A rendition is a form you may use to report the taxable property you own on January 1 to the appraisal district. The rendition identifies, describes, and gives the location of your taxable property. You also may give your opinion of your property’s value on the rendition form, but it isn’t required. Business owners must report a rendition of their personal property. Other property owners may submit a rendition, if they choose.How to AppealIf the total taxable value of your personal property is less than $500 in any one taxing unit, then the property is exempt in that taxing unit. See the New Business/Going Out of Business Section.
H Advantages – If you file a rendition, you are in a better position to exercise your rights as a taxpayer.
- Your correct mailing address is on record so taxing units will send your tax bills to the right address.
- Your opinion of your property’s value is on record with the appraisal district. The chief appraiser must send you a notice of appraised value if the appraiser puts a higher value on your property than the value you listed on your rendition.
H Deadline – File your rendition with the appraisal district after January 1 and no later than April 15. The chief appraiser may extend the deadline to April 30 if you can show good cause for needing an extension.
H Requirements – If you own tangible personal property that is used to produce income, you must report this property on a rendition form every year. Businesses, for instance, must report their inventories, equipment, and machinery on a rendition.
If your property is appraised by more than one appraisal district, you need to file a rendition in each appraisal district office. This can occur when your property is located in a taxing unit that is also in a neighboring county. If you have questions, contact the appraisal district in your county.
Renditions and any income and expense information that you file about your property are kept confidential by the appraisal district. Persons who are not the property owner, the owner’s employee, or the owner’s affiliated entity must file notarized renditions.
The right to protest to the appraisal review board is the most important right you have as a taxpayer. You may protest if you disagree with any of the actions the appraisal district has taken on your property. You may discuss your concerns about your property value, exemptions, and special appraisal in an informal session with an impartial panel of your fellow citizens.What is an appraisal review board (ARB)?Most appraisal districts informally review your protest with you to try to solve problems. Check with your district for details.
If you lease property and must pay the owner’s property taxes (required by lease contract), then you may appeal the property’s value to the ARB. You may appeal the property’s proposed value only if the property owner does not appeal. This appeal right includes leasing land, buildings, or personal property. The appraisal district will send the notice of appraised value to the property owner, who is required to send a copy to you. If you appeal, the ARB will send any notices to you.
State law prohibits the Comptroller from advising a taxpayer, appraisal district, or appraisal review board about a protest. State law also prohibits the Comptroller from intervening in a protest.
An ARB is a group of citizens authorized to resolve disputes between taxpayers and the appraisal district.Should you protest?The appraisal district's board of directors appoint ARB members. An individual must be a resident of the appraisal district for at least two years to serve on the ARB. Current officers and employees of the appraisal district, taxing units, and State Comptroller's office may not serve. In larger counties (population greater than 100,000), former directors, officers, and employees of the appraisal district can't serve on the ARB. Some other specific Tax Code restrictions also apply. ARB members also must comply with special conflict of interest laws.
The ARB determines taxpayer protests and taxing unit challenges. In taxpayer protests, it listens to both the taxpayer and the chief appraiser. The ARB determines if the chief appraiser has granted or denied exemptions and agricultural appraisals properly. ARB decisions are binding only for the year in question. The ARB begins around May 15 and ends by July 20.
ARB meetings are open to the public. Notices of the date, time, and place of each meeting must be posted at least 72 hours in advance at the appraisal district office and at the county clerk’s office. The ARB’s hearing procedures must be posted in a prominent place in the room in which hearings are held. For cost savings, the ARB typically meets at the appraisal office. It does not usually have its own staff or office. The chief appraiser must publicize annually the right to and methods for protesting before the ARB in a manner designed to notify all district residents. The ARB by rule will provide for hearing times on evenings or on Saturdays or Sundays.
The ARB must base its decisions on evidence. It hears evidence from both sides — the taxpayer and the chief appraiser.How should you protest?Following is a list of protest issues that an ARB can consider and suggestions on evidence you may want to gather.
H Is the proposed value of your property too high?
Ask one of the district’s appraisers to explain the appraisal. Be sure the property description is correct. Are the measurements for your home or business and lot correct? Gather blueprints, deed records, photographs, a survey, or your own measurements.
