COHO Analytics · A Colorado Housing Tax Credit Educational Guide

Housing with dignity
begins with understanding need.

This website serves as an educational resource for developers, elected and appointed officials, and financiers through the complexity of housing affordability in Colorado — it starts with identifying who needs housing, and conceptualizes closing a LIHTC deal.

Start a Project Analysis → Not sure where to start? Explore all Colorado jurisdictions →

The LIHTC Development Workflow

Every affordable housing project follows the same path. This platform walks you through each step with real Colorado data. Your inputs carry forward — you don't start over.

  1. Select Your Jurisdiction

    Set the location for your analysis. This determines AMI income limits, HUD Fair Market Rents, QCT and DDA designations, ACS demographic data, and CHFA development history for your area.

    Go to jurisdiction selection →

  2. Housing Needs Assessment

    Understand who needs housing — income distribution, cost burden, tenure patterns, and the gap between what exists and what's needed. Includes neighborhood character context, 10-year demand projections, and a recommended AMI distribution for your jurisdiction.

    Go to housing needs assessment →

  3. Market Analysis & Site Feasibility

    Define a Primary Market Area. Score your site on demand, competition, rent pressure, land supply, and workforce access. Identify QCT and DDA designations that affect your eligible basis. Required for all CHFA applications.

    Go to market analysis →

  4. Scenario Builder

    Design your unit mix and income targeting. Set rents by AMI tier against HUD Fair Market Rent limits. Choose between 9% competitive and 4% bond-financed credits. See how your mix addresses 20-year projected demand.

    Go to scenario builder →

  5. Deal Calculator

    Size your LIHTC capital stack. Calculate equity proceeds, permanent loan capacity from NOI, and the gap that soft sources need to fill. Compare 9% and 4% scenarios side by side. Identify CRA lenders and CHFA programs.

    Go to deal calculator →

What is the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit?

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the primary federal program financing affordable rental housing — responsible for the construction or rehabilitation of more than 3.5 million homes since 1986. It works by awarding investors dollar-for-dollar federal tax credits in exchange for funding homes restricted to households earning 30%–80% of Area Median Income. States receive a per-capita credit allocation from the IRS, then award those credits competitively through a Qualified Allocation Plan.

In Colorado, CHFA (Colorado Housing and Finance Authority) allocates roughly $30 million in annual tax credits — enough to support 20–30 new developments each year across the state. Projects compete for these credits based on site quality, market need, developer capacity, and community support. Most applicants do not receive an award on their first attempt.

A single LIHTC development typically takes 3–7 years from initial site selection to residents moving in — navigating market studies, equity investor selection, construction financing, and a 15-year compliance period that often extends to 30 years or more. This platform exists to make that path clearer.

Read the complete LIHTC guide for Colorado →

Built for the people doing the work.

Newly elected officials

Your community has been asked to support affordable housing — perhaps under Proposition 123, a regional housing plan, or constituent pressure. This platform shows you the actual numbers: how many households in your jurisdiction are cost-burdened, what income levels need the most help, what a realistic development project looks like in your neighborhood, and what your role is in making it happen.

First-time developers

LIHTC development is a multi-year, multi-party process with specific technical requirements at every stage. This platform demystifies the workflow — from documenting market demand and delineating your Primary Market Area, to sizing your capital stack and understanding what CHFA awards points for in their Qualified Allocation Plan.

Graduate-level financiers

The deal mechanics are real and unvarnished. Eligible basis calculation, QCT and DDA boost, permanent loan sizing from net operating income, LIHTC equity pricing, and gap analysis — all built from HUD, CHFA, and ACS public data, with 9% and 4% credit scenario comparison and a CRA lender identification tool.

Affordable housing is not just a real estate transaction.

It is a public health intervention. Research consistently links stable, affordable housing to lower rates of emergency room utilization, improved school attendance, reduced child welfare involvement, and greater long-term economic security. The evidence is clear and has been for decades.

It is also a question of community. The working family paying 48% of income on rent, the senior on a fixed income, the person transitioning out of homelessness — these are your neighbors, your constituents, your colleagues. They need homes that fit their communities: architecturally, socially, and financially. Not warehouses. Homes.

This platform exists to reduce the friction between identifying housing need and delivering a project that closes. To give the developer the data they need at every stage. To give the elected official the vocabulary to advocate for it. To give the financier the tools to underwrite it.

Colorado at a glance From public data sources — updated weekly
9% Credit Rate 9.00% Fixed by statute
Denver Metro 1BR FMR — HUD FY2025
Denver 60% AMI (4-person) — Annual income limit
CO Renter Cost Burden — % paying >30% on rent
Active CHFA Properties 847 LIHTC portfolio
Data vintage ACS 2022 · HUD FY2025 Public datasets

From the platform

All insights →