The National Park Service (NPS) certified 939 completed historic tax credit projects, representing $9.6 billion in rehabilitation costs, in fiscal 2025.
These projects generated approximately 163,000 jobs, $18.1 billion in economic output, and $9.2 billion in gross domestic product to the U.S. economy, according to the Annual Report on the Economic Impact of the Federal Historic Tax Credit for Fiscal Year 2025.
"The historic tax credit shows what can happen when preservation and economic development work together," said Jessica Bowron, comptroller exercising the authority of the director of NPS. "Historic buildings that once stood vacant or underused can become new housing, businesses, workplaces, and community gathering places while creating jobs and supporting economic activity in communities across the country."
The historic tax credit program supports a number of housing projects each year. In fiscal 2025, 11,544 new housing units were created through the adaptive reuse of historic buildings, and 10,390 existing housing units were rehabilitated, with 53% of the total serving low- and moderate-income households.
One example is Stone Mill Lofts in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where a historic mill has been converted into 86 units of mixed-income housing. WinnDevelopment utilized historic and low-income housing tax credits to finance the development that’s among the first all-electric multifamily properties in the state.
The report was prepared by the Rutgers University Center for Urban Policy Research through an agreement with the NPS. It examines the direct and secondary economic effects associated with historic rehabilitation investment during fiscal 2025 and cumulatively since the program's first certified completed rehabilitation projects in 1978.
The historic tax credits provide a 20% federal tax credit to property owners who undertake a substantial rehabilitation of a historic building in an income-producing use while maintaining its historic character.