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By DAPHNE HUTCHINSON
Rappahannock New* Staff Writer
As construction costs continue to soar with inflation, property owners in Washington, Virginia, can combat the economic crunch with a tax break from the federal government on expensive restoration efforts, thanks to the town’s designation as an historic district.
John Capelle, executive director of the Rappahannock Rapidan Planning District Commission, discovered the tax break incentive while doing research for Culpeper’s proposed historic district. “It’s a shame not to make use of the benefits,” he remarked during an interview last week in which he explained the applicable provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1976.
In essence, the act gives the owners of commercial or income producing property in an historic district the opportunity to make improvements and take an accelerated depreciation on their federal income tax, according to Capelle. “It’s a tax incentive for an owner of a business to rehabilitate his unit,” Capelle explained, emphasizing that the tax benefit doesn't apply to a residence unless the structure is an income-producing rental unit.
The act allows an owner of a “certified historic structure” to deduct for federal
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