Tax Incentives for Fire Safety Improvements

Wednesday, December 1st – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Did you know there are very generous federal fire safety equipment tax incentives available for existing commercial properties?

This is a financial opportunity to upgrade buildings in your downtown, making them safer for the entire community. This is a path for putting underutilized buildings into more productive use. These incentives enable commercial businesses to expense the full cost of fire safety equipment in one year, rather than depreciating over a long term.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) was passed in December 2017 and allowed small commercial businesses to accelerate the cost recovery of fire safety equipment by increasing Section 179 expense limitations. The TCJA also eliminated several 15-year asset categories and consolidated them into Qualified Improvement Property (“QIP”).

The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act corrected a drafting error related to the TCJA that stopped larger businesses from the accelerated cost recovery benefits. The CARES Act assigned a 15-year MACRS depreciation recovery period to QIP and also made them eligible for 100 percent bonus depreciation for property placed in service after September 27, 2019 and before January 1, 2023.

You will learn:

• What improvements qualify as fire safety improvements.
• Which buildings qualify.
• Though you can’t claim historic tax credits while also utilizing the accelerated cost recovery incentives available for fire safety equipment at the same time, you will need to understand each incentive’s strengths and how to determine which is best for your project.

Join Ron Ritchey from the National Fire Sprinkler Association and Tom Boccia and Nick Gerhardt from Novogradac & Company LLP as they explain this opportunity and answer your questions.

This webinar has been approved for 1.0 HSW AIA continuing education credits.