Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024
(1)
All applications for historic tax credits shall be on the current state fiscal
year's forms and in accordance with the current state fiscal year's
instructions provided by the SHPO. All applications must be complete and
include all required supporting documentation before being considered for
review and before beginning the review periods outlined in subrule 48.6(3).
Application forms are available from the Tax Incentives Program Manager, State
Historic Preservation Office, Department of Cultural Affairs, 600 E. Locust
Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0290. Applications may also be downloaded from
the department of cultural affairs-state historical society of Iowa Web site.
a. Part one of the application identifies the
eligibility of the property for the historic tax credit. Part one of the
application is accepted year-round. Part one of the application must include
all requested information. SHPO staff shall notify the applicant if part one of
the application is incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be
processed.
b. Part two of the
application provides a detailed description of the rehabilitation project. Part
two of the application is accepted when tax credits are available for the fund
specified by the applicant pursuant to subrule 48.7(6) or, if no tax credits
are available, in accordance with rule
223-48.8
(303,404A). Part two of the application must include all requested information.
SHPO staff shall notify the applicant if part two of the application is
incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be processed.
c. Part three of the application provides the
information and documentation required to request certification of project
completion and includes an economic impact questionnaire. Part three of the
application must include all requested information including certification in
accordance with subrule 48.4(2). SHPO staff shall notify the applicant if part
three of the application is incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be
processed. Incomplete applications may be subject to abandonment as outlined in
rule 223-48.12(303,404A).
(1) For projects
for which part two of the application was approved and tax credits reserved
before July 1, 2009, part three of the application shall be submitted within 6
months of the date on which the building is placed in service.
(2) For projects for which part two of the
application was approved and tax credits reserved on or after July 1, 2009, and
before July 1, 2014, part three of the application shall be submitted within 24
months of the date on which the rehabilitation period ends.
d. Amendments to applications. An
applicant shall amend an approved part one of the application or an approved
part two of the application if the property changes ownership or if the
applicant's name or address changes. An applicant shall amend an approved part
two of the application to notify SHPO of, and to request review of,
modifications to the original description of the rehabilitation project.
Amendments to part two of the application shall not include modification of the
rehabilitation costs estimated in the originally approved part two of the
application. Amendments to part two of the application shall not result in the
reservation of additional tax credits for a project. Amendments to part two
will not be accepted after SHPO has approved part three of the application
pursuant to subrule 48.6(8). An applicant may amend an approved part three of
the application. Any amendment to part three shall meet all requirements
applicable to part three. The total application processing fee charged for part
three under rule
223-48.16
(303,404A) is based on the final qualified rehabilitation costs as reported on
the part three amendment.
(2) SHPO staff trained by the National Park
Service for reviewing rehabilitation projects to ensure compliance with
Standards will review part two and part three of each submitted
application.
(3) SHPO staff shall
review and respond to each part of a completed or amended application within 90
days of receipt when submitted pursuant to subrule 48.6(1). If an applicant
submits more than one part of the application simultaneously, SHPO staff shall
review each part sequentially and the 90-day review period for part two or
three of the application will begin upon approval of the previous
part.
(4) Applicants who undertake
rehabilitation projects without prior approval from the SHPO do so at their own
risk.
(5) Response to application
parts.
a. Review of part one of the
application shall result in one of two responses:
(1) The property is eligible for the historic
tax credit; or
(2) The property is
not eligible for the historic tax credit.
b. Review of part two of the application
shall result in one of three responses which may be provided to the department
of revenue:
(1) The rehabilitation described
in the application is consistent with the historic character of the property or
the district in which it is located, and the project meets the Standards. The
initial review of part two is a preliminary determination only. A formal
certification of rehabilitation shall be issued only after rehabilitation work
is completed;
(2) The
rehabilitation or proposed rehabilitation described in part two of the
application will meet the Standards if the stipulated conditions are met;
or
(3) The rehabilitation described
in part two of the application is not consistent with the historic character of
the property or the district in which it is located, and the project does not
meet the Standards. The application will not be approved and SHPO will not
reserve tax credits for the project.
c. Review of part three of the application
shall result in one of two responses which may be provided to the department of
revenue:
(1) The completed rehabilitation
meets the Standards and is consistent with the historic character of the
property or the district in which it is located. Effective on the date of
approval of part three of the application, the project shall be designated a
"certified rehabilitation"; or
(2)
The rehabilitation is not consistent with the historic character of the
property or the district in which it is located, and the project does not meet
the Standards. If the work cannot be corrected to meet the Standards, the SHPO
shall recapture the tax credit reservation in accordance with the provisions of
rule
223-48.12
(303,404A).
(6) Approval of part one of the application.
Upon approval of part one of the application, an applicant may proceed to
submission of part two of the application. If the applicant submitted part two
of the application simultaneously, the SHPO shall complete review of part one
of the application before reviewing part two of the application.
(7) Approval of part two of the application.
a. Upon approval of part two of the
application with no conditions, the SHPO shall reserve tax credits for the
project in an amount equal to 25 percent of the estimated qualified
rehabilitation costs for the earliest year in which tax credits are available
in the appropriate fund, and the applicant may proceed to implement the
project.
b. Upon approval of part
two of the application with conditions, the SHPO shall reserve tax credits for
the project in an amount equal to 25 percent of the estimated qualified
rehabilitation costs for the earliest year in which tax credits are available
in the appropriate fund. The applicant may proceed to implement the project,
and the applicant shall document compliance with the conditions.
c. An authorized representative of the SHPO,
with due notice to the applicant, may inspect projects to determine if the work
meets the Standards.
