March 2026 Re.: New York State Homeowner Historic Tax Credit

The following letter was sent to Governor Kathy Hochul to advocate for the restoration of the New York State Homeowner Historic Tax Credit to its pre-January 1, 2025, value. Click here for a PDF of this letter.

March 19, 2026

The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
New York State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Re.: New York State Homeowner Historic Tax Credit

Dear Governor Hochul,

On behalf of the undersigned, a coalition of advocates and practitioners in the field of historic preservation, thank you for your commitment to historic preservation and neighborhood revitalization projects throughout the state.

Together we are advocating for the restoration of the New York State Homeowner Historic Tax Credit to its pre-January 1, 2025, value.

The New York State Homeowner Historic Tax Credit has been an important incentive for homeownership for the last fifteen years. Targeted to owners of historic homes in qualified census tracts, the program provides a tax credit equal to 20% of qualified rehabilitation costs. Pre-approved work associated with repair, maintenance and upgrades is eligible, including work on structural systems, roofs, gutters, interiors, utilities, the installation of high efficiency HVAC systems, insulation, exterior wall repair, etc.

This program has helped New Yorkers stay in and care for their homes by supporting investments in important maintenance and upgrades.

As of January 1, 2025, the Homeowner Historic Tax Credit was stepped down in value as part of its implementing legislation. This means that the credit is no longer refundable for lower-income New Yorkers and its per residence cap on the value of the credit has been decreased from $50,000 to $25,000 per year. These two changes will significantly impact use by lower-income New Yorkers and decrease the amount of investment made in our neighborhoods.

We ask for your support in restoring both the refund provision and the $50,000 per residence cap on credit value.

Key Points

• Currently, the NYS Homeowner Historic Tax Credit provides a tax credit equal to 20% of Qualified Rehabilitation Expenses for owner-occupied homes listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places individually or as a contributing building in a historic district and located in a distressed census tract.

• Historic rehabilitation projects must meet all eligibility requirements of the program. The credit is claimed against personal income taxes.

• Over the past five years, nearly 4,000 New York State homeowners have used, or plan to use, the Homeowner Tax Credit. Their projects reflect an investment of more than $340 million in New York’s historic neighborhoods.

• Prior to January 1, 2025, the credit was refundable for those taxpayers with NYS adjusted gross income less than or equal to $60,000. This provision has since expired.

• Prior to January 1, 2025, the per residence cap on the value of the credit was $50,000. This has subsequently been reduced to $25,000.

• Restoring the Homeowner Tax Credit to its pre-January 1, 2025, format will allow it to continue to incentivize restoration in our historic neighborhoods.

Notably, the Assembly’s FY2027 one-house budget bill, Part HH, does include the language necessary to restore the program. We hope that you will consider supporting this effort during budget negotiations.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Adirondack Architectural Heritage, Erin Tobin, Executive Director
AIA New York State, Georgi Ann Bailey, CAE, Hon. AIA, Executive Vice President
Community Foundation of Otsego County, Jeff Katz, Executive Director
Crawford & Stearns, PLLC, Beth & Randy Crawford, Principals
Hamlin Park Community and Taxpayers Association, Esterphine Greene, President
Historic Albany Foundation, Pamela Howard, Executive Director
Historic Districts Council, Frampton Tolbert, Executive Director
Historic Ithaca, Alphonse Pieper, Executive Director
Historic Saranac Lake, Amy Catania, Executive Director
The Landmark Society of Western New York, Wayne Goodman, Executive Director
Landmark West!, Sean Khorsandi, Executive Director
Monroe Building LLC, Derek King, Manager
The Municipal Art Society of New York, Keri Butler, President
The New York Landmarks Conservancy, Peg Breen, President
Otsego 2000, Ellen Pope, Executive Director
Parkside Community Association, Braden J. Pritchard, Esq., President
Preservation Association of Central New York, Andrew Roblee, President
Preservation Buffalo Niagara, Bernice Radle, Executive Director
Preservation League of New York State, Jay DiLorenzo, President
Preservation Studios LLC, Mike Puma, Director of Technical Services
Rogers Zabawa P.C., Richard T. Rogers, Esq., Shareholder
Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, Samantha Bosshart, Executive Director