Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive

 

Commonly known as the Rehabilitation Tax Credit or the Historic Tax Credit, the program provides a 20-percent federal tax credit to property owners who undertake a substantial rehabilitation of a historic building in a business or income-producing use while maintaining its historic character. The credit promotes historic preservation and community revitalization through the private investment in the rehabilitation of historic buildings.

Active 15.961 National Park Service, Department of The Interior K - Advisory Services and Counseling Fiscal Year 2016 No information available. 1,038 completed rehabilitation projects certified and 1,299 proposed projects approved.
Fiscal Year 2017 The program certified 1,035 completed rehabilitation projects.
Fiscal Year 2018 In FY2018, the program certified 1,013 completed rehabilitation projects. A similar number of projects requesting final certification is anticipated for FY2019 and FY2020.
Fiscal Year 2019 Numerous property owners received assistance and review of relevant plans that enabled them to receive historic property tax credits through the IRS.
Fiscal Year 2021 Examples of certified projects can be found in annual reports and case studies available at https://www.nps.gov/tps/taxincentives.htm
Fiscal Year 2022 The program publishes annual reports that include annual program accomplishments at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/reports-archive.htm. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S. Code 47 and 170(h), as amended; Public Law No: 115-97, 131 Stat. 2054, Sec. 13402 (December 22, 2017); 54 U.S.C. § 101702(a) Transfer of Service Appropriated Funds For the rehabilitation tax credit: private owners of commercial and other income-producing historic buildings held for investment purposes. For the conservation easement deduction; private owners of historic buildings proposed as the subject of charitable easement donations. For the rehabilitation tax credit: private owners of historic buildings held for investment purposes. For the income tax deduction for the donation of conservation easements: private owners of buildings. The National Park Service must certify to the Internal Revenue Service that the building qualifies as a "certified historic structure" and that the undertaken rehabilitation project qualifies as a "certified rehabilitation" for the project to be eligible to claim the tax credit. The NPS also certifies that a historic property contributes to the significance of a historic district for the purposes of a property owner donating a conservation easement. These certifications are made as part of the program's application process. Preapplication coordination is required. None, but preliminary consultation and assistance is available and encouraged. The program is administered by the National Park Service in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs). The SHPOs are the first point of contact for property owners wishing to use the tax credits. SHPOs can help determine whether a historic building is eligible to claim the credits, provide guidance before beginning a rehabilitation project, and advise on the application requirements and whether proposed rehabilitation work meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. The Historic Preservation Certification Application (Form 10-168) is in three parts: Part 1 - Evaluation of Significance for a determination that the building is a "certified historic structure"; Part 2 - Description of Rehabilitation for preliminary certification that the proposed rehabilitation work meets the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation; and Part 3 - Request for Certification of Completed Work for determination that the completed project is a "certified rehabilitation." Applications are submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office, which reviews the application and forwards it with a recommendation to the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS makes all certification decisions. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications and obtain Part 1 and Part 2 approvals prior to beginning any work. Owners who begin work without prior NPS review and approval do so at their own risk. The program is jointly administered by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department of the Treasury. The National Park Service (NPS) administers the program on behalf of DOI. The NPS does not award the tax credits, but certifies to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whether a building qualifies as a "certified historic structure" and whether an undertaken rehabilitation project qualifies as a "certified rehabilitation," and is therefore eligible to claim the credit. The credit is claimed at the completion of the project, when the rehabilitated building is placed in service, as part of the property owner's tax filing with the IRS (Form 3468). The NPS certification process is administered in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) in a three-part application process. The SHPOs are the first point of contact for property owners wishing to use the tax credits and to find out more about the program requirements. Applications are submitted to the SHPO, which reviews the application and forwards it with a recommendation to the NPS. The NPS makes all certification decisions. Not applicable. The review time for a complete application is generally 30 days at the State Historic Preservation Office and 30 days at the National Park Service. Applications may be put on hold if incomplete or missing