West Virginia

Your site for all West Virginia LIHTC, HOME, NHTF and 538 compliance requirements

West Virginia

Introduction to the Spectrum End Of Year (EOY) Software

Spectrum Compliance is pleased to have been selected again to partner with the West Virginia Housing Development Fund (WVHDF) to collect HUD tenant data electronically for all tax credit projects in West Virginia. Spectrum Compliance has been performing LIHTC compliance services for over 25 years and provides compliance monitoring services as the authorized delegate for a number of state housing agencies.

Over twenty five years ago Spectrum developed a software application that is currently being used in over 2,400 tax credit properties to collect tenant income and demographic data used in its state compliance monitoring activities and was used in West Virginia up until 2017.  It is this software that will be used to collect tenant demographic data in West Virginia.

Additionally, Spectrum has worked very closely with HUD and the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) to develop and subsequently update the State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Data Transfer Standard that provides the ability to transfer data via XML from existing project management software systems into the Spectrum data collection software thus eliminating the need for hand entry of tenant information.

HUD is requesting the status of all tax credit units in a project as of December 31 of the year being collected. For example, in this first year of collection, owners of West Virginia projects must submit data to HUD that indicates the demographic and economic status of all household members within all LIHTC units in a project as of December 31 of the effective year.

It is important to keep in mind that HUD is requesting the most recent household demographic data as well as the most recently certified household financial data. In some cases this information may come from different Tenant Income Certification (TIC) forms that were completed at different times during a tenants occupancy. For example, if a TIC is being used to self certify a household’s income then the household member demographic data must come from that TIC while the household income data must come from an earlier TIC that was used to actually certify the household as a tax credit household.

The Spectrum software is a free standalone application that must be downloaded from the Spectrum website and installed on a local computer. Once completed, the data collected is submitted to Spectrum from within the software via an internet connection. However, an internet connection is not required while using the software to enter data. There is no cost for the software and you are free to use it on as many computers as you need to. You may also download it multiple times.

Computer Requirements
The Spectrum software will run on any computer running all versions of the Microsoft operating system from Window’s XP through Windows 11 (both 32 and 64 bit). Hard drive space required is 15mb. Single property reports files are generally 1-3mb in size while multiple property files can be as large as 10mb. When a report file is submitted to Spectrum it is compressed prior to transfer and the average transfer time is approximately 2-3 minutes.

Multiple Properties
If you are a management company that is managing multiple properties, you have the option of including all your properties in a single report file or creating a separate file for each property. The Spectrum report file(s) can be located on a centralized server and accessed from multiple computers on your network. However, at this point in time, a report file can only be accessed by a single user at a time.

Additionally, it is not necessary that a single property management representative download the software for distribution and use by your organization. While you can use this centralized approach you may also have individuals (e.g. compliance managers, etc.) from different locations download the software. It’s up to you to decide how you’d like information from Spectrum regarding the software distributed to multiple locations.

Data Entry
There are two methods for getting household data into the Spectrum software; XML Import or Manual Entry from paper TIC forms.

XML Import
If you are using a management system software package that supports the NAHMA LIHTC Data Transfer XML Standard you can import data for any date range into the Spectrum software. It is a two step process that involves first running a report in your management software that will generate an XML file and then importing that file into the Spectrum software. Both steps are relatively easy to accomplish and have been used extensively during the past five years.

Third party software vendors that Spectrum has worked closely with that provide XML support include management applications by Yardi, Real Page and Boston Post. If you are not sure if your management software supports the data standard you’ll need to contact your software vender. Spectrum does not have information regarding the XML status of third party management software systems.

Manual Entry
Manual data entry will simply require entering the data from certification forms provided by WVHDF. Because of the nature of recent changes, HUD has made to their Tenant Data Collection Form, and related requirements regarding the accuracy and completeness of income data you’ll need to enter each TIC form completed during the year instead of waiting until the end of the year to simply enter the current state of the unit.

While at first glance this may appear to be a more time consuming task it will in fact be less time consuming in the long run because the Spectrum software will automatically track and report to HUD all household demographic and income data that represents an accurate snapshot of the your tax credit units as of December 31st.

Entering each TIC completed during the year eliminates issues that can arise from having to wait until after December 31st to go through all of the tenant files to analyze and pull the ones you’ll need to enter data from to satisfy the HUD requirement. You will not have to review each TIC or search through previous TICs for earlier income qualification dates. Additionally, if you’re not currently using a software package to track tenant events the Spectrum software includes free reports that you can use to help stay in compliance.

Data Submission
The HUD data report file is submitted to Spectrum directly from within the Spectrum software. An active internet connection is required at the time of submission. The upload process generally takes 2-3 minutes.

