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Texas
Property Taxes
Taxpayer's Rights, Remedies and Responsibilities
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.
A property’s market value is the price for which
it would sell when both buyer and seller want
the best price and neither one is under pressure
to buy or sell. Land used for farming and ranching
can be valued on its capacity to produce crops
or livestock, instead of its value on the real
estate market. This appraisal is known as agricultural
appraisal. Special timberland appraisal is also
available to property owners whose land produces
timber for products.
- All property is taxable unless a
federal or state law provides an exemption for
it and there is constitutional authorization.
Exemptions may exclude all or part of property
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.
Exceptions in law exist for taxing units — such
as a school district — located in more than
one county.
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.
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 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.
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.
-
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.
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