TITLE 13. CULTURAL RESOURCES

PART 2. TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION

CHAPTER 13. TEXAS HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX CREDIT PROGRAM

The Texas Historical Commission (Commission) adopts amendments to §§13.1 - 13.6, 13.8, and 13.9 of Chapter 13 of the Texas Administrative Code, Title 13, Part 2, related to the Texas Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. Sections 13.2 - 13.6, 13.8, and 13.9 are adopted without changes to the text as published in the May 8, 2026, issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 3013). These rules will not be republished. Section 13.1 is adopted with changes and will be republished.

The adopted amendments clarify administrative procedures and further explain the relationship between this state program and the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program. Specifically, the amendments refine definitions and remove redundant language in §13.1; explain the circumstances under which disparate scopes of work may be treated as part of a single application or separate applications in §13.2; add evaluation criteria for designation as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and provide clarification and remove typographical errors regarding nonhistoric surface materials in §13.3; clarify procedures for the evaluation of Part B of the application and amendments in §13.4; consolidate duplicative information in §13.5; clarify application review procedures, including for buildings that are not yet certified historic structures in §13.6; disambiguate processing procedures between projects seeking both federal and state tax credits and projects seeking state tax credits only during the federal recapture period in §13.8; and establish that Part A of the application cannot be appealed in §13.9.

No public comments pertaining to these rule revisions were received during the thirty-day period following publication in the May 8, 2026, issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 3013).

These amendments are adopted under the authority of Texas Government Code §172.110, of the Texas Tax Code, which authorizes the Commission to adopt rules necessary to implement the Tax Credit for Certified Rehabilitation of Certified Historic Structures, and Texas Government Code §442.005(q), which authorizes the Commission to adopt rules necessary to reasonably effect the purposes of the Commission.

§13.1. Definitions.

The following words and terms when used in these rules shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) Applicant--The entity that has submitted an application for a building or structure of which it is the owner, or for which it has a contract to purchase.

(2) Application--A fully completed Texas Historic Preservation Tax Credit Application form submitted to the Commission, which includes three parts:

(A) Part A - Evaluation of Significance, to be used by the Commission to make a determination whether the building is a certified historic structure;

(B) Part B - Description of Rehabilitation, to be used by the Commission to review proposed projects for compliance with the Standards for Rehabilitation; and

(C) Part C - Request for Certification of Completed Work, to be used by the Commission to review completed projects for compliance with the work approved under Part B.

(3) Application fee--The fee charged by the Commission and paid by the applicant for the review of Part B and Part C of the application as follows:

Figure: 13 TAC §13.1(3) (No change.)

(4) Audited cost report--Such documentation as defined by the Comptroller in 34 TAC Chapter 3, Tax Administration.

(5) Building--Any edifice enclosing a space within its walls, and usually covered by a roof, the purpose of which is principally to shelter any form of human activity, such as shelter or housing, or to provide working, office, parking, display, or sales space. The term includes, among other examples, banks, office buildings, factories, warehouses, barns, railway or bus stations, and stores. Functional constructions made usually for purposes other than creating human shelter or activity such as bridges, windmills, and towers are not considered buildings under this definition and are not eligible to be certified historic structures.

(6) Certificate of Eligibility--A document issued by the Commission to the owner, following review and approval of a Part C application, that confirms the property to which the eligible costs and expenses relate is a certified historic structure and the rehabilitation qualifies as a certified rehabilitation; and specifies the date the certified historic structure was first placed in service after the rehabilitation.

(7) Certified historic structure--A building or buildings located on a property in Texas that is certified by the Commission as:

(A) listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places;

(B) designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark under §442.006, Texas Government Code; §21.6 of this title (relating to Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Designation);

(C) designated as a State Antiquities Landmark under Chapter 191, Texas Natural Resources Code; §26.3(66) and (67) of this title (relating to Definitions); or

(D) certified by the Commission as contributing to the historic significance of:

(i) a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places; or

(ii) a certified local district as per 36 CFR §67.9.

(8) Certified local district--A local historic district certified by the United States Department of the Interior in accordance with 36 CFR §67.9.

