Tax Credits for the Rehabilitation of Historic Homes

Partly due to the Preservation Trust’s outreach, fifty percent of applications to the program since 2000 have come from New Haven.

By assisting homeowners with property renovations and maintenance, the Connecticut Historic Homes Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program has helped stem the cycle of urban blight, abandonment, and disinvestment in the state’s urban residential neighborhoods.

The Connecticut Historic Homes Rehabilitation Tax Credit is a thirty percent tax credit for qualified expenses associated with the renovation of owner-occupied historic homes with one to four dwelling units; in the case of multiple dwelling units at least one unit must be owner-occupied. The relevant building must be listed on the National or State Register of Historic Places, either individually or as part of a historic district. The minimum expenditure for a project to qualify for the program is $15,000. All work, which must comply with the program’s standards for rehabilitation, has to be approved by the State Historic Preservation Office prior to the start of the project.

Fifty percent of applications to the program since 2000 have come from New Haven, and to date over four hundred New Haven residents have benefited from the economic incentives it affords in support of their efforts to maintain and repair historical features and materials. The high number of New Haven applicants and recipients is in large part due to the Preservation Trust’s active outreach.

Since 2004, the Preservation Trust has hosted approximately thirty local workshops throughout the city to introduce New Haveners to the historic homes tax credit and to explain the program’s application process and rehabilitation guidelines. Tax Credit Workshops are presented regularly, and include an engaging and informative question period.

For program details, visit the State Historic Preservation Office website.