[MassHistPres] Historic preservation tax credits

[Steinitz, Michael @ SEC]

 Ralph,

Call the Massachusetts Historical Commission and ask for Ryan Maciej,
who can answer your questions.

Michael

Michael Steinitz
Director
Preservation Planning Division
Massachusetts Historical Commission
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02144
617-727-8470
617-727-5128 (fax)
michael.steinitz at state.ma.us


-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of
slater at alum.rpi.edu
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2007 9:29 AM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] Historic preservation tax credits

Does anyone have a plain-English translation of the requirements and
steps necessary to pursue the state and federal historic preservation
tax credits?

Here are links to each program:

Federal: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/tax/index.htm

State: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/MHC/mhctax/taxidx.htm

The language is very confusing to me though. Here's what I can gather on
the federal program:

* The programs is a tax credit based on a percentage of the cost of
certified restoration of income-producing historic properties. 

* Federal credit is 20%. 

* Federal credits are for properties that are individually listed on the
National Register, reside in a National Register district, potentially
simply "eligible for National Register listing", or potentially in a
local historic district. I'm fuzzy on the latter two points, since there
is a distinction drawn to them on the federal web site.

* The cost of rehabilitation must exceed the pre-rehabilitation cost of
the building. 

* There seems to be significant weight given to original materials. I
gathered, for example, that reshingling a building whose shingles had
rotted would disqualify a property, because the emphasis would be on
retaining original materials, not replicating them. This surprises me a
little, because I'm not sure how you'd determine if such a house had
been reshingled in the 1920's, 1940's, 1960's, 1980's, etc.

I'm a little fuzzier on the state program, because there is no concise
guide like the one describing the federal program, there are just forms
and laws:

* State also lists 20% tax credit, but I get the sense that there could
be some interplay with the federal credits, perhaps you can't get a 20%
credit on both state and federal?

* Form has checkboxes for National Register properties, plus eligibility
for NR listing, but it is unclear whether local historic district
properties are eligible.

* State program has a limited budget; I'm not sure about the federal
program. 

* I'm not sure if the state program has the same "renovation must exceed
the cost of the property" requirement.

Here are other questions I have about both programs:

* Can the credit be used across multiple tax years? For example, if
someone does $100k in renovation and receives a $20k tax credit, but
only has $10k in taxes per year, can $10k of the credit be taken in two
consecutive years?

* Are there restrictions as to when the credit be applied for? For
example, do you have to apply for the credit before the work has
started? 

* What is the turnaround time for applying and receiving notice of the
state credit?

Is there anything else I'm missing on these programs? I get the sense
that they are relatively obscure for the majority of property owners,
potentially due to their complexity.

Thanks,

Ralph Slate
Springfield Historical Commission
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