25% of qualified rehabilitation expenses on buildings vacant five years or more — and after S.853, a much wider door than it used to be.
| Quick Facts — SC Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Credit | |
|---|---|
| Credit amount | 25% of qualified rehabilitation expenses |
| Cap | $700,000 per abandoned building site under the income tax election (raised from $500,000) |
| Eligibility | Building at least 66% closed or nonoperational for five or more years; minimum investment thresholds vary by municipality size |
| How claimed | Income tax / license fee credit in installments, or a real property tax credit election |
| Election | Income tax vs. property tax — a one-time decision that should be modelled, not defaulted |
| Stacks with | Federal historic credit; SC state historic credit; SC Housing Tax Credit on qualifying residential conversions |
The $700,000 cap is per building site, which makes site definition a real structuring question on a multi-building parcel. The income-versus-property-tax election turns on where the project’s tax liability actually sits and on the holding period — a long-hold owner with modest state income tax may do considerably better on the property tax side.
We determine which election creates more value for your capital stack, define the building site to the cap’s advantage where the facts allow, model the credit into your projections, and bring the investor. Moxie Investment Funds actively invests in SC abandoned buildings projects.
Check my building’s eligibilityOfficial references: S.C. Code §12-67 (Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act); SC Department of Revenue guidance.
The income-producing-use amendment meaningfully widened the door. Buildings without a documented income-producing history — long a gray area that killed otherwise good projects — are now clearly eligible. If you passed on a project under the old reading, it may qualify today. The collateral restriction cuts the other way and matters at closing: lenders who were accustomed to taking a security interest in the credits need a different structure.
We covered the detail in SC Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit: What Changed Under S.853.
We re-underwrite projects that failed the old income-producing test, and we structure around the new collateral restriction so the bridge lender and the credit investor are not fighting over the same security.
Re-test a project that didn’t qualify beforeOfficial references: S.853 (2026); S.C. Code §12-67; SC Department of Revenue.
| Program | Stacks? |
|---|---|
| Federal historic credit (20%) | Yes, where the building is also a certified historic structure |
| SC state historic credit (10% or 25%) | Yes, where the building qualifies |
| SC Housing Tax Credit (state LIHTC) | Yes on a qualifying affordable residential conversion |
| SC textile mill credit (25%) | Not on the same site — a textile mill site claims under the textile statute, which is uncapped and generally the better result |
If the building is an abandoned textile mill, check the textile mill credit first: it is also 25% but carries no per-site dollar cap, so on any project of scale it is worth substantially more than the $700,000 available here.
A credit equal to 25% of qualified rehabilitation expenses for buildings at least 66% vacant or nonoperational for five or more years. The taxpayer elects either an income tax credit capped at $700,000 per building site, or a 25% credit against real property taxes.
Buildings no longer need a documented prior income-producing use to qualify, notice-of-intent timing was clarified, and credits can no longer be pledged as collateral for debt. The 25% rate and the $700,000 per-site cap were unchanged.
It depends on where the project's tax liability actually sits and on the holding period. An owner with limited South Carolina income tax liability and a long hold often does better on the property tax side; a syndicated structure with an investor that has real SC income tax usually does better on the income tax side. Model both before electing.
Not on the same site. If the building is an abandoned textile mill it should be evaluated under the textile mill credit instead, which is also 25% but has no per-site dollar cap and is therefore worth considerably more on any project of scale.
Yes, where the building is also a certified historic structure. The abandoned buildings credit pairs with the 20% federal historic credit and with the South Carolina state historic credit.
If a building was ruled out for lack of an income-producing history, the 2026 amendments may have changed the answer.
