Applications Due April 15 for Barn Tax Incentive Program

Advocates Expect Program to Continue to Grow

April 15 is the deadline for property owners seeking tax relief for their historic agricultural structures. All New Hampshire towns and cities are authorized by state law (RSA 79-D) to grant property tax relief to owners of historic barns and farm buildings who can demonstrate the public benefit of preserving these structures. Owners also must agree to maintain them throughout a minimum 10-year preservation easement. Renewals are due for property owners who entered the program in 2014.

Pictured: A barn currently in the 79-D program, North Country Farm, Center Sandwich, NH

Program Active in 100 Communities

Almost 100 communities have over 610 historic structures in the program, according to current data from the N.H. Department of Revenue Administration. Towns with 10 or more participants in the program include Alton, Candia, Concord, Cornish, Deerfield, Freedom, Hopkinton, Kensington, Kingston, Lancaster, Lee, Londonderry, Lyndeborough, Marlborough, Moultonborough, New Boston, North Hampton, Orford, Sandwich, Stratham and Tamworth.

Help Available to Property Owners

Beverly Thomas, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s Deputy Director, provides barn tax incentive information to anyone who asks. “We’re happy to help applicants whether their municipalities are already participating in the program or whether it’s all brand-new to them,” she said. She emphasized that heritage commissions and historical societies in many towns and cities also want to help. “People across the state and their municipal leaders understand the significance of these historic structures, the opportunities to continue to use them in creative ways, and the importance these barns and other agricultural structures are in maintaining the character of our communities,” she added.

Messages about the Program Goals from Community Leaders:

From Nathan Merrill, chair of the Stratham Heritage Commission:

Nathan Merrill, chair of the Stratham Heritage Commission notes that support for the barn easement program is broad in his community, even though its agrarian heyday lives in the past. Voters, taxpayers, the Select Board, and Heritage Commission all heartily support utilizing this valuable tool to the fullest, for helping to preserve these iconic historic structures that dot our local landscape. The old barns provide an invaluable, tangible connection to the region’s agricultural heritage and they are appreciated by so many people from near and far. New England, in particular, is blessed with many of the nation’s grandest barns from the peak era of their construction throughout the 19th century. But they are expensive to maintain, and susceptible to benign neglect – which ultimately leads to very costly repairs or loss of the structure. The barn easement program enables communities to provide modest tax relief to property owners who agree to maintain these treasured buildings during the easement term. It is a win-win solution for all parties.

From Mark Longley, North Country Farm, Center Sandwich, program participant

We in Sandwich cherish our rural agricultural heritage and know that one way to honor and protect our legacy is to preserve our town's more than 210 historic barns and farm structures. The Discretionary Preservation Easement (RSA79D) has been a great vehicle in assisting us to move toward the goal of preserving all our barns. And the N.H. Preservation Alliance has been instrumental in promoting the easement program as well as providing key information and resources to help individual owners restore and maintain their iconic agricultural structures.