Texas is about to see a surge in subsidized apartments, after Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that the state will receive more than $114 million in federal housing tax credits to build or rehabilitate affordable rental housing across Texas. According to the governor’s office, the awards will support roughly 4,400 units across 70 rental properties and will be administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA).
The announcement came in a post from the Governor’s Press Office on X, which detailed the award totals and confirmed that TDHCA would oversee the credits. The post credited recent federal changes with increasing the state’s allocation and described the new awards as pushing TDHCA’s 2026 housing tax credit round to “the largest in the agency’s history.”
How the housing tax credit program works
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is a federal tool that steers private investment into below-market rental housing, with TDHCA acting as the state-level gatekeeper that allocates those credits. Investors use the credits as a dollar-for-dollar reduction of federal tax liability over roughly ten years, while developers sell the resulting equity to help close financing gaps for new construction or rehabilitation projects, according to the housing tax credit FAQ published by TDHCA.
Federal boost behind the uptick
The larger pool available to Texas this time around stems from a federal change enacted in 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently increased state 9% LIHTC allocations by about 12 percent beginning in 2026, a shift that industry groups say will expand affordable housing supply but could also strain investor demand and administrative capacity, according to reporting by Tax Credit Advisor.
Where the money will go
According to the governor’s post on X, the new tax credits will finance development or rehabilitation of 70 rental properties and more than 4,400 affordable units across the state, with TDHCA in charge of deciding which projects receive awards. The Governor’s Press Office said the expanded federal allocation helped push TDHCA’s 2026 awards to an unusually large level and linked to a longer announcement expected to list specific properties and unit counts.
Next steps and timelines
TDHCA typically follows an announcement like this by posting the official award list, closing schedules and guidance on its website so developers can begin closing their financing and moving projects into construction or rehab. In the coming days, watch TDHCA for application materials, news updates, board actions and application logs tied to this round of awards.
Affordable housing advocates say the larger allocation of credits should help increase the number of affordable units, but the translation from paper awards to actual homes will depend on developers’ ability to assemble full financing, secure investors and move quickly on construction or rehabilitation. More detailed project timelines and property lists are expected to surface over the coming weeks as TDHCA posts official award documents and project sponsors move toward closing.
