8 Things to Know About Your Property Taxes 1) Your property tax appraisal is required by law to be at 100% of market value and be equitable in comparison to the tax appraisals of similar properties. 2) The “Homestead Exemption” will reduce the property taxes on a homesteaded property, sometimes dramatically. You can apply for a “Homestead Exemption” up to one year in arrears, so it is possible to go back and get a refund for a missed 2010 “Homestead Exemption” until January 31, 2012! 3) Homeowners 65 years of age qualify for special exemption amounts and a “school tax freeze” that makes certain their school taxes, and some county or city taxes, can never go up. Disabled homeowners now qualify for the same “school tax freeze” as over-65 homeowners. 4) Homesteads owned by Veterans classified as 100% disabled due to service related causes are now 100% exempt from property taxes. 5) Look for the “Appraised Value* (Possible Homestead Limitation)” on the Notice of Appraised Value. Compare the Last Year 2010 value to the Proposed 2011 value, it should not increase more than 10% unless you have added square footage to you home. If it does increase more than 10%, call the Appraisal District at (512) 834-9138 and find out why. 6) Property tax appraisals are made as of January 1 of each year. If a home burns to the ground on January 2, property taxes are still levied on the structure the entire year. To delay taxes, build your pool or add on or do that major remodel after January 1….. this way it isn’t taxable until the following January 1 and you won’t have to pay the tax increase until the following January after that! 7) The statutory deadline for filing written protest is May 31 of each year. It is no longer necessary to file a protest with multiple Appraisal Districts. If your property is in Travis County the appeal is filed with Travis CAD, if in Williamson County the appeal is filed with Williamson CAD. 8) If you miss the May 31 filing deadline, all is not necessarily lost. If you can prove the proposed tax appraisal is at least 25% too high you can file a “Substantial Error” motion until January 31 of the following year and still get the value reduced. Also, if you can prove that the Appraisal District failed to send you a required notice you can file a “Failure to Receive” motion by January 31 of the following year and be entitled to an appeal hearing. Lastly, under section 25.25(h) of the Property Tax Code, you can beg the Chief Appraiser to fix just about anything and he has the authority to do it with a signature.
|
