Ehrmann Building, Terre Haute, Vigo County
Review Process
The application for the Federal Historic Tax Credit is a three-part process. All three parts will need to be completed for the application to be considered finished.
Part 1 – Evaluation of Significance
Part 1 verifies that the property is eligible to use the program as a building that is, or will be, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (National Register). Buildings located within historic districts that are listed on the National Register must be contributing resources within the district. Individually listed properties with only one building do not need to complete a Part 1 and can proceed directly to Part 2. If you are unsure if a Part 1 is required for your property, please contact DHPAtaxcredits@dnr.IN.gov.
Part 2 – Description of Rehabilitation:
Part 2 outlines the construction activities for which the credit is to be claimed. This part requires an estimated rehabilitation cost, additional photographs of the property before work begins, and architectural drawings or sketches to show the proposed work. All proposed work must comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Please note that there is a fee at the National Park Service (NPS) level for review of Part 2s and Part 3s, which is based on the project costs. View NPS Fee Schedule.
Part 3 – Request for Certification of Completed Work:
Part 3 requests approval of completed work. This form should show that all completed work matches what was described in the Part 2 application. This application requires photographs of the completed work items, both the qualified rehabilitation costs and total costs, and an ownership statement (if applicable).
Amendments
An Amendment form must be completed if changes are made to the project after Part 2 was approved or for any changes made after the certification of the Part 3 during the five-year recapture period.
All applications are submitted to the Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology (DHPA) for preliminary review, then forwarded to NPS with a recommendation based on our review. State recommendations are generally followed, but by law, all certification decisions are made by the NPS. Please keep in mind that the NPS decision may differ from the recommendation of the DHPA.
The DHPA has 30 days to review an application once received. If additional information or revisions are needed, then a new 30-day review period begins from the date of receipt of the new information. Once the application is forwarded to NPS they have 30 days to review the information and may place an application on hold if it is determined that additional information is needed. Therefore, it is important to start the application process early and allow ample time for its completion within the overall project timeline.
While work may begin before the rehabilitation plan is approved by the NPS, it is not recommended. Please contact the DHPA as soon as possible to avoid risking denial of your project.