Houston Historic Home Properly Denied Charitable Tax Exemption

A historic home in Houston doesn’t qualify for a charitable use exemption from property taxes because it’s primarily used as a private residence, a Texas appeals court affirmed Thursday.

The Duncan House Charitable Corp. “seeks to minimize” William and Carol Cantrell’s use by saying they only live in 4% of the home’s 25,000 square feet, but the evidence is undisputed that they had full access to the property and used it as their full-time residence, the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals held.

“Even if the Cantrells occasionally gave tours to tourists, the primary use of the Property was as ...