Property Tax Appeal and Protest Services

Texas Property Taxes

The Basics
The property tax provides more tax dollars for local services in Texas than any other source. Property taxes help to pay for public schools, city streets, county roads, police, fire protection, and many other services. Property taxes are local taxes. Your local officials value your property, set your tax rates, and collect your taxes. However, state law governs how the process works. Property taxes are based on the value of the property. For example, the property tax on a vacant lot valued at $10,000 is ten times as much as one valued at $1,000.
The Texas Constitution sets out five rules for the property tax
• Taxation must be equal and uniform. All property must be valued and taxed equally and uniformly. This applies to similar types of property — for example, all residential homes — and to differing types of property — for example, commercial properties and utility properties. No single property or type of properties should pay more than its fair share of taxes.
• With some exceptions, all tangible property must be taxed on its current market value. The exceptions include agricultural land and timberland. All property must be valued and taxed equally and uniformly. This applies to similar types of property — for example, all residential homes — and to differing types of property — for example, commercial properties and utility properties. No single property or type of properties should pay more than its fair share of taxes.
• All property is taxable unless a federal or state law provides an exemption for it. An exemption may exclude all or part of a property’s value from taxation.
• Property owners have a right to reasonable notice of increases in appraised property value.
• Each property in a county must have one appraised value. The Legislature may provide for exceptions for a property that is part of a governmental unit — such as a school district — whose boundaries cross county lines.
Between January 1 and April 30, the appraisal district processes applications for tax exemptions, agricultural appraisals, and other tax relief. Around May 15, the appraisal review board begins hearing protests from property owners who believe their property values are incorrect or who did not get exemptions or agricultural appraisal. The ARB is an independent panel of local citizens responsible for handling protests about the appraisal district’s work. When the ARB finishes its work, the appraisal district gives each taxing unit a list of taxable property. In August or September, the elected officials of each taxing unit adopt tax rates for their operations and debt payments. Several taxing units tax your property. Every property is taxed by the county and the local school district. You also may pay taxes to a city and to special districts such as hospital, junior college, water, fire, and others. Tax collection starts around October 1 as tax bills go out. Taxpayers have until January 31 of the following year to pay their taxes. On February 1, penalty and interest charges begin accumulating on most unpaid tax bills. Tax collectors may start legal action to collect unpaid taxes on February 1.

How does the system work?
 • There are three main parts to the property tax system in Texas:
• An appraisal district in each county sets the value of your property each year. A chief appraiser is the chief administrator.
• An appraisal review board (ARB) settles any disagreements between you and the appraisal district about the value of your property.
• Local taxing units, which include the county, city, school district, and special districts, decide how much money they will spend. This determines the total amount of taxes that you and your neighbors will pay.
• The system has four stages: valuing the taxable property, protesting the values, adopting the tax rates, and collecting the taxes. January 1 marks the beginning of property appraisal. What a property is used for on January 1, market conditions at that time, and who owns the property on that date determine whether the property is taxed, its value, and who is responsible for paying the tax.
     • What is the taxpayer’s role?
You can play an effective role in the process if you know your rights, understand the remedies available to you, and fulfill your responsibilities.
 •  Know your rights:
 You have the right to equal and uniform tax appraisals. Your property value should be the same as similar properties.
• You have the right to have your property taxed on its market value or its agricultural or timber value if it qualifies.
• You have the right to receive all tax exemptions or other tax relief for which you qualify and apply timely.
• You have the right to notices of changes in your property value or in your exemptions.
• You have the right to know about a taxing unit’s proposed tax rate increase and to have time to comment on it.
• Understand your remedies:
• If you believe your property value is too high, or if you were denied an exemption or agricultural appraisal, you may protest to the ARB. If you don’t agree with the review board, you may take your case to court or file for binding arbitration.
• You may speak at public hearings when your elected officials are deciding how to spend your taxes and setting the tax rate.
• You and your fellow taxpayers may limit major tax increases in an election to roll back or limit the tax rate.
• Fulfill your responsibilities:
• You must apply for the general, over-65, disabled, or any local-option homestead exemptions before the deadlines in the appraisal district where your property is located. If your property is located in a taxing unit that overlaps into two or more counties, you need to apply in each county appraisal district.
• You must apply for other exemptions, agricultural appraisal, and other forms of tax relief before the deadlines.
• You must see that your property is listed correctly on the tax records with your correct name, current address, and property description.
• You must pay your taxes on time.
Appointing an Agent
 • You can play an effective role in the process if you know your rights, understand the remedies available to you, and fulfill your responsibilities.
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 You may represent yourself in any property tax matter. Or, you may appoint a representative — commonly called an agent such as Property Tax Managers — to handle specific duties. You don’t need an agent to file for exemptions on your home — just get an application form from your appraisal district. To appoint an agent, you must give that person written authorization to represent you. You must use a special Appointment of Agent form (Form No. 50-162), available from the appraisal district or the Comptroller’s office. No form is necessary if the person is your attorney, mortgage lender, employee, or a person who is simply acting as a courier. The agent may represent you in one or more areas that you designate on the form: to file notices of protest, to present before the ARB, to negotiate on any value disputes, to receive notices or tax bills, or to handle any other specific action. The agent also may represent you for general tax purposes. The form asks for a date when your authorization to this person ends. If you don’t give an ending date, the agent continues to represent you indefinitely, until you file a statement ending the appointment, or you appoint a new agent.
 • New Texas Property Tax Law Effective January 1, 2010             Section 23.01 HB 1038 adds subsection (c) to provide that a chief appraiser, in appraising a residence homestead, may not exclude from consideration other property in the neighborhood that sold at foreclosure in any of the three years preceding the tax year and was comparable at the time of sale, or declined in value because of the economy.

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Questions?

If you have a question about how any of this works, just give me a call at 214-212-6910.

You can also email me at: Rob@RobWheelock.com.

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