DES MOINES, IOWA (June 3, 2026) — The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Board of Directors today awarded more than $11.3 million in federal housing tax credits to support the construction and rehabilitation of 338 affordable rental homes across nine Iowa communities.
The awards will support rental housing developments in Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Greenfield, Ottumwa, Perry, Sioux City, Story City, Urbandale, and Washington.
“The awards announced today are an important piece of supporting Iowa’s full housing continuum, helping create affordable rental homes that allow Iowans to live, work and build their futures in the communities they call home,” said Iowa Finance Authority and Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham.
“We congratulate all nine communities receiving awards for their commitment to expanding housing opportunities for Iowans.”
Ottumwa and Urbandale are among today’s award recipients and were also designated as Iowa Thriving Communities after completing a competitive application process that demonstrated their commitment to creating housing opportunities for all. The designation recognizes communities taking proactive steps to address local housing needs and provides incentive points for eligible housing programs, including the Federal Housing Tax Credit program.
“These awards reflect the Iowa Thriving Communities designation at work,” Durham said.
“Ottumwa and Urbandale have demonstrated the kind of above-and-beyond local leadership and collaboration the designation was designed to recognize, and today’s awards help turn that commitment into affordable homes for Iowans.”
The Federal Housing Tax Credit program is one of the primary tools used to expand affordable rental housing nationwide. The Internal Revenue Service allocates federal housing tax credits to each state annually and IFA administers Iowa’s allocation to qualified affordable housing developers.
Developers then sell the credits to investors, generating equity to help finance the housing developments.
IFA received sixteen applications requesting more than $21 million in housing tax credits during the 2026 tax credit round, with approximately $11.5 million available to allocate. Because the credits are awarded annually for a ten-year period, today’s awards represent nearly $113 million in total federal tax credit investment.
In addition to the housing tax credit awards, the projects received a total of $1 million in federal HOME program funds.
View a list of today’s awards.
