The CDFI Fund has combined the 2015 and the CY 2016 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation authorities into a single allocation round. This change will be accompanied by an increase for the combined CY 2015 – 2016 round from $5 billion to $7 billion. The change to the program results from recent federal legislation that extended authorization for the NMTC Program for five calendar years with $3.5 billion in annual NMTC allocation authority. This change will allow the CDFI Fund to announce the allocation of the tax credits in the year for which they are authorized. It will also enable the CDFI Fund to award more entities, and potentially award more first time recipients.