Are there any hidden defects, such as a cracked foundation or inadequate plumbing? Get photographs, statements from builders, or independent appraisals.
Ask the appraisal district for the appraisal records on similar properties in your area. Is there a big difference in the values? This comparison may show that your property wasn’t treated equally.
Collect evidence on recent sales of properties similar to yours from neighbors or real estate professionals. Ask the appraisal district for the sales that it used.
Consider using an independent appraisal by a real estate appraiser. Insurance records also may be helpful.
If you decide to use sales information to support your protest, you should:
- Get documents or sworn statements from the person providing the sales information.
- Use sales of properties that are similar to yours in size, age, location, and type of construction.
- Use recent sales. Sales that occurred closest to January 1 are best.
- Weigh the costs of preparing a protest against the potential tax savings. Preparing a protest may not be worth the time and expense if it results in only a small tax savings.
If you protest the agricultural value of your farm or ranch, find out how the appraisal district calculated your value. Compare its information with that of local experts on agriculture, such as the county extension agent, the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the Soil Conservation Service, the Texas Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the agriculture department of a nearby university. The Comptroller’s Manual for the Appraisal of Agricultural Land may be helpful.
H Is your property valued unequally compared with other property in the appraisal district?
See if the value of your property is closer to market value than other similar properties. For example, your property may be appraised at 100 percent of market value, while your neighbors’ properties may be appraised at 90 percent of market value. A protest based on the level of appraisal may require more evidence. For more information about appealing an unequal appraisal or evidence to gather for such an appeal, see the Comptroller’s Appraisal Review Board Manual or call the Comptroller’s property tax hotline at 1-800-252-9121.
H Did the chief appraiser deny you an exemption?
First, find out why the chief appraiser denied your exemption. If the chief appraiser denied your homestead exemption, get evidence that you owned your home on January 1 and used the home as your principal residence on that date.
If the chief appraiser denied a homestead exemption for part of the land around your home, show how much land is used as a yard.
If the chief appraiser denied you an over-65, a disabled person’s, or a disabled veteran’s exemption, read about these exemptions on "Does your home qualify for exemptions?".
H Did the chief appraiser deny agricultural appraisal for your farm or ranch?
Find out why the chief appraiser denied your application. Agricultural appraisal laws have specific requirements for property ownership and use. Prove that your property qualifies as outlined on "Savings on Agricultural Land Taxes".
Gather your ownership records and management records or get information from local agencies that provide services to farmers and ranchers.
H Did the chief appraiser wrongly determine that you took your land out of agricultural use?
Is agricultural activity still taking place on your land? If you took only part of the land out of agricultural use, you may need to show which parts still qualify. If you are letting land lie fallow, show that the time it has been out of agricultural use is not excessive.
H Do the appraisal records show an incorrect owner?
Provide records of deeds or deed transfers to show ownership.
If you acquired the property after January 1, you may protest the property’s value until the ARB approves the records. The law recognizes the new owner’s interest in the taxes on the property.
H Is your property being taxed by the wrong taxing units?
An error of this sort is often simply a clerical error. For example, the appraisal records show your property is located in one school district when it actually is located in another school district.
H Is your property incorrectly included on the appraisal records?
Some kinds of taxable personal property move from place to place quite regularly. Property is taxed at only one location in Texas. You can protest the inclusion of your property on the appraisal records if it should be taxed at another location in Texas.
H Did the chief appraiser or ARB fail to send you a notice that the law requires them to send?
You have the right to protest if the chief appraiser or ARB failed to give you a required notice. But unless you disagree with your appraisal, there is no point in protesting failure to give a notice. Be sure that the appraisal district has your correct name and address.
You can not protest failure to give notice if the taxes on your property are delinquent. Before the delinquency date, you must pay a partial amount of taxes – usually the amount of taxes that aren’t in dispute.
A notice is presumed delivered if sent by first-class mail with a correct name and address. Your failure to receive a properly mailed notice does not give you the right to a late hearing. In some instances, notices are sent certified mail.
H Is there any other action the appraisal district or ARB took that affects you?
You have the right to protest any appraisal district action that affects you and your property. For instance, the chief appraiser may claim your property wasn’t taxed in a previous year, and you disagree. You may protest only actions that affect your property.
