Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit

2025-2026 Bill 5252: Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5252
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. M.M. Smith
Companion/Similar bill(s): 853
Document Path: LC-0546SA26.docx
Introduced in the House on February 24, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Ways and Means
Summary: Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

2/24/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 59
)

2/24/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Ways and Means
(
House Journal-page 59
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
02/24/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE
SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION
12-67-120
, RELATING TO THE
ABANDONED BUILDINGS REVITALIZATION ACT DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT THE
EXISTENCE OF AN INCOME-PRODUCING USE PRIOR TO THE PERIOD OF ABANDONMENT IS NOT
A REQUIREMENT FOR ELIGIBILITY; BY AMENDING SECTION
12-67-130
, RELATING TO
APPLICABILITY, SO AS TO MAKE A CONFORMING CHANGE; BY AMENDING SECTION
12-67-140
, RELATING TO ELIGIBILITY FOR THE CREDIT, SO AS TO CLARIFY CERTAIN
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO THE FILING OF A NOTICE OF INTENT TO
REHABILITATE AN ABANDONED BUILDING AND TO CLARIFY THAT ABANDONED BUILDING TAX
CREDITS MAY NOT SERVE AS COLLATERAL FOR ANY DEBT; AND BY AMENDING SECTION
12-67-160
, RELATING TO THE CERTIFICATION OF ABANDONED BUILDING SITES, SO AS TO
REMOVE A REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN CERTIFICATIONS OF STATE-OWNED ABANDONED
BUILDING SITES.

B
e it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
12-67-120
(1), (2),
(6), and (8) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(
1) "Abandoned building" means a building or structure, which clearly
may be delineated from other buildings or structures, at least sixty-six
percent of the space in which has been
closed

unoccupied
continuously
to business

or otherwise nonoperational
for income producing purposes
for
a period of at least five years immediately preceding the date on which the
taxpayer files a "Notice of Intent to Rehabilitate". For purposes of this item,
a building or structure that otherwise qualifies as an "abandoned building" may
be subdivided into separate units or parcels, which units or parcels may be
owned by the same taxpayer or different taxpayers, and each unit or parcel is
deemed to be an abandoned building site for purposes of determining whether
each subdivided parcel is considered to be abandoned. For purposes of this
item, an abandoned building is not a building or structure with an immediate
preceding use as a single-family residence. For purposes of this item, use of
any portion of a building or structure listed on the National Register for
Historic Places when used solely for storage or warehouse purposes is
considered nonoperational
for income producing purposes
;
provided, however, that the credit provided under Section
12-67-140
(B) is
further limited by disqualifying for credit purposes the portion of the
building or structure that was operational and used
as a
for
storage or warehouse
for income
producing
purposes. This limitation is calculated based on the actual
percentage of the space which has been
closed
unoccupied
continuously
to business
or
otherwise nonoperational
for income producing purposes

for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the date on which the
taxpayer files a "Notice of Intent to Rehabilitate" divided by one hundred
percent.

(
2) "Building site" means the
abandoned building together with the parcel of land upon which it is located
and other improvements located on the parcel. However, the area of the building
site is limited to the land upon which the abandoned building is located and
the land immediately surrounding such building used for parking and other
similar purposes directly related to the building's
income
producing
use.

(
6) "Rehabilitation expenses" means
the expenses or capital expenditures incurred in the rehabilitation,
demolition, renovation, or redevelopment of the building site, including
without limitations, the renovation or redevelopment of existing buildings, environmental
remediation, site improvements, and the construction of new buildings and other
improvements on the building site, but excluding the cost of acquiring the
building site or the cost of personal property located at the building site.
For expenses associated with a building site to qualify for the tax credit, the
abandoned buildings on the building site must be either renovated or
redeveloped. Rehabilitation expenses associated with a building site that
increases the amount of square footage on the building site in excess of two
hundred percent of the amount of square footage of the buildings that existed
on the building site as of the filing of the Notice of Intent to Rehabilitate
shall not be considered a rehabilitation expense for purposes of calculating
the amount of the credit. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
demolition expenses shall not be considered a rehabilitation expense for
purposes of calculating the amount of the credit if
the
abandoned building is demolished and
the building being demolished is on
the National Register for Historic Places.

(
8)
"State-owned
abandoned building" means an abandoned building and its ancillary service
buildings or a project consisting of one or more abandoned buildings, the
aggregate size of which is greater than fifty thousand square feet, that has
been abandoned for more than five years, and, prior to the taxpayer's
acquisition of such building, was most recently owned by the State, or an
agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of the State. For purposes of
this definition, the taxpayer shall include any entity under common control or
common ownership with the taxpayer.
Reserved.

S
ECTION 2.
S
ection
12-67-130
(B) of the
S.C. Code is amended to read:

(
B) This chapter only applies to abandoned building sites or phases
or portions thereof put into operation for income producing purposes and that
meet the purpose of this chapter set forth in Section
12-67-110
otherwise meet the requirements of this chapter
. The
construction or operation of a charter school, private or parochial school, or
other similar educational institution does meet the purpose of this chapter.
The construction of a single-family residence is not an income producing
purpose and does not meet the purpose of this chapter.

S
ECTION 3.
S
ection
12-67-140
(B)(1) and
(5) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(
1) The taxpayer shall file with the department a Notice of Intent to
Rehabilitate before
incurring its first rehabilitation
expenses
obtaining a building permit
at the
building site. Failure to provide the Notice of Intent to Rehabilitate
prior to obtaining a building permit
results in
qualification of only those rehabilitation expenses incurred after the notice
is provided.

(
5)
(
a) If the taxpayer leases the
building site, or part of the building site, the taxpayer may transfer any
applicable remaining credit associated with the rehabilitation expenses
incurred with respect to that part of the site to the lessee of the site. If a
taxpayer sells
or otherwise transfers
the building
site, or any phase or portion of the building site, the taxpayer may transfer
all or part of the remaining credit, associated with the rehabilitation
expenses incurred with respect to that phase or portion of the site, to the
purchaser
or transferee
of the applicable portion
of the building site.

(
b) To the extent that the taxpayer
transfers the credit, the taxpayer shall notify the department of the transfer
in the manner the department prescribes.

(
c) The taxpayer may not pledge,
assign, hypothecate, or otherwise collateralize any portion of the credit
earned pursuant to this chapter as security for debt in any way.

S
ECTION 4.
S
ection
12-67-160
of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:

S
ection
12-67-160
.
(
A) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the taxpayer may apply to the municipality or county in which
the abandoned building is located for a certification of the abandoned building
site made by ordinance or binding resolution of the governing body of the
municipality or county. The certification must include findings that the:

(
1)
building or
buildings situated on the
abandoned building site

or sites

was
is
an
abandoned building as defined in Section
12-67-120
(1); and

(
2) geographic area of the abandoned
building site
or sites
is consistent with Section
12-67-120
(2).

(
B) The taxpayer may apply to the
municipality or county in which the state-owned abandoned building is located
for a certification of the state-owned abandoned building site made by
ordinance or binding resolution of the governing body of the municipality or
county. The certification must include findings that the:

(
1) state-owned abandoned building
site was a state-owned abandoned building as defined in Section
12-67-120
(8);
and

(
2) geographic area of the state-owned
abandoned building site is consistent with Section
12-67-120
(8).

(C)
(
B)
The taxpayer
conclusively may rely upon the certification in determining the credit allowed;
provided, however, that if the taxpayer is relying upon the certification, the
taxpayer shall include a copy of the certification on the first return for
which the credit is claimed.

S
ECTION
5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on February 24, 2026 at 1:44 PM