Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program

Certified Federal Projects

 

The federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives encourage the rehabilitation of historic buildings in the private sector. This program provides historic commercial or income-producing property owners a 20% federal tax credit on Qualified Rehabilitation Expenses (QREs). It is one of the nation's most successful and cost-effective community revitalization programs. 

The Federal Historic Tax Incentives Program benefits California by:

  • Generating jobs

  • Preserving historic places that give cities, towns, and rural areas their special character.

  • Creating moderate and low-income housing

  • Reducing new construction waste

  • Enhancing property values

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Internal Revenue Service administer the program in partnership with State Historic Preservation Offices. The Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) is the point of contact for property owners wishing to apply for the rehabilitation tax credit. The OHP provides consultation and architectural review based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (Standards). 

Before applying, please review these resources and guidelines from the NPS:

What have the Federal Historic Tax Incentives achieved for California?

For a synopsis of the economic impact and leverage of the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program in California, visit What have the Federal Historic Tax Incentives done for California? page.

Requesting a Project Folder

As of August 2023, all applications and supporting documents must be submitted electronically. The OHP will provide each applicant with a secure project folder.

To request a project folder:

  1. Email calshpo.tax@parks.ca.gov with the subject line "Request for project folder link.”
    • In the body of the email, include the
      • Application Part number (1, 2, 3, Amendment #, etc.)
      • The project name and the city.
      • For existing projects, the NPS five-digit number and OHP project number.
      • Include the email addresses of associates needing access to the folder.
  2. A hyperlink to the folder will be emailed back to the original sender within a few hours.

Note: First-time users will be prompted for a verification code. Click the "send code" button to receive a verification code by email. Fill in the code field of the first email with the code and click "continue."

  1. Upload files using the NPS Naming Convention guidelines and new NPS Application forms and instructions dated "Rev. 6/2023". Previous forms will be returned. Include a Transmittal log in Microsoft Word or a compatible format, using the NPS Transmittal log example as a template.

OHP staff are notified when uploads are completed. The files are date-stamped in the order received and assigned to a reviewer.

The same project folder will be used for the entire application process.

If the link to the upload folder does not work, email calshpo.tax@parks.ca.gov, and a new link will be sent.