The ARB will notify you at least 15 days in advance of the date, time, and place of your hearing. Try to discuss your protest issue with the appraisal office in advance. You may work out a satisfactory solution without appearing before the ARB.What should you do about errors found after the filing deadline?At least 14 days before your protest hearing, the appraisal district will send you:
1. A copy of this pamphlet;
2. A copy of the ARB procedures; and
3. A statement that you have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of the data, schedules, formulas, and any other information that the chief appraiser plans to introduce at your hearing.
The appraisal district may charge for copies of materials you request. However, the charge may not exceed $15 on a residential property or $25 on a non-residential property.
When you present your protest to the ARB, you may appear in person, send someone to present the protest, or send a sworn affidavit with the evidence to support your protest. See Appointing an Agent.
Contact the appraisal district or the Comptroller’s office for an affidavit form, but you need not use this official form. If your letter contains all the information required, then you may have your letter notarized and send it to the appraisal review board.
H Do not contact ARB members outside the hearing.
The ARB members are prohibited from communicating with another person about a property under protest. Each ARB member must sign an affidavit stating he or she hasn’t discussed your case. An ARB member who discussed your case outside the hearing must remove himself or herself from your hearing.
H Be on time and prepared for your hearing.
The ARB may adopt a policy to place a time limit on hearings.
H Stick to the facts of your presentation.
The ARB has no control over the appraisal district’s operations or budget, tax rates for the local taxing units, inflation, or local politics. Including these topics in your presentation isn’t helpful to you.
H Present a simple and well organized protest.
Stress key facts and figures. Write them down in logical order and give copies to each ARB member. You are required to give a copy of your evidence to the apraisal district representative.
H Recognize that the ARB acts as an independent judge.
The ARB listens to both the taxpayer and the chief appraiser before making a decision. It is not a case of the taxpayer against the ARB and the chief appraiser. The ARB will ask you to take an oath (either by swearing or by affirming) before you present evidence. Should you refuse to take the oath, the ARB will note this fact and may take it into account as the ARB weighs the evidence. The ARB may decide to end the hearing. Appraisal district staff must take an oath.
The chief appraiser has the burden of proving your property’s value by a preponderance of the evidence presented at the ARB hearing. If he or she fails to meet the burden of proof, the ARB must determine in your favor.
How to File a Protest
- File a written protest. The appraisal district has protest forms available, but you need not use an official form. A notice of protest is sufficient if it identifies the owner, the property that is the subject of the protest, and indicates that you are dissatisfied with a decision made by the appraisal district.
- File your notice of protest by May 31 or no later than 30 days after the appraisal district delivers a notice of appraised value to you, whichever date is later.
If the chief appraiser sends you a notice that your agricultural land is no longer in agricultural use, you must file your protest within 30 days of the date the chief appraiser mailed the notice.
If the ARB ordered a change in your property’s records, you must file your notice of protest within 30 days of the date on which the ARB delivered you a notice of the change.
If you file a notice of protest before the ARB approves the appraisal records, you are entitled to a hearing if the ARB decides that you had good reason for failing to meet the deadline.
If you don’t file a notice of protest before the ARB approves the appraisal records, you lose your right to protest. You also lose the right to file a lawsuit about the taxable value of your property.
If your protest is late because the chief appraiser or ARB failed to mail your notice of appraised value or denial of exemption or agricultural appraisal, you may file your protest any time before the taxes become delinquent. You must pay some current taxes before the delinquency date to be entitled to this type of hearing.
In some cases, you may file with the ARB to correct an error even after these deadlines. Contact your appraisal district or the Comptroller’s office if you have questions about clerical errors, substantial value errors, double taxing, or other areas.
The law provides for a late ARB hearing to correct errors, including property appraised more than one-third above its correct value. The ARB has limited authority after approving the original appraisal records. Property owners must file a written request and meet certain requirements for the ARB to grant a late hearing on an approved value.Should you appeal to district court?For the current and previous four tax years, the ARB may correct a clerical error, multiple appraisal of a property, or including non-existent property on the appraisal roll. A “clerical error” is a mistake in writing, copying, transcribing, or entering data, but is not a mistake in reasoning or judging a value. A clerical error does not include a property owner’s mistake. “Multiple appraisal,” also called double taxation, is taxing the same property more than once in the same tax year. “Non-existent property” is property that does not exist at the location or in the form described in the appraisal record.
