NMTC Low-Income Community Screener — IRA 48(e) Clean-Energy Bonus

Checks whether a coordinate sits in a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Low-Income Community — the geography that qualifies a clean-energy facility for the IRA Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit (IRC 48(e) / 48E(h)), Category 1, a +10 percentage-point adder on the Investment Tax Credit. For community and rooftop solar developers, EPCs, and tax-equity teams screening a site pipeline for the bonus.

How it works

IRC 48(e) defines a Category 1 "low-income community" by cross-reference to IRC 45D(e), which is the NMTC definition. A tract qualifies on a poverty rate of at least 20%, or a median family income at or below 80% of the applicable area median (with additional metro/rural rules). For each site you pass (lat/lon, WGS84), the actor runs a point-in-polygon query against the U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund CIMS layer of NMTC Qualified Census Tracts (ACS 2016-2020 vintage) — the same data behind the official CDFI mapping tool. A tract either contains the point or it doesn't, so you get exactly one tract back.

By default it also checks HUD's LIHTC Qualified Census Tract layer and returns an also_in_lihtc_qct flag. That is informational context only — QCT is a LIHTC concept, not itself a 48(e) pathway. Set checkQct to false to skip it.

Example input

{
  "assets": [
    { "lat": 40.815, "lon": -73.904, "label": "South Bronx, NY" },
    { "lat": 41.878, "lon": -87.702, "label": "West Side Chicago, IL" },
    { "lat": 34.073, "lon": -118.400, "label": "Beverly Hills, CA (control)" }
  ],
  "checkQct": true,
  "maxAssets": 500
}

Key output fields (one row per site)

• in_nmtc_low_income_community — true if the point is inside a NMTC low-income-community tract, false if clear, null on an error row.
• qualifies_48e_lowincome_bonus — equals the field above; the 48(e) Category 1 verdict.
• tract_geoid — 11-digit census tract GEOID of the containing tract; state, county, county_fips, metro_designation locate it.
• poverty_rate — tract poverty rate (%, ACS 2016-2020).
• pct_median_family_income — tract median family income as a percent of area median.
• lic_basis — which 45D(e) criteria the tract meets (poverty ≥20%, MFI ≤80%, unemployment ratio, or high out-migration).
• bonus_category, adder — populated when qualifying (48(e) Category 1 - Low-Income Community, +10 percentage-point ITC bonus).
• also_in_lihtc_qct — HUD LIHTC QCT overlap (null if the check is off or failed).
• nmtc_vintage, citation, source_url, checked_at, error.

A point outside any low-income community returns a clean false row, not an error. Invalid coordinates produce an error row without failing the run.

Who uses it

• Community and rooftop solar developers site-screening a pipeline for the low-income bonus.
• Solar EPCs and originators qualifying leads before spending on interconnection or a capacity-allocation application.
• Tax-equity and renewable-finance teams running IRA bonus diligence across a portfolio.
• Community-development lenders and CDFIs cross-referencing NMTC and clean-energy eligibility.
• AI agents needing a point-to-low-income-community lookup.

Use as an MCP tool

A Pay-Per-Result API callable by AI agents through mcp.apify.com. Each row is self-describing, so an agent can screen sites for the low-income bonus and chain the result into an energy-community or QCT check.

FAQ

Does a hit guarantee the bonus? No. It confirms the site is in a qualifying low-income community, which is the geographic gate. The 48(e) bonus is capacity-limited and allocated by the IRS/DOE each program year; confirm with tax counsel.

Which categories are covered? Category 1 (low-income community) only. Categories 2–4 (Indian land, low-income residential, low-income economic-benefit — some worth up to +20 points) use different tests and are not screened here.

What data vintage? CDFI Fund CIMS NMTC eligibility, ACS 2016-2020 (the current published series).

Is it official? The tract layer is the Treasury CDFI Fund's own CIMS service. This is an informational screen, not tax advice.