be eligible for a NMTC loan.

Below-market interest rates
Flexible terms like longer amortizations
Higher loan-to-value ratios
Lower origination fees
Benefits NMTC Loans

Creating economic opportunity for all means bringing investment to the communities that need it most. That's why we participate in the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, a federal initiative that encourages investment in lower-income communities.

Benefits NMTC Loans

Creating economic opportunity for all means bringing investment to the communities that need it most. That's why we participate in the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, a federal initiative that encourages investment in lower-income communities.

Below-market interest rates
Flexible terms like longer amortizations
Higher loan-to-value ratios
Lower origination fees

How it works

Under the NMTC program, the federal government allocates tax credits to entities like Self-Help that have a primary mission of serving low-income communities. 

These intermediary organizations exchange the tax credits for equity from private investors and are then obligated to use the dollars to provide financing for businesses and nonprofits in low-income communities. 

The subsidy provided by the equity portion of any NMTC financing gets passed down to qualifying projects in the form of lower interest rates and more favorable loan terms.

Eligibility requirements:
  • All projects must be located in a low-income census tract, defined for the purposes of this program as having either (a) a poverty rate of at least 20% or (b) a median income no more than 80% of area median income.
  • The majority of Self-Help's available funds require projects to be located in areas of "targeted distress," increasing the standard to (a) a poverty rate of at least 30%, (b) a median income no more than 60% of the area median income or (c) an unemployment rate at least 1.5 times higher than the national unemployment rate.
  • Various uses of property are allowed, including office, retail, education, health care and industrial. Rental residential is permitted in some cases.
  • The borrowing entity for a project must also meet certain asset and revenue tests. Some businesses are prohibited from being borrowers or tenants in properties financed through the NTMC program. A Self-Help loan officer will work through these issues with prospective applicants.

To pre-screen a project address for eligibility, visit Novogradac and Company's online mapping site.

Learn more about New Markets Tax Credits.

To learn more about the federal NMTC program, visit the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition. Self-Help is a founding member of the coalition, which helped enact the NMTC program with bipartisan support in 2000. 

Providing a home when families need it most

The NMTC program made a difference in Miami

A $14 million NMTC allocation from Self-Help helped to nearly double the capacity of the Ronald McDonald House of South Florida, giving more families a place to stay while their children receive critical medical care.

The NMTC program made a difference in Miami

A $14 million NMTC allocation from Self-Help helped to nearly double the capacity of the Ronald McDonald House of South Florida, giving more families a place to stay while their children receive critical medical care.

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