The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program unlocks critical capital for community development projects across Nevada’s rapidly evolving economic landscape. From Las Vegas’s urban neighborhoods to Reno’s revitalization corridors and rural mining communities throughout the Silver State, NMTC financing bridges the gap between project vision and financial reality in underserved areas. CBO Financial partners with Nevada developers, healthcare systems, manufacturing enterprises, and nonprofit organizations to design financing solutions that catalyze economic growth while addressing the state’s unique challenges—from explosive urban development in the south to persistent rural poverty in frontier counties.
Nevada’s diverse economy—driven by gaming and hospitality, technology and logistics, mining, renewable energy, and emerging advanced manufacturing—presents compelling opportunities for strategic NMTC investment. The program provides a 39% federal tax credit to investors who deploy capital in qualified low-income communities, substantially reducing borrowing costs and enabling projects that conventional financing cannot support. Whether you’re developing workforce housing adjacent to the growing Tesla Gigafactory corridor, expanding healthcare access in rural Nevada, or revitalizing historic downtown districts in cities like Carson City or Elko, NMTC financing delivers the competitive advantage necessary to move forward.
How the NMTC Program Works in Nevada
The NMTC Program operates through Community Development Entities (CDEs) certified by the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund to deploy capital in Qualified Low-Income Community Investments (QLICIs) across Nevada. Projects must be located in census tracts where the poverty rate exceeds 20% or the median family income falls below 80% of the area median. Investors providing equity to CDEs receive tax credits totaling 39% of their investment over seven years—5% annually for the first three years and 6% annually for the subsequent four years.
Nevada’s eligible geography spans both densely populated urban areas and sparsely populated rural regions. In Clark County, numerous census tracts in North Las Vegas, East Las Vegas, and portions of the Las Vegas metropolitan area qualify based on income and poverty metrics. Washoe County includes eligible tracts in Reno, Sparks, and surrounding areas experiencing economic transition. Rural Nevada—including communities in Nye, Elko, Humboldt, White Pine, and other counties—presents extensive NMTC opportunities due to limited economic diversification and population challenges.
The program supports sectors critical to Nevada’s economic development priorities: healthcare facilities addressing rural access gaps, advanced manufacturing operations, renewable energy infrastructure, including solar and geothermal projects, technology incubators and innovation spaces, food production and distribution facilities, community facilities serving low-income populations, and mixed-use developments that revitalize underutilized urban areas. CBO Financial connects Nevada projects with regional and national CDEs, navigating the competitive allocation environment while ensuring compliance with new market tax credit program requirements and alignment with state economic development objectives.
Eligible Projects and Borrowers
Nevada projects eligible for NMTC financing span multiple sectors addressing urgent community needs. Healthcare infrastructure represents a critical priority given Nevada’s shortage of medical facilities outside major metropolitan areas. Rural hospital expansions, specialty clinics, behavioral health treatment centers, dental facilities, and urgent care centers all qualify when serving populations with limited healthcare access. The state’s ongoing struggle with mental health and substance abuse services makes behavioral health facilities particularly strong NMTC candidates.
Manufacturing and industrial projects aligned with Nevada’s economic diversification goals qualify for NMTC support. Advanced manufacturing facilities, particularly those supporting the electric vehicle supply chain, aerospace components, or technology hardware production, meet program objectives when creating quality jobs accessible to low-income individuals. Food manufacturing and distribution centers addressing Nevada’s food security challenges—the state imports most food products—represent another qualifying category.
Renewable energy projects, including solar installations, battery storage facilities, and geothermal developments, qualify when providing community benefits such as reduced energy costs or workforce training opportunities. Technology and innovation spaces—including incubators, accelerators, maker spaces, and coworking facilities—qualify when serving underserved populations or located in qualified census tracts. Mixed-use developments combining commercial space, community facilities, and potentially affordable housing components work well with NMTC structures.
Educational facilities such as charter schools, early childhood education centers, STEM learning facilities, and workforce training centers address Nevada’s academic challenges and qualify for NMTC financing. Downtown revitalization projects in Nevada’s smaller cities—Carson City, Elko, Fallon, Winnemucca, Ely—often leverage the program to restore historic buildings while creating modern commercial and community infrastructure.
Eligible borrowers include for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, tribal entities, and local government authorities developing qualified projects. The borrower must demonstrate substantial service to low-income communities and show that NMTC financing proves essential to project viability. CBO Financial creates comprehensive capital stacks through CDFI financing solutions that combine NMTC with conventional debt, mezzanine financing, equity, state incentives, and complementary federal programs tailored to Nevada’s development context.
