Property Tax Abatement for Green Buildings

Nevada provides a property tax abatement for new non-residential and multifamily residential green buildings, and existing buildings or structures which are renovated for use by a manufacturer to meet certain green building standards.

Property tax abatement for new non-residential and multifamily residential green buildings

Non-residential buildings and multifamily residential buildings that earn certification under the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program may be eligible for a partial abatement of property taxes. As directed by the statutes, the Director of the Office of Energy, through Adopted Regulation R116-07, selected the LEED rating system, but with specific requirements for energy conservation. To qualify for the tax abatement, new buildings must earn a minimum number of points for energy conservation through the LEED rating system. Buildings certified to the Silver Level must have at least 5 points for energy conservation; those at the Gold Level must have 7 points; and those at the Platinum Level must have 11 points. The duration of the abatement is based on the number of LEED points the building receives, up to a maximum of 10 years. 

Once a project has its letter of verification from the Director of the Office of Energy, indicating that the building has earned a Silver or higher certificate, the Department of Taxation, the County Assessor, the County Treasurer, and the Commission on Economic Development will be notified. As provided for in AB 239 of 2013, the Director of the Office of Energy can charge an application fee not to exceed the actual cost of evaluating the project and processing the application. The Office of Energy has set the application fee at $1,750. The property tax abatement cannot be applied to any taxes imposed for public education, or any buildings that receive funding from any governmental entity in Nevada for the acquisition, design or construction of the building.

Property tax abatement for existing buildings or structures which are renovated for use by a manufacturer

Assembly Bill 202 of 2011 created a partial abatement for existing buildings or structures which are renovated for use by a manufacturer to meet the requirements of a green building program to be determined by the Office of Energy. The Office of Energy approved regulations which established LEED for existing buildings (LEED-EB) as the appropriate standard to use. In addition to meeting other requirements specified in the regulations, the new manufacturing business must employ at least 25 full-time employees during the entire period for which the applicant will receive the abatement. The employees, other than management and administrative employees, must earn an hourly wage that is at least equal to the lesser of 100% of the average statewide hourly wage, or 100% of the average hourly countywide hourly wage. 

Building renovations must earn at least the silver level of LEED-EB to qualify for an abatement. All abatements will last for a period of no more than five years, and cannot be applied to any taxes imposed for public education. The abatement amounts depend on the level of LEED-EB earned by the renovated building:

• LEED-EB Silver: 25% abatement
• LEED-EB Gold: 30% abatement
• LEED-EB Platinum: 35% abatement