(9) Certified rehabilitation--The rehabilitation of a certified historic structure that the Commission has certified as meeting the Standards for Rehabilitation. If the project is submitted for the federal rehabilitation tax credit, it must be reviewed by the National Park Service prior to a determination that it meets the requirements for a certified rehabilitation under this rule. In the absence of a determination for the federal rehabilitation tax credit, the Commission shall have the sole responsibility for certifying the project.

(10) Commission--The Texas Historical Commission.

(11) Comptroller--The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

(12) Contributing--A property in a historic district considered to be historically, culturally, or architecturally significant according to the criteria established by state or federal government, including those formally promulgated by the National Park Service and the United States Department of the Interior at 36 CFR Part 60 and applicable National Register bulletins.

(13) Credit--The tax credit for the certified rehabilitation of certified historic structures available pursuant to Chapter 172 of the Texas Tax Code.

(14) District--A geographically definable area, urban or rural, possessing a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united by past events or aesthetically by plan or physical development. A district may also comprise individual elements separated geographically but linked by association or history.

(15) Eligible costs and expenses--The qualified rehabilitation expenditures as defined by §47(c)(2), Internal Revenue Code, including rehabilitation expenses as set out in 26 CFR §1.48-12(c), incurred during the project, except as otherwise specified in Chapter 172 of the Texas Tax Code, or, for a time period beginning January 1, 2026, until the statute reverts on January 1, 2035, by authorized investment of funds by an institution of higher education or university system as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, if the other provisions of Section 47(c)(2) are met.

(16) Federal rehabilitation tax credit--A federal tax credit for 20% of qualified rehabilitation expenditures with respect to a certified historic structure, as defined in §47, Internal Revenue Code; 26 CFR §1.48-12; and 36 CFR Part 67.

(17) Functionally related buildings--A collection of buildings that were constructed or used to serve and support an overall single purpose during their period of significance. Examples include but are not limited to: a residence and carriage house; a multi-building apartment complex; a multi-building industrial or commercial complex; or buildings constructed as a campus. Buildings within a typical neighborhood or downtown commercial historic district, among other property types, do not count as functionally related buildings with other buildings in the district, unless there is a certain historical attachment other than community development. Functionally related buildings owned by one entity are viewed as a single property while those owned by separate entities are viewed as separate properties.

(18) National Park Service--The agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior that is responsible for certifying projects to receive the federal rehabilitation tax credit.

(19) Owner--A person, partnership, company, corporation, whether for profit or not, governmental body, an institution of higher education or university system or any other entity holding a legal or equitable interest in a Property or Structure, which can include a full or partial ownership interest. Not all of these owner entities can qualify as an applicant for the credit, based on the requirements listed in Chapter 172 of the Texas Tax Code. A long-term lessee of a property may be considered an owner if their current lease term is at a minimum 27.5 years for residential rental property or 39 years for nonresidential real property, as referenced by §47(c)(2), Internal Revenue Code.

(20) Phased development--A rehabilitation project which may reasonably be expected to be completed in two or more distinct states of development, as defined by United States Treasury Regulation 26 CFR §1.48-12(b)(2)(v).

(21) Placed in Service--A status obtained upon completion of the rehabilitation project as described in Part B of the application, and any subsequent amendments, and documented in Part C of the application. Evidence of the date a property is placed in service must be provided as described in §13.5(b)(4) of this title (relating to Request for Certification of Completed Work).

(22) Project--A specified scope of work, as described in a rehabilitation plan submitted with Part B of the application and subsequent amendments, comprised of work items that will be fully completed and Placed in Service. Examples of a project may include, but are not limited to, a whole building rehabilitation, rehabilitation of individual floors or spaces within a building, repair of building features, or replacement of building systems (such as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems). Partial or incomplete scopes of work, such as project planning and design, demolition, or partial completion of spaces, features, or building systems are not included in this definition as projects. Per §13.6(f) of this title (relating to Application Review Process), the Commission's review encompasses the entire building and site, including all concurrent work regardless of whether that work is eligible to generate qualified rehabilitation.

(23) Property--A parcel of real property containing one or more buildings or structures that is the subject of an application for a credit.

(24) Rehabilitation--The process of returning a building or buildings to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient use while retaining those portions and features of the building and its site and environment which are significant.

