Variable Interest Entities Narrative Tagging (Details)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016
Variable Interest Entities [Abstract]
Available-for-Sale Securities, Ownership Percentage	100.00%

The percentage of ownership of available-for-sale securities.

No definition available.

Name:	atax_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesOwnershipPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	atax_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration