The Massachusetts Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit is an exciting addition to the preservation toolkit. Under the program, a certified rehabilitation project on an income-producing property is eligible to receive up to 20% of the cost of certified rehabilitation expenditures in state tax credits. There is an annual cap, so there are selection criteria that ensure the funds are distributed to the projects that provide the most public benefit. The MHC certifies the projects and allocates available credits.
Updated
The state historic rehabilitation tax credit program has been extended to expire on December 31, 2027.
See FY2022 Budget (Chapter 24 of the Acts of 2021), which includes the following two sections:
In order to be considered for allocation of funds, Part I and Part II must be submitted to the MHC by the application deadline. The deadlines each year are: April 30, August 31, and January 15. (Please note that the previous deadline of December 31 has been changed to January 15).
Final Regulations 830 CMR 63.38R.1: Massachusetts Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (PDF)
The National Park Service (NPS), the federal agency that administers this program, has transitioned to an electronic review process starting on August 15, 2023. As of August 15, 2023 all applications must be submitted electronically. The change to electronic submission requires specific formatting for documents, including file naming conventions. Read through all of the guidance below as well as the information on the National Park Service (NPS) website at the provided links prior to submitting an application.
More information can be found here: www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/hpca-electronic-submission.htm
The process for submitting applications and supporting materials has changed but the historic tax credit program itself has not. Applicants will continue to submit applications to the MHC for review first and then the MHC will forward applications to NPS for NPS approval.
The application forms and instructions are available on the NPS website:
www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/historic-preservation-certification-application.htm
The forms continue to be downloadable, fillable PDF forms and are dated “Rev. 6/2023.” These forms supersede all previous versions. Applications received on or after August 15, 2023, by SHPOs and NPS must be on the 2023 forms. Previous versions will not be accepted.
Do not open the forms from the NPS website in a browser tab or window. Instead, please download the forms, save them to your computer, and open them in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Additional narrative pages for Part 1s, Part 2s, and amendments may be provided as separate PDFs in the information is not being provided on the form itself.
Three types of electronic signatures (e-signatures) will be accepted on the forms: 1) a scanned PDF of an actual, original wet-signed application, 2) scanned or digitized version of an actual, original handwritten signature, and 3) a digital signature using a digital ID (e.g., using Adobe software). A name typed in a different font and other types of generated signature images will not be accepted.
The National Park Service has developed file- and photo-naming conventions and instructions on organizing files for electronic submission. All electronically submitted applications must follow these conventions and instructions.
www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/upload/hpca-applicant-workflow-2023-07-14-508.pdf (PDF)
www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/upload/hpca-file-format-naming-2023-07-14-508.pdf (PDF)
www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/upload/hpca-photo-requirements-2023-07-14-508.pdf (PDF)
Each project must include a Transmittal Log that lists all files that are being uploaded for review. This is the only file that should be submitted as a Word document.
Transmittal Log Examples
www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/upload/hpca-transmittal-log-example-2023-07-14-508.pdf (PDF)
The Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit application should be submitted to:
Massachusetts Historical Commission
Massachusetts State Archives Building
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
One paper copy should be submitted for MHC’s files.
The electronic submission should be submitted on CD(s). Due to security reasons we are unable to accept USB flash drives (aka thumb drives).