For the current tax year, the ARB may grant late hearings to correct one-third overappraisals, to correct values based on a joint motion of the property owner and chief appraiser, and to hear from owners who weren’t sent a required notice. These types of late hearings require property owners to file written requests before the delinquency date of February 1. Pending an ARB decision on a late hearing, the owner must pay some current taxes, usually the taxes not in dispute. If the owner wins a value reduction in a late ARB hearing, the taxing units will refund the difference in the tax payment. For a hearing on one-third overappraisal, the property may not have had an ARB hearing earlier in the year. The owner must show that the approved appraised value exceeds the correct value by more than one-third. If the owner proves that the value is in error, but less than one-third wrong, the ARB may not order a value reduction. For a joint motion hearing, the ARB must approve a change when the property owner and chief appraiser have agreed to the change in writing.
Following rules adopted by the ARB, the chief appraiser may change the appraisal roll at any time to correct any inaccuracy that does not increase the amount of tax liability.
Once the ARB rules on your protest, it sends you a written order by certified mail. If you are dissatisfied with the ARB’s findings, you have the right to appeal its decision to the state district court in your county.Setting Tax RatesYou should consult with an attorney to determine if you have a case. Within 45 days of receiving the written order, you must file a petition for review with the district court.
You also are required to make a partial payment of taxes — usually the amount of taxes that aren’t in dispute — before the delinquency date. You may ask the court to excuse you from prepaying your taxes. You must file an oath of “inability to pay” the taxes in question and argue that prepaying the taxes restrains your right to go to court on your protest. The court will hold a hearing and decide the terms or conditions of your payment.
At the district court, you may ask to have your appeal resolved through arbitration.
Once the ARB approves the appraisal records, the chief appraiser prepares an appraisal roll for each taxing unit. An appraisal roll lists the taxable property within the boundaries of the taxing unit. The appraisal district’s job is finished for the current year. It has provided a set of equal and uniform values for all local taxing units to use.How do tax rates work?Now the taxing units decide what services they will provide in the coming year and how much money they will need. Each taxing unit adopts a tax rate that will raise the needed tax dollars.
As a taxpayer, it’s important for you to understand how government spending, property values, and tax rates affect the size of your own tax bill.What if a tax increase is planned?H Property values determine each taxpayer’s share of the total taxes.
Changes in property values may affect the tax bills of individual owners, but they do not necessarily increase or decrease the total amount of taxes to a taxing unit.
H A taxing unit’s budget determines the total amount of taxes.
A change in the tax rate by itself does not reflect an increase or decrease in taxes. Total taxes increase only when government spending increases.
H The only meaningful way to compare tax rates is to compare the amount of tax revenue they produce.
State “truth-in-taxation” laws give taxpayers a voice in decisions that affect their property tax rates. Beginning in early August, taxing units take the first step toward adopting a tax rate by calculating and publishing the effective and rollback tax rates.
The effective tax rate would provide the taxing unit with approximately the same amount of revenue it had the year before on properties taxed in both years. For example, if property values go up, the effective tax rate goes down. Comparing property tax revenues from one year to the next year tells you whether there will be a tax increase.
The rollback rate provides the taxing unit approximately the same amount of tax revenue it spent the previous year for day-to-day operations plus an extra 8-percent cushion, and sufficient funds to pay its debts in the coming year. For school districts, the cushion is six cents per $100 of property value, not 8 percent. If a unit adopts a tax rate that is higher than the rollback rate, voters in the unit can circulate a petition calling for an election to roll back — or limit — the size of the tax increase. For school districts, no petition is required. The school board calls for an election to ratify the adopted rate if the adopted rate exceeds the rollback rate.
Each taxing unit (other than a school district) publishes the rates in a local newspaper, along with a list of the debts it must pay and the amount of money left over from the previous year. A school district has a special notice.
If taxpayers believe that the taxing unit hasn’t calculated and published in good faith, they can ask a court to stop the taxing unit from adopting a tax rate until it complies with the law.
