Guidelines for Tax Credit Application e-Submission

New this year, to address issues that have arisen with Gov. Andy Beshear's COVID-19 emergency order, an electronic submission process is being implemented for the convenience of our constituents and to help expedite SHPO review.

A hard-copy submission of your tax credit application is still required to be mailed or sent by delivery service to the SHPO office for final processing. But given the stay-at-home order and the current difficulty of obtaining hard-copy photos and other documents, electronic submission will provide applicants a means to submit all the different components of their application in a digital format prior to the state deadline, then supplement with the printed components as quickly as possible once offices and retail establishments reopen. Final (Part 3) certifications will not be issued until all documentation has been submitted in hard-copy format.

Please note this change in allowing electronic submissions does not alter any other requirements of either the state or federal program and KHC must receive a complete application, submitted either by mail/delivery, or electronically, or a hybrid of both, by the April 29 deadline. Follow this link for complete credit instructions, guidelines and forms.

KHC offices are currently closed to the public so no one is available to receive documents delivered by hand. Complete or partial hard-copy tax credit applications should be mailed or sent by delivery service to the Kentucky Heritage Council, 410 High Street, Frankfort, KY 40601. To electronically submit complete applications, or documents supplementing a partial hard-copy submission, follow the process outlined below.

Please note KHC does not currently have any way to process review fees online, so payment by check is required by mail or delivery. Following is a fee schedule for your reference: 

It is recommended that applicants submit a complete application both by paper and electronically if possible. Applications submitted online will receive top priority for project review due to staff working largely from home. As always, state allocation letters will go out by June 29 for projects submitted for the 2020 project pool. But please be advised that due to schedule changes for National Park Service personnel there may be some disruption in communication at the federal level, so we will keep applicants apprised as the situation evolves.

If you are unsure whether your application or review fee payment has been received, please contact Yvonne Sherrick at yvonne.sherrick@ky.gov or 502-892-3602. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.

As with the federal program, Kentucky Historic Preservation Tax Credit applications may be submitted at any time; however, credits will be allocated each calendar year to projects that have a complete Kentucky Part 1 and Part 2 application submitted by the annual deadline of April 29. An apportionment formula will be applied if the total amount of approved credits exceeds the $5 million cap. Taxpayers are urged to seek the advice of a qualified tax professional before proceeding with any tax credit project.

Guidelines for the state tax credit are modeled on the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program. Follow this link for detailed information about state and federal project criteria and a complete list of forms, instructions and guidelines for preparing your application.

The following steps outline the new electronic submission process. Please contact your project reviewer at any stage of this process if you need any technical assistance with file formatting, submitting files online, working with digital photos, etc. or have issues with access to a printer or file scanner.

1. Download, fill out and sign the state Part 1 – Evaluation of Significance and Part 2 – Description of Rehabilitation forms and email both these forms only to KHC Administrative Specialist Yvonne Sherrick and Site Development Program Administrator Diane Comer. In the title line, please note "2020 Tax Credit Application" and the project address including city (for example, "2020 Tax Credit Application – 123 Honeysuckle Lane, Louisville"). We recommend you request a "read receipt" as the information on this initial email will serve as the official time stamp showing when your application was submitted. You will receive a follow-up email from our office acknowledging receipt within 24-48 hours. Please remember hard-copy submissions should also be submitted concurrently by mail or delivery service to the KHC office.
   
   Please note, a federal application alone does not automatically put your project in the state allocation pool. State Part 1 and Part 2 application forms must be submitted separately according to the instructions outlined above in order for your application to be placed into the 2020 pool and reviewed for both state and federal tax credit programs.
   
   
2. Once these completed forms are received, your application will be logged and your project will be assigned to one of our reviewers, Staff Architect Erick Rawlings or Restoration Project Manager Mike Radeke.
   
   
3. Once your project is assigned to a reviewer, a unique and secure project file will be created for you in the Box online file-sharing app, where the Part 1 and Part 2 state forms will be saved. The reviewer will then email the applicant (and/or if applicable, project contact) with a link to this Box file, where upon receipt you will be prompted to enter your email address and create a password to set up the account. You will then be able to use the Box file to upload all the additional elements normally included in a hard copy submission: photographs, maps, photos and photo keys, floor plans, and any additional documentation there may be. At this point you may also upload the corresponding Part 1 and Part 2 federal forms if applicable. (Please note, owner-occupied residential and nonprofit projects are not eligible for the federal credit.)
   
   
4. Once the applicant uploads files to this online folder you will not be able to edit or alter them, but you will be able to submit edited or updated versions as the project progresses. Amendments, and updated documents showing changes to a project in response to SHPO recommendation, may also be submitted electronically but as with other documentation must also be forwarded to the office in hard copy by mail or delivery.
   
   
5. As with hard copy submissions, please submit photos individually in JPEG format. Photo resolution must be sufficient to read on a typical computer screen and offer enough detail for a reviewer to be able to determine existing conditions at all stages of the work. To assist with sorting and file storage, please number them sequentially in a three-number format beginning with 001, matching each number with the photo key and indicating which stage the photo is documenting (for example, 001-Before, 016-During, or 109-After).
   
   If additional work is proposed in a Part 2 application that is not well documented by the photos submitted with the Part 1, additional photos will need to be submitted along with a revised photo key plan(s). These photos should continue the sequential numbering of the Part 1 photos previously submitted.
   
   
6. For construction plans and drawings, we ask that for ease of online review you please save, number and upload each page as an individual file and that no more than 20 pages per project be submitted for review. If the application is for a large, complex commercial project that will require more extensive documentation, please contact your reviewer prior to uploading these.
   
   
7. Once the applicant has finished uploading all relevant forms, photos and other documents, please notify your KHC reviewer to initiate project review. Your reviewer will then contact you via email when the review is complete and forward copies of project forms and conditions signed by the SHPO.
   
   
8. For federal applications, at present we are continuing to forward hard copy applications reviewed at the state level on to the National Park Service for review. Should anything change regarding NPS operations, we will notify the applicant immediately with any new procedures for federal submittal.
   
   

For e-submission of forms for existing or previously submitted projects: