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Missouri and Pennsylvania both recently passed legislation to increase and improve their State Historic Tax Credits (HTC).

The recent increase in Pennsylvania's state historic tax credit marks a significant victory for historic preservation efforts across the state as a result of a dedicated and diligent statewide coalition.

State Representative Steve Samuelson (D-Lehigh County) championed the effort in the House, proposing to raise the tax credit from $5 million to $20 million.

This proposal gained rapid approval, navigated the budget negotiations, and culminated in Governor Josh Shapiro's signature last Thursday. Legislators highlighted the dual benefits of historic preservation: celebrating Pennsylvania's rich history and driving economic growth by converting historic structures into income-producing properties. The data supports this, showing that every $1 million invested in historic rehabilitation projects creates over 12 jobs, both directly and indirectly. This increase propels Pennsylvania out of its previous last-place ranking in the region and sets the stage for future enhancements to the historic tax credit program.

In Missouri, State Senator Steven Roberts (D-St. Louis) sponsored the Historic, Rural Revitalization and Regulatory Streaming Act, which was later amended into House Bill 2062 and signed into law by the governor on July 9. The new bill increases the HTC in counties outside of St. Louis and Kansas City from 25% to 35% of the total costs of rehabilitation.

On June 12, the Government Relations team took part in an in-person advocacy day for the Historic Tax Credit, hosted by the Historic Tax Credit Coalition (HTCC) and the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC).

Alongside several dozen HTC stakeholders from across the country, advocates met with more than 60 Congressional offices in both the House and Senate, stressing the importance of historic preservation for all Americans and the need to modernize the historic tax credit as more and more buildings reach the 50-year threshold.

As a result, new cosponsors were added to the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunities Act (HTC-GO) (S. 639/ H.R. 1785) and several representatives in the House expressed interest in joining the Historic Preservation Caucus.

HTC-GO is a bipartisan bill sponsored in the House by Representatives Darin LaHood (R-IL), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Mike Turner (R-OH), and Brian Higgins (D-NY) and in the Senate by Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Susan Collins (R-ME).

The House and Senate bills include several provisions that will add value to the Historic Tax Credit and strengthen the incentive to make more historic rehabilitation projects possible.

Among other provisions, the bill increases the HTC percentage from 20%-30% for smaller projects and lowers the substantial rehabilitation threshold, which will allow more buildings to access the HTC.

The tax credit has not been positively changed since 1986, and your support is needed.

Please take the time to reach out to your Representatives and Senators and ask them to support this bill.

A bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers have been steadfastly working on bipartisan tax legislation under the leadership of House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) of the Senate Finance Committee, who have been facilitating discussions and negotiations to address critical tax policy issues with a primary focus on advancing the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024).

The House Ways and Means Committee passed the bill 40-3, clearing the way for it to pass the full House with strong bipartisan support in a 357-70 vote. The fate of the bill in the Senate, however, remains uncertain, which has prompted discussions about what changes may be needed to secure passage.

In the meantime, as Congress looks ahead to a slate of expiring tax provisions in 2025, the House Ways and Means Committee has established working groups dedicated to examining specific tax policy areas including child tax credits, business tax provisions, and affordable housing to facilitate bipartisan collaboration and comprehensive analysis.

The National Trust will submit comments to relevant working groups in support of improvements to the federal historic tax credit and other policies that support historic preservation outcomes considered by the Committee.

Statement of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Hearing on “Expanding on the Success of the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts," April 12, 2024

Early efforts by the Ways & Means Committee to highlight the legislative work needed in 2025, underscore the complexities of and opportunities for advancing bipartisan tax legislation in a divided Congress. This dynamic is setting the stage for major tax policy discussions that are anticipated in the 119th Congress.

With tax season coming to a close and a presidential election on the horizon, the bipartisan tax bill that passed the House of Representatives earlier this year is facing significant legislative headwinds in the Senate.

The bipartisan agreement, brokered by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee, respectively, is a $79 billion tax bill, known as H.R. 7024 – the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act.

It is a two-year compromise aimed at aligning various expired tax extenders.

The bill lays much of the groundwork for 2025, when Congress is expected to take up broad-reaching tax policy in anticipation of the expiration of several fundamental provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Key components of the current bipartisan compromise include provisions for business investments, child tax credits, and affordable housing, funded by adjustments to the Employee Retention Tax Credit.

While the bill passed the Ways and Means committee 40-3, and then cleared the full House with strong bipartisan support in a 357-70 vote, its fate in the Senate remains uncertain.

Longtime champion of the Historic Tax Credit, Congressman Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced, but later withdrew, an amendment that would have added the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (HTC-GO, H.R. 1785 / S. 639) to the legislation.

The amendment was withdrawn to avoid adding to the cost of the bill and threatening the delicate bipartisan support for the broader legislation.

With strong lobbying from the business community and child tax credit supporters, some Senators have indicated support for the bill’s passage while others have called for modifications to the bill to earn their support.

The fate of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act in the 118th Congress is uncertain, but the debate around the legislation will inform how the House and Senate tax-writing committees approach tax legislation that will be necessary in 2025 to avoid the expiration of major tax provisions enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Historic tax credit advocates are considering longer-term strategies to build support for the incentive and deepen ties with existing supporters.

As we move past the midway point of the 118th Congress, support for the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 1785 / S. 639) (HTC-GO) is in a strong position to surpass the previous record number of cosponsors.

Current co-sponsorship of HTC-GO is 51 bipartisan members in the House (28 Democrats, 23 Republicans) and 13 members in the Senate (7 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 1 Independent).

At the end of the 117th Congress, there were more than 104 cosponsors in the House and 15 in the Senate.

With Preservation Advocacy week coming up, supporters have an important opportunity to emphasize the important role federal historic tax credits have had in their communities and that passing HTC-GO will give communities throughout the nation greater ability to preserve their historic resources, revitalized their economies, and create local jobs.

A rare, bipartisan tax package passed the House by a wide margin in February and is now being considered in the Senate.

While HTC-GO provisions were not included in the House bill, now is the time to urge your delegation to include the bipartisan, community-building, low-cost provisions of HTC-GO in the Tax Relief for American Families Act today!