From Preservation Action:

This week Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in sending a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel urging the IRS to provide additional guidance on historic preservation easements. Preservation easements are an important tool to protect and rehabilitate historic sites, but a lack of clear guidance for utilizing preservation easements have meant historic building owners will likely have to deal with multiyear audits. This has greatly limited the use of preservation easements by the historic preservation community, especially on smaller projects.

Last year, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act which included provisions aimed at curbing abuse of conservation easements. Importantly, the bill exempted historic preservation easements from those new rules and instituted new reporting requirements for preservation easements to assist the IRS in oversight of those types of transactions. Those provisions were a significant victory, but the lack of clear guidance continues to prohibit many in the historic preservation community from taking advantage of this important program. 

Federal programs like historic preservation easements and the Historic Tax Credit are essential tools to save and rehabilitate these historic structures that help to tell our nation's story and benefit communities across the country. The letter was signed by Rep. Mike Carey(R-OH), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), and Sen. JD Vance (R-OH). We appreciate the continued, strong leadership of Representatives Carey and Blumenauer and all of the signers in working to improve these important incentives. Check out the bipartisan letter to learn more.

Learn more: https://carey.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/carey.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/8.11-letter-to-werfel-safe-harbor-guidance-and-historic-preservation-community.pdf