LCO No. 1537 1 of 7 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5190 February Session, 2024 LCO No. 1537 Referred to Committee on COMMERCE Introduced by: (CE) AN ACT CONCERNING THE HISTORIC HOMES REHABILITATION TAX CREDIT. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Section 10-416 of the 2024 supplement to the general 1 statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2 (Effective January 1, 2025, and applicable to taxable and income years 3 commencing on or after January 1, 2025): 4 (a) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the 5 following meanings unless the context clearly indicates another 6 meaning: 7 (1) "Department" means the Department of Economic and 8 Community Development; 9 (2) "Historic home" means a building that: (A) Will contain one-to-10 four dwelling units of which at least one unit will be occupied as the 11 principal residence of the owner for not less than five years following 12 the completion of rehabilitation work, and (B) is (i) listed individually 13 on the National or State Register of Historic Places, or (ii) located in a 14 Raised Bill No. 5190 LCO No. 1537 2 of 7 district listed on the National or State Register of Historic Places, and 15 has been certified by the department as contributing to the historic 16 character of such district; 17 (3) "Nonprofit corporation" means a nonprofit corporation 18 incorporated pursuant to chapter 602 or any predecessor statutes 19 thereto, having as one of its purposes the construction, rehabilitation, 20 ownership or operation of housing and having articles of incorporation 21 approved by the Commissioner of Economic and Community 22 Development in accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to 23 section 8-79a or 8-84; 24 (4) "Owner" means (A) any taxpayer filing a state of Connecticut tax 25 return who possesses title to an historic home, or prospective title to an 26 historic home in the form of a purchase agreement or option to 27 purchase, or (B) a nonprofit corporation that possesses such title or 28 prospective title; 29 (5) "Qualified rehabilitation expenditures" means any costs incurred 30 for the physical construction involved in the rehabilitation of an historic 31 home, but excludes: (A) The owner's personal labor, (B) the cost of site 32 improvements, unless to provide building access to persons with 33 disabilities, (C) the cost of a new addition, except as may be required to 34 comply with any provision of the State Building Code or the Fire Safety 35 Code, (D) any cost associated with the rehabilitation of an outbuilding, 36 unless such building contributes to the historical significance of the 37 historic home, and (E) any nonconstruction cost such as architectural 38 fees, legal fees and financing fees; 39 (6) "Rehabilitation plan" means any construction plans and 40 specifications for the proposed rehabilitation of an historic home in 41 sufficient detail to enable the department to evaluate compliance with 42 the standards developed under the provisions of subsections (b), (c) and 43 (m) of this section; and 44 (7) "Occupancy period" means a period of five years during which 45 one or more owners occupy an historic home as such owner's or owners' 46 Raised Bill No. 5190 LCO No. 1537 3 of 7 primary residence. The occupancy period begins on the date the tax 47 credit voucher is issued by the Department of Economic and 48 Community Development. 49 (b) The Department of Economic and Community Development shall 50 administer a system of tax credit vouchers within the resources, 51 requirements and purposes of this section for owners rehabilitating 52 historic homes or taxpayers making contributions to qualified 53 rehabilitation expenditures. Any owner shall be eligible for a tax credit 54 voucher in an amount equal to thirty per cent of the qualified 55 rehabilitation expenditures. 56 (c) The department shall develop standards for the approval of 57 rehabilitation of historic homes for which a tax credit voucher is sought. 58 Such standards shall take into account whether the rehabilitation of an 59 historic home will preserve the historic character of the building. 60 (d) Prior to beginning any rehabilitation work on an historic home, 61 the owner shall submit a rehabilitation plan to the department for a 62 determination of whether such rehabilitation work meets the standards 63 developed under the provisions of subsections (b), (c) and (m) of this 64 section and shall also submit to the department an estimate of the 65 qualified rehabilitation expenditures. 66 (e) If the department certifies that the rehabilitation plan conforms to 67 the standards developed under the provisions of subsections (b), (c) and 68 (m) of this section, the department shall reserve for the benefit of the 69 owner an allocation for a tax credit equivalent to thirty per cent of the 70 projected qualified rehabilitation expenditures. 71 (f) Following the completion of rehabilitation of an historic home, the 72 owner shall notify the department that such rehabilitation has been 73 completed. The owner shall provide the department with 74 documentation of work performed on the historic home and shall certify 75 the cost incurred in rehabilitating the home. The department shall 76 review such rehabilitation and verify its compliance with the 77 rehabilitation plan. Following such verification, the department shall 78 Raised Bill No. 5190 LCO No. 1537 4 of 7 issue a tax credit voucher to either the owner rehabilitating the historic 79 home or to the taxpayer named by the owner as contributing to the 80 rehabilitation. The tax credit voucher shall be in an amount equivalent 81 to the lesser of (1) the tax credit reserved upon certification of the 82 rehabilitation plan under the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, 83 or (2) thirty per cent of the actual qualified rehabilitation expenditures. 84 In order to obtain a credit against any state tax due that is specified in 85 subsection (i) of this section, the holder of the tax credit voucher shall 86 file the voucher with the holder's state tax return. 