Rhode Island General Laws Title 44. Taxation § 44-33.1-4. Allocation of income tax credit

(a) The income tax credit provided for in this chapter shall be taken in the year the certified maintenance or rehabilitation work is completed; provided, that first users shall take the tax credit during the calendar year in which the property is purchased. Unused portions of the income tax credit may be carried forward to succeeding years by the owner who received the income tax credit.

(b) The maximum income tax credit provided for in this chapter which may be taken in a single tax year shall be five hundred dollars ($500) in the years 1989--1994 and one thousand dollars ($1,000) beginning in the years 1995--2000 and two thousand dollars ($2,000) beginning in 2001 and thereafter.

(c) The income tax credit may be claimed by the owner of the eligible historic residence. Alternatively, the income tax credit may be claimed by the first user of the maintained or rehabilitated historic residence; provided, that the first user is the owner-occupant of the historic residence. If the taxpayer ceases to be the owner of the eligible historic residence, or if the property ceases to be an eligible historic residence, any unused income tax credit is forfeited.

(d) In the event that there is multiple ownership of the historic residence, the credit will only be allowed to the owner(s) for whom the property is actually a residence. If the property for which the credit is claimed is the residence of some or all of the owners, the credit will be allowed only to those owners who actually incurred the costs for maintenance or rehabilitation. In the event that multiple owners who are also residents all incurred costs for the same project, the credit will be divided proportionally among those owners based on each owner's share of the actual costs.

(e) In the event that a historic residence contains a non-depreciable owner-occupied residential unit and not more than two (2) depreciable units also owned by the building's owner-occupant, the full value of the credit will be allowed for maintenance and rehabilitation costs incurred on the entire building. In the event that a historic building contains both non-depreciable owner-occupied residential units and three (3) or more rental units, that portion of maintenance or rehabilitation costs reasonably associated with owner occupied units, which are historic residences as defined in this chapter, may be used to claim a residential historic preservation tax credit.