Anne Arundel Council Member Chris Trumbauer introduced a bill to create a historic preservation tax credit for owners of historic homes or businesses. The tax credit, if successful, would cover up to 25 percent of an improvement project’s cost by deducting that amount from an owner’s property tax bill.

The Baltimore Sun article states,

If the credit is adopted, Anne Arundel will join most of the state’s major jurisdictions, including Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard, Calvert and Baltimore counties, which already have historic preservation tax incentives in place.

Trumbauer’s proposal was inspired by a call from a constituent who was looking to renovate a historic home and wondered whether the county had any programs that could provide financial support.

“I looked into it and it turned out they did not,” Trumbauer said. So he drafted his bill, which he says is “a little bit of a helping hand for folks that want to do the right thing for their historically significant property.”

Under the legislation, residential and commercial properties deemed historically valuable by the county’s Office of Planning and Zoning would be eligible for a tax credit equal to 25 percent of a renovation’s cost, including interior improvements. New properties built within a historic district would be eligible for a tax credit equal to 5 percent of the cost of their construction, provided the new buildings are compatible with surrounding architecture.

The credit is capped at $50,000 per qualified property owner.

In order to qualify as historically valuable, a building must be at least 65 years old and have a high level of historical significance, based on its role in the county’s past, association with the life of a significant person or architectural value, among other criteria. Properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or properties determined to be eligible for the register, would also qualify.

Visit the Baltimore Sun online for more information on the proposed historic preservation tax credit bill.