HB4044

HB4044 expands Texas’s historic-building rehabilitation tax-credit eligibility to include qualifying expenses of public higher-education institutions and university systems. For expenses incurred January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2034, it removes specified federal depreciation and tax-exempt-use restrictions from the state credit calculation. It does not make every campus construction expense eligible, create a federal tax credit, or promise a cash grant. The governor signed it June 20, 2025; it takes effect January 1, 2026. Final law · History

The added institutions are those defined in Education Code 61.003, including public universities, junior colleges, technical institutes, medical/dental units and other listed public higher-education agencies—not every private school. Existing eligibility for organizations exempt under federal Section 501(a) remains. Beginning January 1, 2035, the law removes the added public-institution category for expenses incurred from that date; it does not cancel all earlier credits or end the entire historic-preservation program. Institution definitions · Sections 1–2

Other eligibility rules remain. The project must involve a certified historic structure and certified rehabilitation; eligible expenses must exceed $5,000, and ownership, placement-in-service and certification requirements apply. The existing credit ceiling is 25% of eligible costs, not 25% of the whole project budget. Acquisition costs and enlargements remain excluded under the incorporated federal expenditure rules. Texas also expressly retains the exclusion for rehabilitation of a structure leased to a tax-exempt entity under a federally defined “disqualified lease.” That definition covers specified financing, purchase-option, long-term-lease and prior-use arrangements. Texas eligibility and certification rules · Federal expenditure rules, Section 47(c)(2) · Lease definitions, Section 168(h)

The existing program lets an eligible entity sell or assign all or part of its credit, allowing an institution without franchise-tax liability to obtain value through a buyer. Buyers can use eligible credits against franchise tax or the specified insurance-premium taxes, subject to the existing limits. Transfers do not enlarge the credit or extend its carryforward period; seller and buyer must notify the comptroller within 30 days. The law does not guarantee a buyer or a sale price equal to the credit’s face value. Tax Code 172.109