Historic Tax Credit
Tax Credits for Historic Preservation
Owners of houses and condominiums in Tuscany-Canterbury can take advantage of tax credits for home improvement projects that preserve the historical character of their properties.
What are Historic Tax Credits?
Tuscany-Canterbury is a National Historic District in 2002. Under current law, a homeowner in a historic district is eligible for a tax credit for qualified restoration work performed on the home. Historic designation makes the neighborhood more desirable and adds to the value of the properties in it.
Historic tax credits are financial incentives for residential or commercial rehabilitation projects that require property-owners to follow certain preservation standards.
When Can You Apply?
Homeowners often use state historic tax credits for significant maintenance or rehabilitation projects. Larger projects are also eligible for the city tax credit. Typical work includes interior or exterior painting, repairing deteriorating porches, or repointing brickwork.
In all cases, you must apply and receive approval before starting work on your project. Projects that have already been started or completed before receiving approval are not eligible for historic tax credits.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility requirements for properties and projects vary between the city, state and federal historic tax credit programs. Your property must be an individual landmark or a “contributing resource” within a historic district. Historic districts are designated by CHAP or the National Register of Historic Places. In 2020 Condominium buildings also became eligible for a tax credit. (TUSCANY-CANTERBURY IS ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC DISTRICTS).
More Information
- Fall 2015 Article by Alice Cherbonnier summarizing the tax credit speech given by Patricia Adams, Project Manager for Jubilee Baltimore
- Baltimore Heritage website
- Instructions and application from the Maryland Historical Trust
- Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation
- To learn about Jubilee Baltimore’s tax credit consulting services, call 410 327-7373 x 109 or email patricia@jubileebaltimore.org
2020 New Tax Credit for Condos and Coops
Historic Revitalization Tax Credit
Passes Into Law for Condos and Co-ops
At the TCNA General Meeting on November 6, 2019, Delegate Maggie McIntosh presented the status of her proposed legislation for Historic Tax Credit for condominium associations. She said the bill is not yet written but is in the formation stage, and she wanted to give the parameters of what is being proposed after doing some research on the present program. The Historic Tax Credit is a popular program which is managed by the MD Historical Trust and is allocated to certain historical structures. Currently, approximately $11 million is appropriated annually through legislative general funds, of which $9 million go to commercial projects and $2 million goes to homeowners. The tax credit may not exceed $50,000 (20% of qualified expenditures) for homeowners (the cap for commercial projects is $3 million).
Delegate McIntosh said that she found out that individual condominium units can get historic tax credits (for things like replacing windows, chimney, etc.) but that right now there are no rights specified for a condominium association. So the conversation she will have while crafting the bill in the coming weeks will include amending the law to define condominium associations as non-commercial entities, defining the boundaries of common spaces which can be applicable, defining specific types of common space improvements eligible, and setting a dollar cap somewhere between homeowners and commercial. The funding will come from the homeowners’ side of the present funds and will be available to communities around the state which have full ownership status. Delegate McIntosh stated that there will not be a minimum amount that must be spent, and the possibility of accumulating several small projects into one larger application will be explored.
Summary of Legislation:
|