Urban Development

Round 3 Application Information is Now Available
The Department of Development, Urban Development Division is pleased to announce the next application period for the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program. The Department of Development will begin accepting new applications for Historic Preservation Tax Credits on July 1, 2009. To better meet the needs of historic rehabilitation partners throughout the state, the Division has worked with partner agencies, the Ohio Historical Society, and Department of Taxation to make significant improvements to the application process. For general information on Round 3 applications, please click on the documents below. The detailed application worksheet can be found under Resources on the right hand side of the page. 

- Click here to read the Press Release
- Click here to read the Round 3 Application Overview

2008 Ohio Historic Tax Credit Annual Report
The annual report documents the tremendous progress the program has made in 2008. From approving 48 new applications to leveraging an anticipated $1.1 billion in private and federal tax credit investments; the Ohio Historic Tax Credit program is creating jobs and spurring important economic development initiatives in communities across Ohio.

- Click here to read the 2008 annual report

Program Summary:

The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit (OHPTC) program provides a tax credit for the rehabilitation expenses to owners of historically significant buildings. The tax credit subsidy is 25% of qualified rehabilitation expenditures (QRE) not to exceed the QRE estimates in the application, with an application cap of $5M. QRE are hard construction costs that meet the requirements of the US Secretary of Interior’s standards for rehabilitation of Historic Properties. The tax credit can be applied to applicable dealer in tangible, corporate franchise or state income taxes.

The OHPTC program legislation was amended as part of the $1.57 billion Economic Stimulus Package under House Bill 554 and became effective on June 30, 2008. The credit award was changed to equal 25% of the owner’s qualified rehabilitation expenditures (QRE) as estimated on the submitted tax credit application with a maximum cap of $5 million dollars. The Urban Development Division has worked with our partner agencies the Ohio Historic Preservation Office (OHPO) and the Ohio Department of Taxation to implement the new legislation. There are four threshold criteria required of applicants to be eligible for evaluation:

• The applicant is the fee simple owner of the building described in the application.
• The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; is located in a registered historic district and is certified by Ohio’s Preservation Officer as being of historic significance to the district/ or is listed as a historic landmark by a certified local government.
• The rehabilitation work as described in the application is consistent with the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
• The issuance of an Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit is a major factor in the applicant’s decision to rehabilitate the historic building or to increase the level of investment in the rehabilitation of the historic building.
  

The legislation has established funding for two future rounds for fiscal year 2010 (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010) and fiscal year 2011 (July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011) where a minimum of $15 million dollars in tax credits will be available. As application details are established in the coming months, they will be posted on this website. For applicants that have already been awarded tax credits, a link to the amendment form and instructions for the project completion and tax certificate request form can be found under program forms.

For information regarding the Ohio laws and administrative rules that pertain to the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit can be obtained by clicking on those topics in the "Quick Navigation" section of this web page. Useful links to other web sites can be found under the "Featured Links" section of the website.

For questions or comments regarding the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit please contact the Urban Development Division by telephone at 614-644-6552 or Email US.