City council must designate your building as historic or already have designated your building as historic. Your building is then placed into one of several historic categories:

• City of Houston Landmark
• Protected Landmark
• A building that “Contributes” to an established historic district

The City provides an alternative tax exemption for “significant” historic buildings.

To qualify, the building must:

• Be designated as a City of Houston Protected Landmark;
• Be at least 50 years of age;
• 4+ units if residential and originally built and used for non-residential purposes;
• Individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places
• Dedicated as a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark
• References having historical significance in a survey conducted by a non-profit or government agency
• Obtain 75% approval of the members of the HAHC present at a meeting

The applicant must re-apply for the exemption each year before April 30th with the Harris County Appraisal District. (HCAD Form 11.24)

If sufficient restoration work has not been completed to satisfy the percentage of tax exemption within 5 years of the passage of an historic site tax exemption ordinance then the exemption ordinance will expire.

• Map of Qualifying Census Tracts (Harris County)
• List of Qualifying Expenditures

Varies by Project.

• The significant historic buildings may be exempted from City of Houston ad valorem taxes for both improvements and land, up to $30,000 per year in perpetuity.

• The exemption shall automatically continue as of January 1st of each year succeeding the year the exemption was first granted for the duration of the 10 or 15-year period.

Calculating the Tax Exemption

• If qualifying expenditures are at least 25%, but less than 100% of base value, the annual exemption for each year on the assessed value of the structure shall be equal to the amount of the qualifying expenditures.
• If qualifying expenditures are 100% or more of the base value of the improvements, then the exemption for each tax year shall be 100% of the assessed value of the historic structure or improvements not including the value of any land associated with this historic site.

1. Application period is open

2. Preferred Vendor/Contractor required: No preferred vendor/contractor

3. Pre-Approval Required: Yes

4. Pre-Inspection Required: No

5. Post-Audit Required: 

6. Average time from Application to Approval: 

7. After approval, funds typically received: 

1. City council must designate your building as historic and placed into one of the historic categories. Historic preservation forms can be found here
   > City of Houston Landmark
   > Protected Landmark
   > A building that “Contributes” to an established historic district

2. The Houston Archaeological and Historic Commission (HAHC) approves your plans to revive the outside of your building, issuing a certificate of appropriateness (COA). A COA is unnecessary for internal improvements.

3. You’ll apply for a historic site tax exemption from economic development. After the site is designated "historic" by City Council, each owner desiring the tax exemption must complete a sworn application to the City's Director of Economic Development Department.

Eligibility

• Tax Abatement for new or refurbished commercial buildings registered with USGBC and seeking LEED Certification may receive partial tax abatement.
• If property receiving the abatement is within a TIRZ, then TIRZ board must approve the agreement per State law.

Project Threshold

• $3 M total investment required

Eligible Property

• An abatement may be extended to the value of buildings, structures, fixed-in-place machinery and equipment, site improvements plus that office space and related fixed-in-place improvements necessary to the operation and administration of the facility. The value of all property shall be the Certified Appraised Value for each year, as finally determined by the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD).

Ineligible Property

• The following types of property shall be fully taxable and ineligible for abatement: land; inventories; supplies; tools; furnishings, and other forms of movable personal property; vehicles; vessels; aircraft; housing; hotel accommodations; deferred maintenance investments; property to be rented or leased (except as provided in Leased Facilities below); property with an economic life of less than 15 years; property owned or used by the State of Texas or its political subdivisions or by any organization owned, operated or directed by a political subdivision of the State of Texas, or any property exempted by local, state or federal law. When such exempted property includes manufacturing machinery and equipment listed in the Investment Budget (as required in the Application), then the value of such property may not be included toward the achievement of investment or valuation thresholds set out in the Agreement.

Eligible Facility

• Manufacturing Facility
• Research Facility, Regional
• Distribution Center Facility
• Regional Service Facility
• Regional Entertainment Facility
• Research and Development Facility
• Other Basic Industry Facility.

Basic Qualifications for Tax Abatement
To be eligible for designation as a reinvestment zone and receive tax abatement the planned improvement:

• Must be shown to increase the appraised value of the property at least $1 million upon completion of the contractually-defined construction period;
• Must be shown to directly create or prevent the loss of permanent full-time employment for at least 25 people within the reinvestment zone upon completion of the contractually-defined employment period;
• Must be competitively-sited; and
• Must be shown not to solely or primarily have the effect of transferring employment from one part of the County to another.

Updated certification levels and eligible abatement

• Silver 5% tax abatement
• Gold 10% tax abatement
• Platinum 15% tax abatement
• Removed Basic level

Updated certification levels and eligible abatement

• Silver 5% tax abatement
• Gold 10% tax abatement
• Platinum 15% tax abatement
• Removed Basic level

1. Application period is open (Incentive approved on 12/16/2020 and will be available going forward. Programs are revisited and reviewed on a 2-year cycle.)

2. Preferred Vendor/Contractor required: No preferred vendor/contractor

3. Pre-Approval Required: Yes

4. Pre-Inspection Required: No

5. Post-Audit Required: 

6. Average time from Application to Approval: 

7. After approval, funds typically received: 

Process

1. Application submittal

2. Review, evaluation and scoring

3. Recommendation to Administration

4. Recommendation to Council

5. Abatement award - Annual monitoring and reporting for granting abatement for the time-period specified