Johnson County Using Nebraska Historic Tax Credits from Courthouse Maintenance Project

Nebraska Historic Tax Credits (NHTC) is a tool being used by Johnson County to recoup some of the expenses for maintaining our historic courthouse. Briefly stated, for every dollar spent on the eligible repair/restoration aspect of our current project, Johnson County will receive a “tax credit” to be applied to personal State of Nebraska income taxes. Since Johnson County does not pay income taxes, we are permitted to sell those credits to individuals or organizations that do pay taxes.
The market for those tax credits varies from eighty-five to ninety-five cents on the dollar. As an example, if our project cost $600,000, Johnson County would receive $200,000 worth of tax credits. If the average sale of those credits is ninety cents on the dollar, Johnson County would collect $180,000. More complete details are available on the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office website: https://history.nebraska.gov/historic-preservation/nebraska-historic-tax-credit-nhtc/
We have been working with professionals to ensure that most, if not all, of the expenses of our project will be eligible for NHTC credits. They have successfully secured NHTC credits for several counties including: Box Butte, Jefferson, Sherman, Sioux, Valley and Wayne. They are currently working with Dodge, Hamilton, Nuckolls, Saunders and will begin shortly to work with Washington County.
The Nebraska State Historic Tax Credit (NHTC) is one of the most impactful tools Nebraskans have in promoting the economic revitalization of their communities. This program provides tax credits to property owners who rehabilitate a historic building while retaining its historic character. Past projects have created much-needed low-income housing, fixed-up public buildings like courthouses, and made downtown areas more attractive to small business owners.
The NHTC was initiated by the Nebraska Legislature in 2015. It is modeled after the Federal Historic Tax Credit program but differs significantly by allowing non-profit organizations and municipalities to sell 100% of the tax credits collected. NHTC reached a sunset date in 2023 but was reinstated in September of that year. Many improvements were included in the revived legislation, such as raising the percentage used to calculate the amount of tax credits from 20% to 25% in urban areas and to 30% in rural areas. The total amount of tax credits allowed per structure was raised from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 as well.
Dave Borrenpohl
Chairman, Johnson County
Board of Commissioners
With information provided
by Berggren Architects, P.C