LIHTC: The gift card that builds affordable housing

In this episode of Defining Affordable, Jaime and Robin unpack LIHTC—the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program—and explain why it is the main way affordable housing gets built in the U.S. today.

Using simple analogies, they break down how tax credits incentivize investors, why developers need them to make affordable housing projects financially viable, and how AMI, or Area Median Income, determines who qualifies. They also explore a key tension: housing can be “affordable” as a program category, but still not be affordable for the person living there.

ParticipationCalculate your housing cost burden using HUD’s definition of affordability:

Housing Cost ÷ Gross Monthly Income × 100

30% or under = Affordable31%–50% = Rent burdenedOver 50% = Severely rent burdenedSourcesLook up your city's AMI limits :

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il2025/select_geography.odnAffordable Housing Basics

https://ebho.org/study-room/what-is-affordable-housing/How LIHTC Works

https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/98758/lithc_how_it_works_and_who_it_serves_final_2.pdfhttps://www.adventuresincre.com/inside-an-lihtc-investment/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il2025/select_geography.odnHousing Affordability Research

https://nlihc.org/gap – The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes (NLIHC)San Diego Salary Data Referenced

Public School Teacher Salary: https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/public-school-teacher-salary/san-diego-caSocial Work Case Manager Salary: https://www.indeed.com/career/social-work-case-manager/salaries/San-Diego--CAMechanic Salaries: https://www.indeed.com/career/mechanic/salaries/San-Diego--CAhttps://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/what-jobs-in-san-diego-pay-for-essential-expenses/509-805ff991-a37b-4550-b096-029e1e7f5a4c