Taxing units hold budget hearings to discuss what services to provide in the coming year and where to get the money for these services. Taxpayers concerned about spending should attend these hearings.How can you limit a tax increase?If a governing body wants to increase the tax rate more than 3 percent above the effective rate, it must publish a quarter-page notice in a local newspaper, announcing a special public hearing. This notice shows the proposed percentage increase, the difference between the proposed tax rate and last year’s actual tax rate, and the effect of the proposed increase on average home taxes. School districts must publish a notice and hold a public hearing.
The public hearing gives taxpayers an opportunity to voice opinions about the proposed tax increase and ask questions of the governing body.
Before the hearing ends, the governing body must set a date, time, and place for formally adopting the tax rate. The taxing unit then publishes another quarter-page ad announcing the meeting for the governing body to adopt the tax rate.
If you believe that your taxing unit failed to comply in good faith with the laws on adopting a tax rate, you can file a lawsuit in district court to stop tax collection until the taxing unit complies with the law. You must file the lawsuit before substantially all of the tax bills are mailed.
If a taxing unit adopts a tax rate that exceeds the rollback rate, the taxpayers may petition for an election to roll back the tax increase to the rollback rate. If a school district adopts a tax rate above the rollback rate, the district holds an election on the question to ratify the adopted tax rate. No petition is required.Paying Your TaxesFor taxing units other than school districts, petitions for holding a tax rate rollback election must:
H Use specific legal wording. An attorney can provide assistance on the proper wording for a petition.
H Be signed by at least 10 percent of the registered voters in the taxing unit. The number of registered voters is the number of voters from the most recent official voter list.
H Be given to the taxing unit’s governing body within 90 days after the date it adopted the tax rate. Once the governing body receives a petition, it has 20 days to determine if it is valid. If the governing body determines that the petition is valid or if the governing body takes no action during the 20 days, it must set the date for an election within 30 to 90 days.
If a majority votes in favor of the tax rollback, the tax rate is reduced to the rollback rate immediately. For school districts, if a majority votes not to ratify the school district’s adopted tax rate, the calculated rollback rate is the school’s tax rate. In school districts, however, a rollback election is not required if the tax rate increase is to respond to a natural disaster.
Taxing units usually mail their tax bills in October. The delinquency date is usually February 1. If February 1 is drawing near and you haven’t received a tax bill, contact your local tax offices. Find out how much tax you owe and make sure your correct name and address are on record.When is the deadline for paying?Your tax bill includes taxes for more than one taxing unit if some of these taxing units have combined their collection operations.
If your mortgage company pays the property taxes on your home, the mortgage company receives the tax bill.
The tax collector must give you a receipt for your tax payment if you ask for one. Receipts are useful for federal income tax purposes and for ensuring that your mortgage company paid the taxes on your home. In addition, your tax receipt is evidence that you paid the tax if a taxing unit sues you for delinquent taxes.
If you appeal your value to district court, you must pay your taxes — usually the amount that isn’t in dispute — before the delinquency date. You may ask the court to excuse you from prepaying your taxes. You must file an oath of “inability to pay” the taxes in question and argue that prepaying the taxes restrains your right to go to court on your protest. The court will hold a hearing and decide the terms or conditions of your payment.
In most cases, the deadline for paying property taxes is January 31. Taxes that are unpaid on February 1 are delinquent. Penalty and interest charges are added to the original amount.What if you don’t pay your taxes?However, taxing units must give you at least 21 days to pay after they mail your original bill. If your bill is mailed after January 10, the delinquency date is postponed. You have until the first day of the next month that will provide at least 21 days for paying the bill. So, if the taxing unit mails your tax bill on January 15, your taxes don’t become delinquent until March 1. The delinquency date is on the bill.
Most property owners pay their property taxes before the end of the year so they can deduct the payments from their federal income taxes. If you haven’t received a tax bill because the ARB is still reviewing a protest on your property, you may make a conditional tax payment. You must pay either last year’s taxes on the property or the taxes due on the ARB order, whichever is less. Once the ARB sets a value, the tax collector sends you either a supplemental tax bill or a tax refund.
