Draft Bill to Reinstate Nebraska Historic Tax Credit
Strode Building (Before)
Strode Building (After)
On April 20, 2022, the Nebraska Unicameral adjourned without passing an extension for the Nebraska Historic Tax Credit (NHTC) program. On December 31, 2022, the program sunset. After that date, the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office (NeSHPO) can no longer accept new NHTC Part 1 and Part 2 applications. Fortunately, in-progress projects that have received an allocation of credits will retain their credit. Projects that have submitted an NHTC Part 2 application before the sunset date may continue to participate in the program.
The loss of the NHTC program will have significant effects on the potential to rehabilitate historic buildings across the state. Historic tax credit developments in Nebraska can no longer twin the 20% Federal Historic Tax and the state’s Valuation Incentive Program (VIP) with the state’s expired 20% credit. It is an excellent reminder of the importance of the state historic tax credit programs and the impact that they have on economic development across the country. Fortunately, this expiration seems to be an outlier, as additional states enacted historic tax credit programs and there is significant support for reestablishing the Nebraska credit.
A draft of a bill will be introduced into the next legislative session that would reinstate the Nebraska Historic Tax Credit and make significant changes to the program. Some of the significant changes to the program in the bill include:
• Increasing the 20% credit to 25% for projects in Omaha and Lincoln and 30% in the rest of the state.
• Lowering the total financial cost from $25,000 to $5,000 in order to be eligible to apply.
• Raising the per project cap from $1 million to $2 million.
• Lowering the annual program cap from $15 million to $12 million
• Reserving $4 million for projects requesting $100,000 or less in credits.
If you are interested in advocating for the renewal of the Nebraska Historic Tax Credit, please email us at preservelincoln@gmail.com. We will continue to monitor the progress of the draft bill as it is introduced into the legislature.