Start here, because it saves a lot of wasted reading
The federal 20% rehabilitation credit applies only to income-producing property. For a house bought to live in, it does nothing. The credit that matters to an owner-occupier is North Carolina's 15% non-income-producing credit, and that's what most of this page is about.
North Carolina's homeowner credit
From N.C.G.S. § 105-129.106, quoted rather than paraphrased: a taxpayer "who has rehabilitation expenses of at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a State-certified historic structure located in this State is allowed a credit equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the rehabilitation expenses."
15%
Credit rate on qualifying rehabilitation expenses
$10,000
Minimum spend to qualify
$22,500
Maximum credit per discrete property parcel
9 years
Carryforward for unused credit
Expenses count within any 24-month period, and the credit is claimable no more than once in any five-year period. NC HPO's plain-language summary of the same rule: "Eligible rehabilitation expenses are limited to $150,000, with a maximum tax credit of $22,500." The application fee is capped at 1% of completed qualified expenditures, and the credit is claimed on NCDOR form NC-Rehab.
Does a Perquimans County house qualify?
Potentially yes, and the reason is worth understanding. Section 105-129.106(c)(5) defines a qualifying structure as one "individually listed in the National Register... or is certified by the State Historic Preservation Officer as contributing to the historic significance of a National Register Historic District."
That second clause is the door most buyers here walk through. Perquimans County has five National Register historic districts:
| District | Listed | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Old Neck Historic District | 1996 | Rural, southeast of the town of Hertford |
| Hertford Historic District | 1998 | The town of Hertford |
| Belvidere Historic District | 1999 | Northwest Perquimans County |
| Winfall Historic District | 2003 | The town of Winfall |
| Hertford West Historic District | 2025 | The town of Hertford — the county's newest listing |
Being inside a district boundary is not the same as being a contributing building in it. The SHPO certification is what settles that, and it's part of the application process rather than something readable off a map.
The sunset, which is the thing to plan around
N.C.G.S. § 105-129.110: "This Article expires for qualified rehabilitation expenditures and rehabilitation expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2030. For qualified rehabilitation expenditures and rehabilitation expenses incurred prior to January 1, 2030, this Article expires for property not placed in service by January 1, 2032."
If a credit is load-bearing in a renovation budget, that's a real deadline. Rehabilitation projects on old buildings run long, and the gap between "we'll get to it" and "expenses incurred before January 1, 2030" is smaller than it sounds.
Sequence it before the work, not after
The single most common way people lose this credit is by starting work first. The credit runs through an application process with the State Historic Preservation Office, which certifies both the structure and the rehabilitation. Work that has already happened cannot always be brought back inside that process.
So the order is: identify whether the property is individually listed or plausibly contributing to a district; contact NC HPO before scoping the project; get the structure certification question answered; then plan and price the work; then start.
The income-producing side, briefly
For a building bought to rent or operate rather than to live in, § 105-129.105 gives a base 15% on the first $10 million of qualified rehabilitation expenditures and 10% from $10 million to $20 million, with an additional 5% for property in a development tier one or two area, an additional 5% for an eligible targeted investment site, and an additional 5% for educational-use structures. The overall credit may not exceed $4,500,000.
NC Commerce ranked Perquimans as a Tier 2 county for 2025, and its November 2025 announcement of the 2026 tiers did not list Perquimans among the counties changing tier — so it presumptively remains Tier 2, which satisfies the bonus condition either way. That last step is an inference from an absence, so confirm the current year's designation with NC Commerce before relying on it.
On top of that, the federal 20% credit under IRS § 47 is available for certified historic structures used to produce income, allocated ratably over five years.
Looking at an old house here?
Travis can flag district status and design-review questions before you write anything.
Send the address and Travis will check what district it's in, what the inspection stack looks like, and who to call about design review before you write anything.
And the thing this credit doesn't tell you
Tax credits are about money. They say nothing about whether a given change to the outside of a house is allowed. That's a design-review question, it turns on local historic district designation rather than National Register listing, and in the town of Hertford it's a question that couldn't be settled from the published ordinance. Chapter 3 explains why, and what to ask Town Hall.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get the federal 20% credit on a home I live in?
No. The federal 20% rehabilitation credit applies only to income-producing property. If a house is being bought to live in, that credit does nothing for the buyer. The credit that matters to an owner-occupier is North Carolina's 15% non-income-producing credit, which is what most of this page covers.
What is North Carolina's homeowner historic tax credit?
From N.C.G.S. § 105-129.106, quoted rather than paraphrased: a taxpayer "who has rehabilitation expenses of at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a State-certified historic structure located in this State is allowed a credit equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the rehabilitation expenses." Eligible rehabilitation expenses are limited to $150,000, with a maximum tax credit of $22,500 per discrete property parcel. Expenses count within any 24-month period, and the credit is claimable no more than once in any five-year period. The application fee is capped at 1% of completed qualified expenditures, and the credit is claimed on NCDOR form NC-Rehab.
Does a Perquimans County house qualify?
Potentially yes. Section 105-129.106(c)(5) defines a qualifying structure as one "individually listed in the National Register... or is certified by the State Historic Preservation Officer as contributing to the historic significance of a National Register Historic District." That second clause is the door most buyers here walk through — Perquimans County has five National Register historic districts. Being inside a district boundary isn't the same as being a contributing building in it; SHPO certification settles that, and confirming a specific address is part of the application process, not something readable off a map.
What's the deadline on this credit?
N.C.G.S. § 105-129.110: "This Article expires for qualified rehabilitation expenditures and rehabilitation expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2030. For qualified rehabilitation expenditures and rehabilitation expenses incurred prior to January 1, 2030, this Article expires for property not placed in service by January 1, 2032." If a credit is load-bearing in a renovation budget, that's a real deadline — rehabilitation projects on old buildings run long, and the gap between "we'll get to it" and "expenses incurred before January 1, 2030" is smaller than it sounds.
What is the process for claiming the credit?
The single most common way people lose this credit is by starting work first. The credit runs through an application process with the State Historic Preservation Office, which certifies both the structure and the rehabilitation — work that has already happened can't always be brought back inside that process. The order is: identify whether the property is individually listed or plausibly contributing to a district; contact NC HPO before scoping the project; get the structure certification question answered; then plan and price the work; then start.
What about income-producing property?
If a building is being bought to rent or operate rather than to live in, § 105-129.105 gives a base 15% on the first $10 million of qualified rehabilitation expenditures and 10% from $10 million to $20 million, with an additional 5% for property in a development tier one or two area, an additional 5% for an eligible targeted investment site, and an additional 5% for educational-use structures. The overall credit may not exceed $4,500,000. NC Commerce ranked Perquimans as a Tier 2 county for 2025, and its November 2025 announcement of the 2026 tiers did not list Perquimans among the counties changing tier — so it presumptively remains Tier 2, which satisfies the bonus condition either way. That last step is an inference from an absence, so confirm the current year's designation with NC Commerce before relying on it. On top of the state credit, the federal 20% credit under IRS § 47 is available for certified historic structures used to produce income, allocated ratably over five years.