information, if additional information is needed to complete review of the proposed project, or if the proposed work does not meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Applications may be amended to provide additional information for reconsideration or to make changes to a proposed project in order to meet the program requirements. Certification decisions and denials may be appealed by registering the appeal in writing to the Chief Appeals Officer, Cultural Resources, within 30 days of receipt of the decision. Not applicable. Not applicable. The program provides a 20-percent federal tax credit for the substantial rehabilitation of historic buildings. The National Park Service (NPS) administers the certification program for the Department of the Interior. The NPS does not award tax credits, but certifies to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whether a building qualifies as a “certified historic structure” and whether an undertaken rehabilitation project qualifies as a “certified rehabilitation,” and is therefore eligible to claim the credit. The credit is claimed at the completion of the project, when the rehabilitated building is placed in service, as part of the property owner’s tax filing with the IRS (Form 3468). Costs eligible for the credit are limited to “Qualified Rehabilitation Expenditures” or “QREs,” generally only those costs that are directly related to the repair or improvement of structural and architectural features of the historic building as well as some eligible soft costs. The scope of review for the rehabilitation project includes not only the work that qualifies as an eligible expense, but also all other work to the building and its site and environment, including work to other buildings, new construction, additions, and any site improvements on the historic property. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable to the National Park Service program requirements, but other Internal Revenue Code requirements apply. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) administers the tax code aspects of the rehabilitation tax credit, and other Internal Revenue Code requirements apply governing the timing of required National Park Service certification decisions and the applicant claiming the credit and filing Form 3468 with the IRS. NA The program is administered by the National Park Service in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs). The SHPOs are the first point of contact for property owners wishing to use the tax credits and can provide detailed information concerning the program and its requirements. Contact information for the SHPOs is available at http://ncshpo.org/directory/. Brian Goeken
Technical Preservation Services
National Park Service
Washington, DC 20240 US
NPS_TPS@nps.gov
Phone: (202)354-2033 https://www.nps.gov/tps/tax-incentives.htm 14-1042-0-1-303 (Advisory Services on Compliance) FY 21 FY 22 FY 23 FY 20 FY 19$0.00; FY 18$0.00; FY 17$0.00; FY 16$0.00; - This program does not make monetary awards, but is limited to certifying eligibility for historic preservation tax incentives to the Internal Revenue Service. NA - this is a non-monetary program that provide technical support. Program regulations: 36 CFR Part 67 - Historic Preservation Certifications under the Internal Revenue Code. Historic Preservation Certification Application (Form 10-168) including application instructions and additional program information and guidance, as well as technical preservation guidance and publications on preserving and rehabilitating historic buildings is available from the Technical Preservation Services office of the National Park Service at https://www.nps.gov/tps/tax-incentives.htm. Fiscal Year 2016 No information available. This program is administered in partnership with the IRS and the State Historic Preservation Offices. (SHPOs). The SHPOs serve as points of contact for property owners and provide forms and technical assistance. The SHPOs also make certification recommendations to the NPS. The IRS publishes regulations governing qualifying rehabilitation expenses, the periods for incurring expenses, the tax consequences of certification decisions by the NPS, and all other procedural and legal matters concerning the rehabilitation tax credits.
Fiscal Year 2017 Rehabilitation projects that have been certified by the National Park Service include historic structures of every period, size, style, and type, and range from small single buildings to very large buildings and multiple-building complexes. Building types have included school buildings, warehouses, factories, barns, retail stores, apartments, hotels, houses, offices, and theaters. In FY2017, the median project size was $1 million in rehabilitation costs. Twenty-percent of certified projects were under $250,000 in rehabilitation costs, while the majority of projects (57-percent) were between $250,000 and $5 million in rehabilitation costs. Examples of certified projects can be found in annual reports and case studies available at https://www.nps.gov/tps/tax-incentives.htm.
Fiscal Year 2018 FY2018, the median project size was $1.36 million in rehabilitation costs. Eighteen-percent of certified projects were under $250,000 in rehabilitation costs, while nearly three-quarters of all projects (74-percent) were under $5 million in rehabilitation costs.
Fiscal Year 2019 Examples of certified projects can be found in annual reports and case studies available at https://www.nps.gov/tps/tax-incentives.htm.
Fiscal Year 2020 This is a non-monetary program. NPS staff assist the public with review of IRS Historic Tax Credit applications.