In 2008, the Harris County Commissioners Court adopted guidelines for partial tax abatements for new construction of U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified commercial buildings. To be eligible for the tax abatement, projects must be registered with the USGBC before submitting an application to Harris County Community Services Department and must be submitted to the County before construction of the project commences. Tax abatement agreements are effective for up to 10 years and are based are based on a percentage of the incremental investment associated with obtaining LEED certification.

This type of tax abatement may be sought by an applicant of the County’s standard economic development tax abatement, or as a stand-alone tax abatement. When an applicant seeks only a LEED Certification Tax Abatement, no job creation target or competitive siting is required in order to qualify. The investment requirement is at least $1,000,000 for a commercial structure with Platinum LEED Certification, and at least $10,000,000 for a commercial with the Basic Certification. There is a non-refundable application fee of $1,000.

The value of the tax abatement is calculated on the appraised value after LEED Certification is obtained. The value of the tax abatement may be increased by up to $1,000 in the final year of the Agreement, at the County’s discretion.