While instructor led, hands on training courses will not be provided, there are a number of easily accessible support materials that will be. A complete, illustrated and printable user guide in PDF format will be available on-line as well as from within the software. Context sensitive help will be provided within the software that will provide immediate and detailed information for the screen that is being used at the time. On screen instructions will be provided as well as mouse over hints at key points. Additionally, because the software is modeled after a standard TIC form the layout of the software will be familiar.

Technical support will also be provided during normal business hours (EST) via telephone and email.

End of Year Reporting

TitleFile SizeFile TypeLink
2024 WV Owners Letter173 KBpdf
Status Report Software Instructions25 KBpdf
Spectrum Status Report Software27 MBzip

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Recommended Forms

TitleFile SizeFile TypeLink
Spectrum Forms Package – 20244 MBzip

Income and Rent Limits

These materials are intended to assist owners in meeting the requirements for complying with Internal Revenue Code Section 42 and Section 1.42-5 of the Regulations thereunder. However, it is important to note that compliance with IRC 42 and the Regulations is solely the responsibility of the owner of the building for which the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is allowable, and the owner is solely responsible for the consequences of any non-compliance. WVHDF shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused by any inaccuracies in the information contained herein, and suggest you review such information for accuracy prior to implementation.
To find your LIHTC income limit please visit https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/mtsp.html

TitleFile SizeFile TypeLink
2022 HOME Rent Limits258 KBpdf
2022 HTF Rent Limits165 KBpdf

Quick Info

Compliance Manual

WVHDF – LIHTC Compliance Manual281 KB
WVHDF – HOME Rental Management Handbook407 KB

End of Year Software

Status Report Software Instructions25 KB
Spectrum Status Report Software27 MB

File Submission

WVHDF Contacts

Michael Lindesco
Manager – Asset Management
304 391-8628
mlindsco@wvhdf.com

Spectrum Contacts

Cathy Turner

Cathy Turner

MA, WV, HI, DE Contact
Cathy Turner Cathy Turner
Cathy Turner's Bio

Cathy Turner

Designation:

MA, WV, HI, DE

Phone:

207-805-0036

Email:

cturner@spectrumlihtc.com

Address:

8:00AM-5:00PM EST

Department:

Delaware,Hawaii,Massachusetts,State Monitoring,West Virginia

Cathy joined Spectrum in 2007, and she specializes in the states of Massachusetts and Hawaii. Her previous experience included 15 years in property management. She is particularly skilled in making LIHTC requirements understandable to management staff. Her hands-on experience working with management systems is especially helpful.

Certifications
C17P, COS, ARM

Shelby Carlson Shelby Carlson
Shelby Carlson's Bio

Shelby Carlson

Designation:

CT, WV

Email:

scarlson@spectrumlihtc.com

Address:

8:00AM-5:00PM EST

Department:

Connecticut,State Monitoring,West Virginia

Shelby joined Spectrum in 2023 as a State Compliance Analyst.  Prior to joining Spectrum, she worked in property management for 23 years, most recently as a Compliance Director. Her affordable housing compliance experience includes LIHTC, HUD, HOME, RD, and Restrictive Covenants. Shelby has an Associates’ Degree from Three Rivers College.

Certifications
C3P, LIHTC/TCS, HUD/COS, HUD/MORS, CFS

Software Technical Support

Paul Perpich

Paul Perpich

Director of Software Development Contact
Paul Perpich Paul Perpich
Paul Perpich's Bio

Paul Perpich

Designation:

Director of Software Development

Phone:

517-277-0120

Email:

HUDHelp@spectrumlihtc.com

Address:

8:00AM-5:00PM PST

Department:

California,Operations

Paul joined Spectrum in January 2014. His experience with Spectrum, however, started twenty-three years ago, when he worked with Spectrum staff to develop the End of Year Status Report, which used to collect and transmit LIHTC data for over 6,500 Tax Credit properties throughout the country to Spectrum for compliance monitoring and submission to HUD for statistical analysis. Paul maintains and develops Spectrum’s proprietary software and provides end user support and is developing applications for on-site inspections. Since 2009 Paul has been part of the NAHMA sponsored Low Income Housing Tax Credit XML Data Transfer Standard group of housing and industry representatives. Paul assumed the moderator role of the group in 2018.

Document Library

News Archive

Prior news articles may contain outdated documents, links and information.

2024 Spectrum Data Collection Starts March 1, 2025

As we begin 2025, we will be collecting the annual submission of year-end documentation for 2024. This submission is required by the Internal Revenue Service, as noted in Section 42 […]

2023 Spectrum Data Collection Starts March 1, 2024

Data collection will start on March 1, 2024 with a final submission date of April 30, 2024

2023 COLA ANNOUNCED

October 13, 2022 the 2023 COLA was published at 8.7%. This is the largest increase since 1981.

2023 West Virginia Income Limits

HUD has announced the 2022 income limits for the MTSP housing programs effective April 18, 2022.