Ohio Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit
SALT Alert, February 2007

Recently enacted Ohio law has created a new refundable tax credit for Ohio taxpayers. The Ohio Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit provides an incentive for the redevelopment of historic buildings. The newly enacted legislation provides a credit equal to twenty-five percent of qualified rehabilitation expenditures. The tax credit may offset Ohio individual income, corporate franchise, or dealer in intangibles tax.

The legislation contains the following provisions relating to the credit:

• To be qualified as a "historic building", the building and its structural components must be located in Ohio and meet one of the following criteria:
  • Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, located in a registered historic district, and certified by the state historic preservation officer as being of historic significance; or
  • Individually listed as a historic landmark designated by a local government.
• "Qualified rehabilitation expenditures" include architectural or engineering fees relating to the rehabilitation and the preparation of nomination forms for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. They do not include expenses such as expanding a historic building or new building construction costs.
• The owner of the historic building must hold the fee simple interest in the building and be the bearer of the issued tax credit certificate.
• The Director of Development and the Tax Commissioner must conduct a cost-benefit analysis for the project to determine whether the rehabilitation will result in a net revenue gain in state and local taxes once the building is ready for use. 
• The tax credit must be claimed in the year the certificate is dated and the amount is subject to examination by the Tax Commissioner.
• The taxpayer must retain the tax credit certificate for four years after the end of the tax year to which the credit is applied.

The Ohio Director of Development will approve up to 100 project applications for the tax credit certificate in each of the next two years from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2009.


Plante & Moran can assist with the application and in determining whether your rehabilitation expenses qualify for the credit. Please contact Michael Baker, Ohio State and Local Tax Leader at 800.430.0931, Adam Garn at 614.849.3031, Julie Corrigan at 216.274.6509, Gordon Goldie at 248-375-7430, or Jim Manning at 616-643-4054.