Archinect - News

California launches state historic tax credit program

2019-11-11T19:42:00-05:00

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 451 into law, creating a new statewide historic rehabilitation tax credit incentive to help spur the reuse of existing historic buildings.

According to the Los Angeles Conservancy website, the bill builds on previous historic tax credit advocacy work pursued by the California Preservation Foundation (CPF) and the American Institute of Architects California (AIA California) organization, and makes California the 37th state to have its own rehabilitation tax credit program. Under the program, projects that reuse historic buildings will receive a "dollar for dollar reduction in tax liability" to help make these types of difficult and costly projects financially viable.

The Conservancy reports that between 2002 and 2016, the Federal Historic Preservation Tax incentive program helped fund 169 projects worth a total of $2.8 billion in California alone. A third of these projects, according to the group, "have improved or helped crea...

US Government to expand Historic Tax Credits

2019-06-11T09:55:00-04:00

The legislation would bring more value to historic tax credits and improve access to the credit and investment for smaller rehabilitation projects. The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Darin LaHood (R-PA), Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Mike Kelly (R-PA). Senate introduction of similar legislation is expected within the next few weeks.

Efforts to expand the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program have earned bipartisan support in the United States House of Representatives, where last month Congress members Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Darin LaHood (R-PA), Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Mike Kelly (R-PA) introduced the Historic Tax Credit growth and Opportunity Act (HTC-GO).

HTC-GO promises to "bring more value" to the nation's historic renovation projects by pursuing five interrelated improvements that include increasing the overall HTC from 20 to 30 percent for projects that incur rehabilitation expenses below $2.5 million and allowing nonprofits greater flexibility in partnering with developers on HTC projects.

The changes would also eliminate an exiting tax penalty on projects that use the HTC by no longer requiring building owners to subtract the amount of credits earned from a building's taxable property value. The measure would also make it easier for building owners to meet the "substantial rehabilitation" standard that op...

AIA is encouraged by last minute edits to Congress' tax reform legislation

2017-12-18T20:42:00-05:00

The American Institute of Architects has been one of the many vocal opponents to the House and Senate tax plans, which would gut historic tax credits and harm architecture firms, especially those smaller in size. However, after a concerted effort to lobby Congress, the AIA is newly "encouraged" by some last minute amendments made to the tax reform legislation contained in the House-Senate Conference Agreement announced late Friday night.

In particular, the latest revisions have resolved some of the issues surrounding the Historic Tax Credit. While the House's version would have eliminated it entirely, the Senate's plan would've simply diluted its impact by spreading the credit over five years time. Now in its reconciled form, the tax plan keeps the HTC and improves on the Senate bill's language by adding some flexibility for architects wishing to utilize the 20 percent credit.

The other highly welcomed revision is that the tax plan now allows a 20 percent deduction for businesses or...

Reagan Administation's widely popular Historic Tax Credit jeopardized by Trump's tax plan

2017-11-06T16:20:00-05:00

As it’s currently written, the bill would entirely eliminate the federal Historic Tax Credit program (HTC), which provides a 20 percent tax credit for the redevelopment of blighted buildings and renovation of notable architectural landmarks.

The Reagan Administration’s Historic Tax Credit program, which helps fund historic renovation projects, is in jeopardy of being scrapped in the new tax plan unveiled in the House last week. According to Architectural Digest, the conservative idol's program has preserved more than 40,000 total structures and corralled $117 billion in private investment for such redevelopment work since the program began in 1983.

The program incentivizes the reuse of historic structures with a 20 percent income tax credit that is paid out only once a project is finished. A 2015 economic impact report, carried out by the National Park Service and Rutgers University, found that the tax credit generated $1.20 in construction activity and tax revenue for every dollar of credit issued and generated an estimated 86,000 jobs that year.

The reform is being criticized by developers, preservationists, and politicians such as Arkansas Representative Vivian Flowers and New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who fear tha...

What does President Obama's final year in office mean for architecture?

2016-01-13T13:18:00-05:00

President Obama gave his final State of the Union speech last night, which prompted the AIA to issue a statement outlining policies it feels President Obama and Republicans in Congress should enact this year in order to bolster the health of the architectural profession. These include:

• Strengthening the Historic Tax Credit

• Passing The National Design Services Act

• Retaining 2030 energy efficiency targets for federal buildings

The majority of these initiatives are designed to ease financial burdens, both by reducing student debt while stimulating tax incentives for construction (the AIA advocates for making the 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Building Tax Deduction permanent). Among other things, The National Design Services Act allows students to work off their academic loans through community service, while the AIA describes the Historic Tax Credit as a method of "promot[ing] investment in the buildings that make America what it is today." Archinect plans to follow the state...