What Can the New York State Homeowners Credit Do for You?

To qualify, the building must be an owner-occupied residential structure — sublets are not eligible — listed with either the State Historic Preservation Office or the National Register of Historic Places, or located in a state or nationally registered historic district and certified as being of historic significance to the district. Designation by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) doesn't determine eligibility for the credit, but the LPC has oversight over the scope of the work.

To further qualify:

• You must own and reside in the historic home in New York State in the year for which you claim the credit.
• Qualifying rehabilitation costs for the project must be $5,000 or more of which five percent must be for exterior work.
• You must receive preliminary approval before beginning construction and a Certificate of Completion once the work has been completed from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

The home must also be located in:

• a federally qualified census tract or area of chronic economic distress, or
• a census tract that is at 50 percent or below the state family median income level.

There are thousands of census tracts in New York City, explains Gould. So when you call up to see if you are eligible to receive the credit, your address gets checked against a master list of those census tracts to see if you meet the qualification requirements.

For additional information on the New York State Homeowners Credit and whether you qualify, check out the Tax Credit Program page on the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. And for additional information on claiming this credit, see Form IT-237, Claim for Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Credit, and its instructions.