The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program provides essential capital access for economic development projects across Nebraska’s diverse communities. From Omaha’s urban core to the Sandhills region’s rural towns, NMTC financing enables transformative investments in areas where traditional lending falls short. CBO Financial collaborates with Nebraska developers, agricultural enterprises, healthcare providers, and community organizations to structure financing solutions that strengthen local economies while addressing the unique challenges facing both metropolitan and rural communities throughout the Cornhusker State.
Nebraska’s economic landscape—characterized by robust agricultural production, growing technology sectors, advanced manufacturing, and expanding logistics infrastructure—creates substantial opportunities for strategic NMTC deployment. The program delivers a 39% federal tax credit to investors who provide capital to qualified projects in low-income communities, effectively lowering borrowing costs and making economically vital projects financially feasible. Whether your initiative involves expanding meat processing capacity, developing healthcare facilities in underserved counties, or creating mixed-use developments that revitalize downtown districts, NMTC financing can provide the capital advantage necessary for success.
How the NMTC Program Works in Nebraska
The NMTC Program functions through certified Community Development Entities (CDEs) authorized by the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund to make Qualified Low-Income Community Investments (QLICIs) throughout Nebraska. These investments must occur in eligible census tracts where either the poverty rate exceeds 20% or the median family income falls below 80% of the area median. Investors providing capital to CDEs receive tax credits totaling 39% of their investment, claimed over seven years—5% annually for years one through three, and 6% annually for years four through seven.
Nebraska’s eligible census tracts encompass significant portions of both urban centers and rural territories. In Omaha and Lincoln, numerous tracts qualify based on income levels and poverty concentrations, particularly in north and south Omaha neighborhoods and specific Lincoln areas. Rural Nebraska presents extensive NMTC opportunities, with many small towns and agricultural communities meeting eligibility criteria due to population loss, limited economic diversification, and declining median incomes.
The program supports sectors fundamental to Nebraska’s economy: food processing and agricultural value-chain infrastructure, healthcare and behavioral health facilities, manufacturing operations, renewable energy projects, affordable housing developments with commercial components, and community facilities providing essential services. CBO Financial connects Nebraska projects with both regional CDEs familiar with the state’s development context and national CDEs possessing available allocation. Our team handles the intricate compliance requirements while ensuring projects align with the new markets tax credit program objectives and Nebraska’s broader economic development goals.
Eligible Projects and Borrowers
Nebraska projects qualifying for NMTC financing address critical community infrastructure and economic development needs across multiple sectors. Agricultural and food processing projects represent a natural fit given Nebraska’s position as a leading agricultural state. Meat processing facilities, grain storage and handling infrastructure, specialty food manufacturing, and farm-to-market supply chain developments all qualify when serving low-income communities and creating accessible employment opportunities.
Healthcare infrastructure projects—including rural hospital modernizations, specialty clinics, dental facilities, and behavioral health treatment centers—address Nebraska’s ongoing challenge of maintaining healthcare access in frontier and rural areas. Manufacturing facilities producing agricultural equipment, building materials, or other goods qualify when located in eligible census tracts and demonstrate job creation for low-income individuals. Renewable energy projects, particularly those reducing energy costs for community facilities or low-income residents, align well with program priorities.
Community facilities such as charter schools, early childhood education centers, workforce development facilities, community centers, and mixed-use developments combining commercial space with community services also qualify. Downtown revitalization projects in Nebraska’s smaller cities—Norfolk, Grand Island, Kearney, North Platte, Scottsbluff—often leverage NMTC to restore historic buildings while creating modern commercial and community spaces.
Eligible borrowers include for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, tribal entities, cooperative associations, and local government authorities. The borrower must demonstrate that the project substantially serves a low-income community and that the financing proves essential to project feasibility. CBO Financial specializes in creating comprehensive capital stacks through CDFI financing structures that combine NMTC with conventional debt, equity investments, New Markets Minnesota-style state programs when applicable, USDA financing for rural projects, and other complementary funding sources tailored to Nebraska’s development landscape.
Benefits of the NMTC Program for Nebraska
The NMTC Program delivers tangible economic benefits to Nebraska communities while providing borrowers with advantageous financing structures. The 39% tax credit substantially reduces effective borrowing costs, often enabling projects to achieve debt service coverage ratios acceptable to lenders while maintaining operational sustainability. For capital-intensive projects common in Nebraska—meat processing plants, grain facilities, healthcare campuses—this cost reduction often determines whether projects proceed or remain unrealized.
