On March 18, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2022-20 which provides guidance regarding the public approval requirement under § 147(f) of the Internal Revenue Code for tax-exempt qualified private activity bonds. Specifically, this revenue procedure provides that hearings held by teleconference as described in section 4 of the revenue procedure will be treated as held in a location that, based on the facts and circumstances, is convenient for residents of the approving governmental unit for the purpose of § 1.147(f)-1(d)(2) of the Income Tax Regulations.
According to details from NCHSA, the ruling also permanently allows Housing Credit agencies to conduct Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) public hearings under the same rules allowed for private activity bond hearings. In Notice 2022-05, IRS extended the ability to conduct QAP hearings via telephone through March 31, 2022, by cross reference to the private activity bond rules. The new permanent authority to conduct teleconference tax-exempt bond public hearings applies automatically to Housing Credit QAP public hearings moving forward.