Check with the tax collection office on payment options that may be available, such as:
H Discounts if you pay your taxes early;
H Split payment of taxes allowing you to pay half your taxes by November 30 and the remainder by June 30 without any penalty;
H Partial payment of your taxes;
H Payment by credit card, with a fee of up to 5 percent;
H Escrow agreements for a special year-round account; and
H Work contract to pay taxes for certain taxpayers doing certain duties.
You may defer some of your homestead taxes if you choose. The taxes deferred are those taxes for any value that exceeds 105 percent of your home’s appraised value, plus any new improvements, from the preceding tax year. You must file a deferral application with the appraisal district before the taxes go delinquent, and you must pay the taxes based on 105 percent of the home’s value.
If you are 65 or older and have applied for the homestead exemptions for senior citizens, you may pay your current taxes on your home in four installments. You must pay at least one-fourth of your taxes before February 1 (delinquency date). The remaining payments are due before April 1, June 1, and August 1, without any penalty or interest. If you miss an installment payment, you will have a penalty (12 percent) and also interest (at l percent for each month delinquent) added to the installment amount. You must indicate on your first payment that you are paying your home taxes in installments. Installment payments apply to all taxing units on the tax bill.
An over-65 homeowner may defer payment of the taxes. (See Age 65 or older homeowners section.)
Homeowners who are disabled and apply for homestead exemptions also may pay their home taxes in installments. See the same steps above that an over-65 homeowner follows to pay in four installments.
Homeowners whose residences are damaged in a disaster and are located in a designated disaster area also may pay their taxes in four installments, in the same months as over-65 or disabled homeowners do.
The longer you allow your delinquent property taxes to go unpaid, the more expensive and risky it becomes for you.This document can be downloaded using Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will need to download the latest version to view and print the forms.H You have penalty and interest charges added to your taxes.
Regular penalty charges may be as high as 12 percent, depending on how long the tax remains unpaid. Interest is charged at the rate of 1 percent per month. There is no maximum amount of interest. Private attorneys hired by taxing units to collect delinquent accounts can charge up to an additional 15-percent penalty to cover their fees.
H You get delinquent tax notices.
The tax collector sends you at least one notice that your taxes are delinquent. Tax collectors often send additional notices and warnings.
H You may have the option to set up an installment plan.
Some tax collectors allow you to pay delinquent taxes in installments for up to 36 months. A tax collector isn’t required to offer this option.
Before signing an installment agreement, you should know that the law considers your signature an “irrevocable admission” that you owe all the taxes covered by the agreement.
H You may have a delinquent tax lawsuit.
The tax collector’s last resort is taking a delinquent taxpayer to court. Court costs will be added to the delinquent tax bill.
Each person who owns taxable property on January 1 is liable for all taxes due on the property for that year. A person who owned taxable property on January 1 can be sued personally for delinquent taxes, even if the property has been sold or transferred since then.
H You may have problems selling your property.
Each taxing unit holds a tax lien on each item of taxable property. This tax lien gives the courts the power to foreclose on the lien and seize the property, even if its ownership has changed. The property will then be auctioned, and the proceeds used to pay the taxes.
As a result of the tax lien, someone who purchases real estate can’t get a clear title until all the delinquent taxes owed on the property are paid in full. If you are buying a portion of a larger parcel of land, check the taxes on the larger parcel. You won’t be able to clear a tax lien against your part unless taxes on the whole are paid.
How to Calculate Your Taxes And Who to Call Market Value • Appraisal district and ARB set values. – Exempt Value = Taxable Value x Rate per $100 Value • Taxing unit’s governing body sets rate.
(Divide the amount by $100.)= Tax Amount • Taxing unit’s collector bills this amount.
How to Get More Information
The appraisal district can answer questions about property values, exemptions, agricultural appraisal, and protests to the ARB. Your taxing units can answer questions about tax rates and tax bills. In addition, most property tax records are open to the public, including all the appraised values, exemption applications, and tax bills. If you have concerns about how the appraisal district operates or who serves as appraisal review board members, you may contact your appraisal district board of directors. The board of directors may not resolve issues dealing with your property’s value, but may handle concerns with appraisal district services, operations, and policies.