II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1421 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a refundable tax 

credit for the installation of sprinklers and elevators in historic structures. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2013 

Mr. LEAHY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

a refundable tax credit for the installation of sprinklers 

and elevators in historic structures. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Historic Downtown 

5 Preservation and Access Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR INSTALLATION OF SPRINKLERS AND 

7 ELEVATORS IN HISTORIC BUILDINGS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub9 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 


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1 1986 is amended by inserting after section 36B the fol2 lowing new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 36C. HISTORIC BUILDING EXPENSES. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed a credit 

5 against the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable 

6 year an amount equal to 50 percent of the qualified his7 toric building expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer 

8 during such taxable year. 

9 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The credit allowed under sub10 section (a) with respect to any taxpayer for any taxable 

11 year shall not exceed $50,000. 

12 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED HISTORIC BUILDING EXPENSES.— 

13 For purposes of this section— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified historic 

15 building expenses’ means amounts paid or incurred 

16 to install in a certified historic structure an elevator 

17 system or a sprinkler system that meets the require18 ments found in the most recent edition of NFPA 13: 

19 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems. 

20 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS.—In the 

21 case of a certified historic structure that is des22 ignated as a National Historic Landmark in accord23 ance with section 101(a) of the National Historic 

24 Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a(a)) and that is 

25 open to the public, the term ‘qualified historic buildVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:15 Aug 07, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1421.IS S1421

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1 ing expenses’ shall not include an expense described 

2 in paragraph (1), unless the installation of property 

3 described in such paragraph meets the requirements 

4 for a certified rehabilitation under section 

5 47(c)(2)(C). 

6 ‘‘(3) CERTIFIED HISTORIC STRUCTURE.—The 

7 term ‘certified historic structure’ has the meaning 

8 given such term in section 47(c)(3), except that such 

9 term shall not include any structure which is a sin10 gle-family residence.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) Section 1324 of title 31, United States 

13 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, 36C’’ after ‘‘, 

14 36B’’. 

15 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 

16 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev17 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 

18 item relating to section 36B the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 36C. Historic building expenses.’’. 

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

20 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in tax21 able years beginning after the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act. 

Æ 


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