Benefits of the NMTC Program for Nevada
The NMTC Program delivers substantial economic advantages to Nevada communities while providing borrowers with favorable financing terms. The 39% tax credit significantly reduces effective capital costs, often enabling projects to achieve lender-required debt service coverage while maintaining operational feasibility. For capital-intensive projects common in Nevada—healthcare campuses, manufacturing facilities, large-scale renewable energy installations—this cost reduction frequently determines project viability.
Beyond financial mechanics, NMTC investments generate measurable community impact aligned with Nevada’s development priorities. Job creation remains a central metric, with projects committing to create or retain positions accessible to low-income individuals. In Nevada’s rural counties, where employment options are limited and many communities face population decline, even modest job creation carries an outsized impact. Projects also leverage significant private capital—each NMTC allocation dollar typically attracts multiple additional investment dollars, multiplying the program’s economic effect.
Nevada’s tribal communities benefit substantially from NMTC’s capital access improvements. Projects on lands of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Walker River Paiute Tribe, Yerington Paiute Tribe, and other Nevada tribes have utilized NMTC financing for economic development initiatives ranging from healthcare facilities to commercial enterprises. These investments build wealth and infrastructure in communities historically excluded from conventional capital markets.
The program particularly benefits Nevada’s smaller communities struggling to maintain economic viability as traditional industries decline. Mining-dependent towns transitioning to new financial models, agricultural communities facing water challenges, and rural areas lacking basic services all benefit from NMTC’s ability to finance projects that serve essential community needs despite limited profitability potential. To evaluate your Nevada project’s NMTC potential, schedule a free project analysis with CBO Financial’s experienced team.
NMTC financing provides patient capital with flexible structures. Unlike conventional loans demanding immediate full debt service, NMTC transactions often feature interest-only periods during initial years, allowing projects to stabilize operations before principal payments begin. This flexibility proves especially valuable for projects with extended development timelines or those serving markets with seasonal revenue patterns.
Regulatory & State Development Framework
Nevada’s economic development infrastructure complements NMTC deployment through various state-level programs and agencies. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) administers incentive programs, including the Nevada Catalyst Fund, Workforce Innovations for a New Nevada (WINN), and various tax abatement programs. Understanding how to layer these state incentives with federal NMTC benefits can dramatically enhance project economics and feasibility.
The Nevada State Treasurer’s Office oversees programs that may complement NMTC transactions, notably the Nevada Small Business Loan Guarantee Program. For projects with community facility components, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services may provide additional funding sources or technical assistance. Rural projects often benefit from USDA programs administered through Nevada’s state office, including Business & Industry Loan Guarantees and Community Facilities grants.
Regional development authorities—including the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), and various rural regional development authorities—provide project support and 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, the Nevada Indian Commission facilitates coordination between tribal governments, state agencies, and federal programs. CBO Financial brings specialized experience in structuring NMTC transactions for tribal enterprises, navigating the unique legal and regulatory considerations these projects present.
Our team ensures projects satisfy both federal NMTC compliance requirements and Nevada’s state regulatory framework. We coordinate timing between NMTC closing schedules, state incentive application deadlines, environmental reviews, and local approval processes. This integrated approach prevents delays and ensures all financing components function harmoniously. Nevada’s relatively streamlined regulatory environment compared to neighboring California makes the state attractive for NMTC projects, and we leverage this advantage to accelerate project timelines.
Get Started with NMTC Financing in Nevada
Suppose you’re developing a project in a Nevada low-income community. In that case, whether in Las Vegas’s urban core, Reno’s opportunity zones, or rural towns across the state’s vast geography, NMTC financing deserves thorough evaluation. The program’s capacity to reduce capital costs while directing investment to underserved areas makes it uniquely powerful for addressing Nevada’s development challenges, particularly the disparities between rapidly growing urban areas and struggling rural communities.
CBO Financial’s approach begins with a comprehensive project assessment: verifying census tract eligibility, analyzing community impact potential, evaluating NMTC suitability relative to alternative financing structures, and identifying optimal CDE partners. We then develop customized capital stacks that may combine NMTC with conventional bank debt, equity investments, state incentives through GOED, opportunity zone benefits where applicable, and other complementary funding sources.
Nevada clients benefit from our established relationships with CDEs, tax credit investors, and lenders active in the state. We understand Nevada’s unique development context—the hospitality sector’s dominance and cyclicality, the challenges of rural infrastructure, the opportunities in the state’s technology corridor, and the specialized considerations for gaming-adjacent projects. This Nevada-specific expertise streamlines the NMTC process and increases allocation success rates in a competitive national environment.
Project size shouldn’t discourage NMTC exploration. While the program often finances significant urban developments in markets like Las Vegas, Nevada, transactions ranging from $3 million to $75 million regularly close using innovative structuring approaches. The key is early engagement with experienced advisors who understand both NMTC mechanics and Nevada’s specific development landscape. Connect with NMTCA advisory professionals at CBO Financial today to discover how NMTC can transform your Nevada community development vision into reality.