Tax-Exempt Bonds

Our Public Finance Team structures, issues and maintains compliance for tax-exempt bonds behind capital improvement projects such as schools, universities, toll roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, sports facilities, airports, cargo facilities, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and affordable housing and senior living homes. Our attorneys assist with structuring innovative bond financing transactions, including variable rate bonds, refundings, green bonds, public activity bonds and public-private partnerships (P3s). We help clients navigate volume cap limitations, TEFRA hearings, arbitrage rebate rules and other technical hurdles, while our strong relationships with local finance authorities, underwriters and regulators across the country enhance our ability to efficiently move projects forward.

With one of the largest public finance practices in the nation, McGuireWoods offers deep experience in comprehensive compliance counseling by lawyers with immersive understanding of the Internal Revenue Code, SEC regulations and state laws. Nationally recognized for tax-exempt bond and finance work, our team stays ahead of federal tax reforms, regulatory guidance and market shifts that impact financing strategies, distilling complex and evolving legal requirements into actionable, business-focused guidance.

We serve as bond counsel to public issuers and conduit borrowers, providing legal opinions on the validity of bond issuance and the tax-exempt status of interest and ensuring that all aspects of the bond transaction comply with the Internal Revenue Code and applicable state and local laws. On behalf of investment banks and financial institutions underwriting municipal bond offerings, our team prepares disclosure documents, reviews offering statements for compliance with SEC Rule 15c2-12 and advises on due diligence and liability issues.

Our work also includes the preparation of official statements and continuing disclosure agreements, as well as advising on SEC enforcement trends and best practices for disclosure policies. We counsel clients throughout the financing lifecycle, helping them establish and monitor post-issuance compliance programs, manage private use restrictions and respond to IRS audits and examinations.

McGuireWoods’ public finance attorneys have served as underwriter’s counsel, bond counsel, disclosure counsel and lender’s counsel in thousands of tax-exempt bond transactions that fund key projects for state and local governments, non-profit organizations and qualified private entities.