(8)
Approval of part three of the application. Upon approval of part three of the
application, the SHPO shall issue a tax credit certificate to the applicant in
an amount equal to 25 percent of the qualified rehabilitation costs as
estimated in part two of the application for the tax credit year originally
reserved for the project upon approval of part two of the application, unless
the qualified rehabilitation costs in part three of the application differ from
the estimated qualified rehabilitation costs in part two of the application.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter to the contrary, the
eligibility for the tax credit and the amount of the tax credit remain subject
to audit by the department of revenue in accordance with Iowa Code chapters 421
and 422.
a. If the qualified rehabilitation
costs documented in part three of the application are less than the qualified
rehabilitation costs estimated in part two of the application, the SHPO shall
issue a certificate in an amount equal to 25 percent of the final qualified
rehabilitation costs and return any unused tax credits to the tax credit fund
from which they were reserved. Notwithstanding the foregoing, tax credits that
were reserved for a project but not used for that project may be used in
accordance with Iowa Code chapter 404A as in effect beginning July 1, 2014, and
Division II of this chapter.
b. For
projects with tax credits reserved from the small projects fund and final
qualified rehabilitation costs of $750,000 or less: If the final qualified
rehabilitation costs documented in part three of the application are greater
than the qualified rehabilitation costs estimated in part two of the
application, the SHPO shall issue tax credit certificates totaling 25 percent
of the final qualified rehabilitation costs, with the initial tax credit
certificate issued in the amount originally reserved for the project and the
remainder for the earliest year in which tax credits are available in the small
projects fund or, if no tax credits are available, in accordance with rule
223-48.8
(303,404A).
c. For projects with
tax credits reserved from the small projects fund and final qualified
rehabilitation costs over $750,000: The SHPO shall notify the applicant that
the applicant may either:
(1) Apply for the
cumulative total of qualified rehabilitation costs under any other fund for
which the project is eligible. If the applicant receives a tax credit
reservation from another fund, the applicant shall abandon the entirety of the
applicant's tax credit reservation in the small projects fund in accordance
with rule
223-48.12
(303,404A); or
(2) Claim only the
final qualified rehabilitation costs up to $750,000. If the applicant chooses
this option, the SHPO shall issue tax credit certificates totaling no more than
$187,500 for the project, with the initial tax credit certificate issued in the
amount originally reserved for the project and the remainder for the earliest
year in which tax credits are available in the small projects fund or, if no
tax credits are available, in accordance with rule
223-48.8
(303,404A).
d. For
projects with tax credits reserved from any other fund: If the final qualified
rehabilitation costs documented in part three of the application are greater
than the qualified rehabilitation costs estimated in part two of the
application, the SHPO shall issue tax credit certificates totaling 25 percent
of the final qualified rehabilitation costs in the same fund from which tax
credits were initially awarded, with the initial tax credit certificate issued
for the amount originally reserved for the project and the remainder for the
earliest year in which tax credits are available in the appropriate fund or, if
no tax credits are available, in accordance with rule
223-48.8
(303,404A).
e. Transition
provisions. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in paragraphs
48.6(8)"b, " "c " and"d" above, beginning on
and after July 1, 2014, the taxpayer shall not be eligible for a reservation
for any credits awarded in excess of the reservation amount, but shall be
eligible to receive credits as they become available, in the small projects
fund or otherwise, in accordance with the procedures developed from time to
time by the SHPO. Such procedures shall give preference to taxpayers that had a
reservation prior to July 1, 2014.
(9) Disaster recovery projects. An applicant
may apply for the disaster recovery fund as described in subrule 48.7(3) if the
project meets the following requirements:
a.
The initial submittal of part two of the application shall be made no later
than the first filing window (see subrule 48.8(2)) that occurs after the
five-year anniversary of the disaster declaration date.
b. Disasters declared before January 1, 2008,
will not be considered.
(10) Projects creating new permanent jobs. An
applicant may apply for the new permanent jobs fund as described in subrule
48.7(4) if the applicant meets the following requirements:
a. The applicant shall document the
employment base for an eligible property on the date part one of the
application is approved;
b. The
applicant must provide information to SHPO documenting the creation of at least
500 new permanent jobs within two years of the date on which the tax credit
certificate is issued. This information shall be verified by the Iowa
department of economic development using the process outlined in 261-Chapter
188, Iowa Administrative Code. If the Iowa department of economic development
is unable to verify the number of new permanent jobs required, tax credits
claimed by the applicant will be subject to repayment to the department of
revenue and unclaimed credits shall be unavailable; and
c. The applicant (and any leaseholders or
tenants, if applicable) must enter into a contract with the SHPO specifying the
employment base, reporting mechanisms required to document 500 new permanent
jobs, applicable dates for reporting, and the penalty incurred if reporting
requirements are not met. If the contract is not executed before the building
is placed in service, the SHPO shall recapture any tax credits reserved in
accordance with rule
223-48.12
(303,404A).