87 (g) Before the department issues a tax credit voucher, the owner shall 88 deliver a signed statement to the department that provides that: (1) The 89 owner shall occupy the historic home as the owner's primary residence 90 during the occupancy period; (2) the owner shall convey the historic 91 home to a new owner who will occupy it as the new owner's primary 92 residence during the occupancy period; or (3) an encumbrance shall be 93 recorded, in favor of the local, state or federal government or other 94 funding source, that will require the owner or the owner's successors to 95 occupy the historic home as the primary residence of the owner or the 96 owner's successors for a period equal to or longer than the occupancy 97 period. A copy of any such encumbrance shall be attached to the signed 98 statement. 99 (h) The owner of an historic home shall not be eligible for a tax credit 100 voucher under subsections (b), (c) and (m) of this section, unless the 101 owner incurs qualified rehabilitation expenditures exceeding fifteen 102 thousand dollars. 103 (i) (1) The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall grant a tax credit: 104 (A) (i) For a taxpayer holding a tax credit voucher issued prior to 105 January 1, 2024, under subsections (d) to (h), inclusive, of this section, 106 against any tax due under chapter 207, 208, 209, 210, 211 or 212 in the 107 amount specified in the tax credit voucher. 108 (ii) Any unused portion of such credit under this subparagraph may 109 be carried forward to any or all of the four income years following the 110 Raised Bill No. 5190 LCO No. 1537 5 of 7 year in which the tax credit voucher is issued; 111 (B) (i) For a taxpayer described under subparagraph (A) of 112 subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of this section holding a tax credit 113 voucher issued on or after January 1, 2024, but prior to January 1, 2025, 114 under subsections (d) to (h), inclusive, of this section, against the tax due 115 under chapter 229 in the amount specified in the tax credit voucher. 116 (ii) If the amount of the tax credit voucher exceeds the taxpayer's 117 liability for the tax imposed under chapter 229, the Commissioner of 118 Revenue Services shall treat such excess as an overpayment and, except 119 as provided under section 12-739 or 12-742, shall refund the amount of 120 such excess, without interest, to the taxpayer; [and] 121 (C) (i) For an owner that is a nonprofit corporation holding a tax 122 credit voucher issued on or after January 1, 2024, but prior to January 1, 123 2025, under subsections (d) to (h), inclusive, of this section, against the 124 tax due under chapter 208a in the amount specified in the tax credit 125 voucher. 126 (ii) Any unused portion of such credit under this subparagraph may 127 be carried forward to any or all of the four income years following the 128 year in which the tax credit voucher is issued; and 129 (D) (i) For a taxpayer holding a tax credit voucher issued on or after 130 January 1, 2025, under subsections (d) to (h), inclusive, of this section, 131 against any tax due under chapter 207, 208, 208a, 209, 210, 211, 212 or 132 229 in the amount specified in the tax credit voucher. 133 (ii) If a taxpayer described under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (4) 134 of subsection (a) of this section holding such tax credit voucher claims a 135 credit against the tax imposed under chapter 229 and the amount of the 136 tax credit voucher exceeds the taxpayer's liability for such tax, the 137 Commissioner of Revenue Services shall treat such excess as an 138 overpayment and, except as provided under section 12-739 or 12-742, 139 shall refund the amount of such excess, without interest, to the taxpayer; 140 Raised Bill No. 5190 LCO No. 1537 6 of 7 (iii) If a taxpayer holding such tax credit voucher claims a credit 141 against the tax imposed under chapter 207, 208, 208a, 209, 210, 211 or 142 212, any unused portion of such credit under this subparagraph may be 143 carried forward to any of all of the four income years following the year 144 in which the tax credit voucher is issued. 145 (2) The Department of Economic and Community Development shall 146 provide a copy of the voucher to the Commissioner of Revenue Services 147 upon the request of said commissioner. 148 (j) A credit allowed under this section shall not exceed thirty 149 thousand dollars per dwelling unit for an historic home, except that 150 such credit shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars per such dwelling 151 unit for an owner that is a nonprofit corporation. 152 (k) The tax credit granted under subsection (i) of this section shall be 153 taken in the same tax year in which the tax credit voucher is issued. 154 (l) The aggregate amount of all tax credits that may be reserved by 155 the Department of Economic and Community Development upon 156 certification of rehabilitation plans under subsections (b) to (d), 157 inclusive, of this section shall not exceed three million dollars in any one 158 fiscal year. On and after July 1, 2015, seventy per cent of the tax credits 159 reserved pursuant to this section shall be for owners rehabilitating 160 historic homes that are located in a regional center as designated in the 161 state plan of conservation and development adopted by the General 162 Assembly pursuant to section 16a-30 or taxpayers making contributions 163 to qualified rehabilitation expenditures on historic homes that are 164 located in a regional center as designated in the state plan of 165 conservation and development adopted by the General Assembly 166 pursuant to section 16a-30. 167 (m) The Department of Economic and Community Development 168 may, in consultation with the Commissioner of Revenue Services, adopt 169 regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to carry out the purposes of 170 this section. 171 Raised Bill No. 5190 LCO No. 1537 7 of 7 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 January 1, 2025, and applicable to taxable and income years commencing on or after January 1, 2025 10-416 Statement of Purpose: To allow the historic homes rehabilitation tax credit to be applied against additional taxes. [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]