Late Certification Issues

• Author: William F. Machen
• Pages: 103-106

As discussed in Section 3.2, the Rehabilitation Tax Credit gener‑

ally is available in the year in which the eligible property is placed

in service. In order to qualify for the 20 percent credit, however,

the rehabilitation must be a certied rehabilitation of a certied

historic structure.

The Treasury Regulations provide:

For purposes of this section, a building shall be considered

to be a certied historic structure at the time it is placed in

service if the taxpayer reasonably believes on that date the

building will be determined to be a certied historic structure

and has requested on or before that date a determination

from the Department of Interior that such building is a certi‑

ed historic structure within the meaning of this paragraph

(d)(1)(i) or (ii) and the Department of Interior later deter‑

mines that the building is a certied historic structure.194

As discussed in Section 1, a series of steps are necessary in order

for a rehabilitation to constitute a certied rehabilitation of a cer‑

tied historic structure. This creates a dilemma in that the owner

of a rehabilitation project may have completed the rehabilitation

and placed the rehabilitation improvements in service, and thus

194. Treas. Reg. §1.48‑12(d)(1).

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