"Residential CRAs"

Community Reinvestment Area: Residential Tax Abatement

Residential CRAs make it possible for residents seeking renovations, improvements, or new housing construction to reduce their taxes by paying taxes on the pre-improvement value of their property for up to 15 years. This reduces barriers to residential development and renovations, ultimately helping to make homeownership more accessible and increasing project viability and project investment beyond what would otherwise be feasible.

Note: If coming from application to read the Rules & Regulations document, scroll to bottom of page or click here.

Overview of Program

The Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) Program is a direct incentive tax exemption program created by the State of Ohio to aid property owners who renovate existing or construct new buildings. It permits municipalities and counties to designate areas where investment has been discouraged and offer CRA programming to spur revitalization of the existing housing stock and new development. The City of Cincinnati’s entire municipal area is one CRA, with the Department of Community and Economic Development ("DCED") running two programs: Commercial Tax Abatements (“Commercial CRAs”) and Residential Tax Abatements (“Residential CRAs”).

When you invest in renovations or build a new home, your property taxes go up, adding an additional financial barrier for those hoping to renovate their homes or prospective homeowners hoping to construct a home – in particular, for low- to middle-income homeowners. At DCED, we know this barrier can be the difference between scrapping a project or moving it forward. So, for the last several decades, our Residential Property Tax Abatement program has allowed residents seeking renovations, improvements, or new housing construction, to pay taxes on the pre-improvement value of their property for up to 15 years.

These tax abatement benefits are available for any increased valuation – as determined by the Hamilton County Auditor – resulting from improvements to the property for new construction and renovation. The incentive stays with the property the entire length of the abatement and even in the event of a transfer to any new property owner within the approved time.

Program Goals

stimulate community revitalization.

help Cincinnati families grow within their neighborhoods

reduce development costs for homeownership and rental projects, making homeownership more fiscally attainable and accessible, allowing for a more diverse homeownership community

encourage development that revitalizes our housing supply

retain residents, maintaining Cincinnati's population

NOTE: This program recently underwent a meaningful and extensive reform process in 2023 to make Residential CRAs more adept at reaching these goals. The updated program seeks to make Residential CRAs more accessible, better prioritize investment in historically marginalized neighborhoods, and incentivize renovations, sustainability, historical preservation, and builds for those with low mobility. Click here for more information on these reforms.

Interested in Applying? Some Need to Knows

For projects where permit applications were accepted prior to September 1st, 2023, Residential CRA applicants will qualify under the previous RTA CRA program (pre-reforms).
Abatement terms commence as soon as the new improvements have been assessed by the Hamilton County Auditor, either partially or fully.
Applications should be submitted once the project is complete, and all permits are closed. In the rare instance that the project is either partially or fully valued by the Hamilton County Auditor prior to project completion, an application may be filed at that time with a copy of the notice of assessment from the County (see application for details).
Prior to submitting an online application, please prepare the appropriate documentation supporting cost of construction as outlined in Section 3(B) of the Program Rules and Regulations (linked below). The City has provided the linked “Affidavit of Improvement Costs and Expenditures” document for your use (also linked below). This document must be notarized prior to submission.
Please note that applications should be submitted with a $250 application fee.
- FYI: The City of Cincinnati has dedicated funds to assist low-income applicants with the $250 application fee. To be eligible for the Application Fee Assistance, an applicant’s gross household income cannot exceed 80% of the AMI for the Cincinnati Metro Area [AMI calculated as follows]
  - (1 Person Household = $56,650 or below, 2 Person Household = $64,750 or below, 3 = $72,850 or below, 4 = $80,900, 5 = $87,400 or below, 6 = $93,850 or below, 7 = $100,350 or below, 8 = $106,800 or below. If you qualify based on the preceding, email ResTaxAbatement@cincinnati-oh.gov)

For all questions about the CRA RTA program, email  ResTaxAbatement@cincinnati-oh.gov.

Click the button below to access the online application.

But before you do, make sure to read along with this written Step-By-Step “How-To” Guide, as you go...

Click here to watch a step-by-step instructional video walking you through the application.

Click Here for the Residential CRA Online Application

Also, see:

Affidavit of Improvement Cost and Expenditures

CRA RTA Rules and Regulations, updated

**Overview of Recent Reforms

After years of careful study and research conducted by the City, local experts, and community partners, as well as extensive community feedback and a robust legislative process, our RTA CRA program has undergone a major reform process that is intended to promote the program’s use more equitably across all Cincinnati neighborhoods.

Three major changes:

Change 1: Establishment of a tiered neighborhood system.

A three-tiered system was created for all neighborhoods

(“Lift,” “Expand,” or “Sustain”) to target incentives for communities with the greatest needs. A neighborhood’s designated “tier” would come out of a designation process wherein the neighborhood was assessed against 6 definable criteria.

Change 2: Streamlining process and increasing access.

The program is undergoing administrative updates to make it more transparent and accessible, including streamlining the process, creating an online application option, and targeted outreach to encourage more equitable use of the program.

Change 3. Bonus incentives for historical preservation, sustainability, and accessibility.

Historical renovations, sustainable builds, and accessible homes are prioritized and incentivized.

These changes are the result of years of community engagement, best practice & impact research – the final recommended changes came out of the extensive work of the Property Tax working group.

These reforms apply to all single-family, two-family, three-family, four-family dwellings and owner-occupied condominiums that commence construction on or after September 1, 2023.

Residential CRAs Across Cincinnati

If on a mobile device, CLICK HERE to see the Residential CRAs Dashboard. If on a computer, see below.

This dashboard contains a high level overview of Residential Tax Abatements (otherwise known as “Residential CRAs” or “RTAs”) that qualified for the incentive program under Ordinance 106-2023.

More on this dashboard can be found in its CincyInsights Webpage.

Documents & Helpful Links