(25) Rehabilitation plan--Descriptions, drawings, construction plans, and specifications for the proposed rehabilitation of a certified historic structure in sufficient detail to enable the Commission to evaluate compliance with the Standards for Rehabilitation.

(26) Standards for Rehabilitation--The United States Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation as defined by the National Park Service in 36 CFR §67.7.

(27) Structure--A building; see also certified historic structure. "Structure" may be used in place of the word "building," but all tax credit projects must involve rehabilitation of a building as defined in §13.1(5) of this title.

(28) Tax Credit--A credit earned against either the state franchise tax or the insurance premium tax per Chapter 172 of the Texas Tax Code and any limitations provided therein.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 7, 2026.

TRD-202603339

Joseph Bell

Executive Director

Texas Historical Commission

Effective date: August 27, 2026

Proposal publication date: May 8, 2026

For further information, please call: (512) 463-6100

CHAPTER 15. ADMINISTRATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

The Texas Historical Commission (Commission) adopts amendments to the Texas Administrative Code, Title 13, Part 2, Chapter 15, §15.3, related to the State Board of Review and National Register, without changes to the text published in the May 8, 2026, issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 3022). The rule will not be republished.

Amendments remove references to the Federal Register to avoid current and future inaccuracies. No comments were received during the 30-day comment period following publication.

These amendments are adopted under the authority of Texas Government Code §442.005(q), which gives the Commission authority to adopt rules to reasonably affect the purposes of the Commission.

No other statutes, articles, or codes are affected by these amendments.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 7, 2026.

TRD-202603340

Joseph Bell

Executive Director

Texas Historical Commission

Effective date: August 27, 2026

Proposal publication date: May 8, 2026

For further information, please call: (512) 463-6100

CHAPTER 21. HISTORY PROGRAMS

SUBCHAPTER B. OFFICIAL TEXAS HISTORICAL MARKER PROGRAM

The Texas Historical Commission (Commission) adopts amendments to §§21.6, 21.7, 21.9, 21.11, and 21.12 of the Texas Administrative Code, Title 13, Part 2, Chapter 21, Subchapter B, related to the Official Texas Historical Marker Program, as published in the May 8, 2026, issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 3024). The rules are adopted without changes and will not be republished.

These amendments correct an inaccuracy in §21.6; remove overly specific and redundant language already given in Official Texas Historical Marker procedures and add the new Historic Texas Freedmen's Cemetery designation to §21.7 and §21.9; and improve the accuracy and clarity of §21.11 and §21.12.

No comments were received during the 30-day public comment period following publication.

The Commission adopts the amendments under Texas Government Code §442.005(q), which authorizes the Commission to adopt rules to reasonably effect the purposes of the Commission.

No other statutes, articles, or codes are affected by these amendments.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 7, 2026.

TRD-202603342

Joseph Bell

Executive Director

Texas Historical Commission

Effective date: August 27, 2026

Proposal publication date: May 8, 2026

For further information, please call: (512) 463-6100

CHAPTER 22. CEMETERIES

The Texas Historical Commission (Commission) adopts amendments to §§22.1 - 22.4, and 22.6 in Chapter 22 of the Texas Administrative Code, Title 13, Part 2, related to Cemeteries, as published in the March 13, 2026, issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 1482). The amendments are adopted without changes and will not be republished.

These amendments update definitions, remove definitions not used in Chapter 22, and clarify language as needed in §22.1; remove unnecessary language and make corrections to §22.2; clarify and specify the Commission's role in abatement of a cemetery as a nuisance and options available in such cases in §22.3; correct cross-references to the Health and Safety Code and add more accurate and specific language in §22.4; and update procedures for Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) designations and add procedures for the new Historic Texas Freedmen's Cemetery (HTFC) designation in §22.6 to implement Senate Bill 217 as enacted by the 89th Texas Legislature.

No comments were received on the proposed amendments during the 30-day comment period following publication.

These amendments are adopted under the authority of Texas Government Code §442.005(q), which gives the Commission authority to adopt rules necessary to reasonably effect the purposes of the Commission.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 7, 2026.

TRD-202603343

Joseph Bell

Executive Director

Texas Historical Commission

Effective date: August 27, 2026

Proposal publication date: March 13, 2026

For further information, please call: (512) 463-6100