15-30-180. (Temporary) Credit for preservation of historic property. (1) There is allowed as a credit against the taxes imposed by 15-30-103 a percentage of the credit allowed for qualified rehabilitation expenditures with respect to any certified historic building located in Montana as provided in 15-31-151.
     (2) (a) As an alternative to the credit allowed in subsection (1), there is allowed as a credit against the taxes imposed by 15-30-103 an amount equal to 20% of the cost of creating the conservation easement and the diminution in the value of a historically significant property, including buildings and structures, that may result from a contract that places a conservation easement on the property if:
     (i) the conservation easement holder is a qualified private organization as defined in 76-6-104;
     (ii) the owner of the property is obligated by the contract creating the easement to maintain and preserve the property to retain its historical significance and characteristics for a period of not less than 29 years; and
     (iii) the state historic preservation officer, provided for in 2-15-1512, verifies that a property is listed on the national register of historic places or that the property is historically valuable.
     (b) For the purposes of this section, property is historically valuable if the property has, as certified by the state historic preservation office, significant qualities reflecting American history, architecture, engineering, or culture that was achieved prior to the last 50 years and the property possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship and:
     (i) is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of Montana's or the nation's history;
     (ii) is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past;
     (iii) embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, represents the work of a master, possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
     (iv) has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in history.
     (c) In addition to any of the tax credit allowed in subsection (2)(a), the owner of a historically significant property, including buildings and structures, that is the subject of a conservation easement contract may take as a credit against the taxes imposed by 15-30-103 an amount equal to 20% of the amount spent by the owner for the direct cost of the protection and the preservation of the property if the preservation efforts are approved as reasonable and necessary by the conservation easement holder. The tax credit may not exceed $25,000 a year.
     (3) The maximum tax credit that may be taken under subsection (2) for each historically significant property is $150,000.
     (4) The credit allowed by subsection (2) may not be refunded if the taxpayer has a tax liability less than the amount of the credit. If the sum of credit carryovers from the credit, if any, and the amount of credit allowed by subsection (2) for the tax year exceed the taxpayer's tax liability for the current tax year, the excess attributable to the current tax year's credit is a credit carryover to the 6 succeeding tax years. The entire amount of unused credit must be carried forward to the earliest of the succeeding years, and the oldest available unused credit must be used first.
     (5) A person may not take a credit against taxes due in any 1 year under both subsection (1) and (2).
     (6) The credit allowed in subsection (1) may not be allocated between spouses unless the property is used by a small business corporation or a partnership in which they are shareholders or partners. (Effective January 1, 2012)
     15-30-180. (Effective January 1, 2012) 15-30-180. Credit for preservation of historic buildings. (1) There is allowed as a credit against the taxes imposed by 15-30-103 a percentage of the credit allowed for qualified rehabilitation expenditures with respect to any certified historic building located in Montana as provided in 15-31-151.
     (2) The credit may not be allocated between spouses unless the property is used by a small business corporation or a partnership in which they are shareholders or partners.

     History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 545, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 538, L. 2001.