Owners of Historic Properties May Be Eligible to Receive 25% Tax Credit; Applications Due April 1

The Montgomery County Planning Department is accepting applications from county property owners who may be eligible for a 25 percent property tax credit for restoring the exteriors of their historic structures during 2022. To be eligible for the Montgomery County Historic Preservation Tax Credit, the property must be listed in the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation. Search our map of designated historic sites and districts(opens in a new tab) to determine if your property is included.

Owners must file an application, including documentation of the repairs that were done, with the historic preservation staff of the Planning Department by 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission will then evaluate the applications to determine whether the scope of the work meets the eligibility requirements for the program. The work must have been completed no later than December 31, 2022. Download the tax credit application. Repairs, restoration, or preservation of exterior features of designated structures are considered for the Montgomery County Historic Preservation Tax Credit. New additions and interior work are ineligible. Examples of eligible exterior projects include, but are not limited to:

• Painting
• Repairing roofs or replacing them in-kind
• Repairing windows, architectural trim or ornament
• Uncovering and repairing original siding
• Repointing brick or stone foundations or chimneys
• Restoring a documented feature, such as a dormer or porch that was previously altered or removed
• Repairing and maintaining outbuildings, such as barns and garages

Tax Credit Virtual Open House: Montgomery Planning’s Historic Preservation Office will hold the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Open House online on Thursday, March 2 (starting at 7 p.m.). The meeting will be hosted via Microsoft Teams Live and details on how to join will be made available prior to the start of the meeting. RSVPs are required to attend. At this event, staff will provide an overview of the county’s tax credit program for improving historic properties. Planning staff will also provide an update regarding upcoming historic preservation policy changes. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the presentations.

Background on Historic Preservation Tax Credit: The Montgomery County Council passed legislation in 1984 to create the historic preservation tax credit program for county-designated historic properties. Since 2013, owners of properties listed in the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation are eligible to receive a tax credit equivalent to 25 percent of documented improvement costs for exterior maintenance, restoration or preservation work. The approved credit is applied to a property owner’s tax bill. In 2022, the Historic Preservation Commission approved tax credits for 158 projects, representing more than $4.1 million of investment in historic properties.

For more information about filing a tax credit application, please contact Michael Kyne, Cultural Resources Planner III of the Historic Preservation Office at the Montgomery County Planning Department (telephone: 301-563-3403); email: [email protected].