If you build affordable apartments or homes in Mississippi, the rules that decide which projects get funded are up for change, and some of the proposals land right on the construction budget.
Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC) has posted proposed revisions to its 2027 Qualified Allocation Plan, the rulebook the agency uses to award Housing Tax Credits. MHC announced the draft on Oct. 14, and its executive summary of the changes, dated Oct. 7, lays out what would be different.
Construction-cost limits go up
The biggest change for builders is short and simple. According to MHC, the Maximum Construction Cost limits listed on Attachment FF-1 "will all be increased by twenty percent (20%)."
Those limits cap how much a tax-credit project can spend on construction. Raising every one of them by a fifth gives developers more room in their construction budgets.
MHC is also asking for public comment on a change to its tiebreaker. When two applications score the same, the plan gives priority to the one with the lowest soft-cost percentage, calculated on Financial Feasibility Form FF-1. MHC proposes removing land and acquisition from that calculation.
The draft also changes how projects earn points for amenities.
- Development amenities: The maximum would double, from 6 points to 12.
- Furnished clubhouse or community building: Would go from 2 points to 6. The building must have a room for tenant activities and meetings and meet MHC's Minimum Design Quality Standards.
- Unit amenities: The maximum would drop from 10 points to 7.
- Three-point unit amenities: A security system with alarms on all entry doors and windows, storm doors on all exterior doors exposed to the elements, a storm shelter, and a washer and dryer in each unit. In-unit washers and dryers had been a two-point item.
In a state that has dealt with as many tornadoes as Mississippi has, putting storm shelters and storm doors on the three-point list stands out.
The draft also makes other housekeeping changes. A management company's housing tax credit certification would become a required document instead of a 5-point item, meaning the contact person must hold at least one of three credentials (HCCP, C3P or SHCM), and MHC would consider joint ventures between experienced and inexperienced management companies after three successful years in operation. The years counted for development experience would update to 2016 through 2026, and the over-concentration chart, which flags zip codes with three or more recent tax-credit developments for a point deduction, lists 38771 marked "TBD."
Key dates
MHC will hold a public hearing on the draft on Nov. 4, 2026, at The Westin Jackson. The hearing is the chance for developers, contractors and others to weigh in before the plan is final.
The proposed 2027 calendar, according to MHC:
- Technical assistance period opens: Jan. 4, 2027.
- Compliance verification requests due: Jan. 22, 2027.
- Waiver requests and prior approvals due: Feb. 19, 2027.
- MHC responds to waiver requests: March 5, 2027.
- Community notification deadline: March 19, 2027.
- Technical assistance period closes: March 26, 2027.
- Application cycle: March 29 to April 2, 2027.
Tax-exempt bond (4%) applications can be submitted any time outside the 9% cycle. Once a project wins credits, the plan calls for quarterly construction status reports and a certification at 50% completion within 15 months of the reservation letter. The IRS Form 8609 request package is due within 180 days of a project being placed in service.
MHC's announcement page links to the draft materials.
Why it matters for Contractors
The 20% bump in maximum construction cost limits is the headline for anyone who prices tax-credit work in Mississippi. If it holds, developers will have more room to pay for materials and labor without running into MHC's caps. The amenity changes matter too. Storm shelters, storm doors, security systems and in-unit washers and dryers would each be worth three points, so expect developers to ask for them in bids, and clubhouses could become more common now that they'd be worth six points. Contractors who want a say should plan on the Nov. 4 hearing at The Westin Jackson, and those chasing 2027 projects should start talking with developers well before the March 29 application window opens.