Beyond financial mechanics, NMTC investments generate measurable community impact. Job creation and retention constitute primary program objectives, with projects typically committing to employ low-income individuals or residents of target communities. In rural Nebraska, where employment alternatives are limited and population decline threatens community viability, even modest job creation carries a significant impact. NMTC projects also catalyze substantial private investment—each allocation dollar typically attracts multiple dollars of additional capital, amplifying the program’s economic multiplier effect.
Nebraska’s smaller communities particularly benefit from NMTC’s ability to make projects viable that would otherwise lack sufficient returns to attract investment. A grocery store in a rural town, a manufacturing facility in a declining agricultural center, or a healthcare clinic in an underserved county—projects essential to community health but marginally profitable—become feasible through NMTC’s cost reduction. The program also supports Nebraska’s tribal communities, providing capital access for economic development projects on the Omaha, Winnebago, Santee Sioux, and Ponca reservations.
Projects utilizing NMTC financing gain access to patient capital with flexible repayment terms. Unlike conventional loans requiring immediate full debt service, NMTC structures frequently feature interest-only periods during initial years, allowing businesses to establish operations and stabilize revenue before principal payments commence. This flexibility proves especially valuable for projects with extended ramp-up periods or those serving markets with seasonal revenue patterns common in agricultural communities. To determine how NMTC could benefit your Nebraska project, schedule a free project analysis with our team.
Regulatory & State Development Framework
Nebraska’s economic development infrastructure supports NMTC deployment through state-level programs and agencies that often complement federal tax credits. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) administers various incentive programs, including the Nebraska Advantage Act, ImagiNE Nebraska (the state’s current flagship incentive program), and the Rural Workforce Housing Fund. Understanding how to layer these state incentives with NMTC benefits can dramatically improve project economics.
The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA) provides additional financing tools that may complement NMTC transactions, particularly for projects with affordable housing components or community facility elements. For agricultural projects, USDA programs administered through Nebraska’s state office often provide complementary financing that works alongside NMTC structures.
Regional economic development entities—such as the Greater Omaha Chamber, Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development, and various regional development authorities serving rural Nebraska—often assist with project planning and can help identify available incentives. CBO Financial maintains relationships with these organizations and understands how to integrate their support into comprehensive financing packages.
For tribal projects, entities such as the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs facilitate coordination between tribal governments, federal agencies, and private sector partners. NMTC has successfully financed economic development projects on Nebraska’s reservations, and CBO Financial brings experience in structuring these specialized transactions.
Our team ensures projects meet both federal NMTC compliance requirements and Nebraska’s state regulatory expectations. We coordinate timing between NMTC closing requirements and state incentive application deadlines, environmental permitting processes, and local approval procedures. This integrated approach prevents delays and ensures all financing components align properly.
Get Started with NMTC Financing in Nebraska
Suppose you’re planning a project in a Nebraska low-income community—whether in Omaha’s urban neighborhoods, Lincoln’s qualifying census tracts, or rural towns across the state—NMTC financing merits serious evaluation. The program’s capacity to reduce capital costs while directing investment to underserved areas makes it uniquely suited to address Nebraska’s economic development challenges, particularly the rural-urban divide and the need to maintain viable communities outside major metropolitan areas.
CBO Financial’s process begins with a comprehensive project assessment: verifying census tract eligibility, analyzing community impact metrics, and determining whether NMTC represents the optimal financing approach given available alternatives. We then construct a customized capital stack that may include NMTC alongside conventional bank debt, mezzanine financing, equity investments, state incentives, and federal programs like USDA’s Business & Industry Loan Guarantee program for rural projects.
Nebraska clients benefit from our established relationships with CDEs, tax credit investors, and lenders active in the state. We understand Nebraska’s development context—the agricultural economy’s cyclical nature, the challenges of rural project underwriting, the opportunities in Omaha and Lincoln’s growing urban cores, and the unique considerations for tribal projects. This expertise streamlines the NMTC process and increases success rates.
Project size shouldn’t deter exploration of NMTC financing. While the program often finances significant urban developments, Nebraska transactions ranging from $3 million to $50 million regularly close using innovative structuring techniques. Early engagement with experienced advisors through NMTCA advisory services who understand both program mechanics andNebraska’ss specific development environment maximizes your project’s success potential. Contact CBO Financial today to explore how NMTC can transform your Nebraska community development vision into reality.