Offset Your Historic Home Renovation Costs with Tax Credits
/Did you know that if you own a home that is located on the National Register of Historic Places that your home improvement costs could qualify for a 20% state tax credit?!? Yep, that’s right. The State of Utah offers this tax credits to home owners that are rehabilitating their historic homes. Besides the place on the register the work you are doing needs to be at least $10,000 (over three years), follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and must be used for residential purposes. And if the property is a residential rental it may qualify for an additional Federal credit as well.
I’m currently in the middle of my second project that qualifies for this credit and the process is actually pretty simple. First you submit Parts 1 and 2 of the application to the Utah Division of State History. This is mostly a detailed account of the work you are planning to do and before pictures of the property. Once they’ve approved the work you are doing and the method in which it’s done, you can get started. (They approve the methods to make sure that the integrity of the historical structure is upheld. It’s part of that Secretary of the Interiors Standards I mentioned above.) Once you’ve finished the project you submit Part 3. This is mostly after pictures of the completed work. When the Division has signed off on the project you get a letter from them to use next time you file your taxes. And if you ever get hung up on any part of the process, the lovely people in this department are super helpful and great to work with. I cannot stress that enough - they have been wonderful.
I’m putting a couple links below. The first on is a link to the Utah Division of State History’s page about the tax incentive. It has links there to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards, links to the three parts of the application process, and contact info if you have questions or need help. The second link is info on the National Registry of Historic Places and maps so you can see if your home will qualify.
Our historic homes are getting old and need love and work to remain preserved. This tax credit is another tool to help us do just that. Check it out!
