Donors to Amherst Community Land Trust Are Eligible for Tax Rebate

The Amherst Community Land Trust (ACLT) was recently notified by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) that it has been awarded $150,000 in Community Investment Tax Credits (CITC) from the state of Massachusetts. The award means that people donating $1,000 or more to ACLT will receive half of that amount as a credit on next year’s state tax return or a check for that amount if they don’t pay taxes. ACLT has three years to raise the $300,000 to maximize the return, but can apply for more CITC credits after one year.

ACLT was founded in 2014 to promote affordable home ownership using the land trust model, where the trust owns the land with a 99-year ground lease to the homebuyer. The sale price of the property is restricted by deed, so that it remains affordable in perpetuity. By promoting home ownership, the trust also hopes to stabilize neighborhoods under threat of being overtaken by developers seeking to create more off-campus student housing. Currently, ACLT has seven properties in Amherst, but has plans to acquire up to four more in the near future. 

Although ACLT has been a 501C3 charitable organization since its inception, it recently was named a Community Development Corporation (CDC), which made it eligible for the CITC award. The group is hoping that the CITC program will encourage additional donations to help bring the pending projects to fruition. The group was recently awarded over $600,000 in Community Development Block Grants to purchase a large downtown property at 174 Amity Street to develop into five affordable housing units for ownership.
To donate to ACLT, see here.