← All states
Federal Historic Tax Credit (§47, 20% Rehabilitation)
National Park Service (certification) + IRS (credit administration)See programDeadline: Rolling — Part 1 (significance) + Part 2 (rehab plan) + Part 3 (completion) application through State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO, IL = ILHPA.gov) and NPS. Typical timeline 12–24 months from Part 1 to certified completion.
Federal income tax credit under IRC §47 for the certified rehabilitation of historic, income-producing buildings. Changed by TCJA (2017) from 10%/20% two-tier to single 20% rate claimed ratably over 5 years. Most heavily used incentive for adaptive reuse: historic warehouses → office/multifamily, historic hotels → mixed-use, historic theaters → entertainment venues. Stacks with state HTC (Illinois HTC at 25% of QREs, capped at $3M per project), NMTC, OZ, LIHTC, §179D, §48E. Critical for downtown redevelopment and adaptive reuse projects.
Program details
- Agency
- National Park Service (certification) + IRS (credit administration)
- Level
- Federal
- Category
- Real Estate Tax Incentive
- Eligibility
- Income-producing certified historic structures (depreciable property): (a) listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places, or (b) certified as contributing to a Registered Historic District. Rehabilitation must meet Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. QREs must exceed greater of $5,000 or the adjusted basis of the building. Owner-occupied residential not eligible. Recapture if disposed of within 5 years.
- Funding Amount
- 20% federal tax credit on Qualified Rehabilitation Expenditures (QREs). Claimed ratably over 5 years (4% per year × 5 yrs) post-TCJA. No dollar cap. Average IL project recovers $200K–$3M in HTCs.
- Deadline
- Rolling — Part 1 (significance) + Part 2 (rehab plan) + Part 3 (completion) application through State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO, IL = ILHPA.gov) and NPS. Typical timeline 12–24 months from Part 1 to certified completion.
- Status
- open
- Project Types
- real_estate, commercial, multifamily, adaptive_reuse, mixed_use
- Client Types
- commercial
- Notes
- Stacks extraordinarily well with IL state HTC (additional 25%, combined 45% effective rate on QREs) for projects in 13 designated rivers + smaller cities. Average IL project value $200K–$3M federal HTC + matching state. For evlv.energy: surface in research chat when query mentions "historic", "adaptive reuse", "rehabilitation", "downtown", "landmark", or building age >50 years. Pair recommendation: federal HTC + IL state HTC + §179D for energy retrofit components + MACRS depreciation = stack typically covers 50–70% of rehab cost on energy components.
Source: Grantya research. Confirm current terms with the administering agency before applying.