HCAD is in the process of mailing 2012 value notices to property owners in Harris County, with the majority of the process expected to be complete before the end of April. Out of the nearly 1 million residential properties in our county, about 30% will see a value reduction, 60% will remain unchanged from last year, and only around 10% will have a value increase.

Value notices reflect what we believe properties were worth on January 1, 2012, the official assessment date in Texas.

The market for commercial, industrial and apartment properties continues to show strong signs of economic recovery. Properties in these three categories will generally reflect a value increase in the range of 6-11%, though some will be higher.

Property owners who believe HCAD made an error in their value have the right to file a protest no later than the May 31 filing deadline. While a printed protest form is included with each value notice, owners who decide to protest are encouraged to do so online using the district’s iFile system. Instructions for using iFile, and our residential iSettle system, are included with value notices, and more information can be viewed below.

The Texas Legislature has made significant changes to the requirements for homestead exemptions. These affect all types of homestead exemptions, not just the regular homestead exemptions. The changes also affect over-65 exemptions, over-55 surviving spouse exemptions, disability exemptions, and the 100% Disabled Veteran exemptions (all of which are considered homestead exemptions). Any new applications as of September 1 must comply with all requirements, which are outlined HERE.

We are currently accepting homestead applications for 2011 and 2012.

The property tax is the primary source of local government revenue in Texas and provides funding for the services provided by counties, cities, school districts, and a variety of special entities such as community colleges, port authorities, hospital and flood control districts, and municipal utility districts. While the total combined state and local tax burden in Texas is among the lowest in the nation, the portion of the tax burden borne by property taxpayers in Texas is relatively high.

Under Texas law, all real property (land, buildings, etc.) and tangible personal property used for the production of income (business inventories, equipment, etc.) is taxable at its January 1 market value unless exempt by law, or unless subject to special appraisal provisions, such as the appraisal of agricultural land at its productivity value.

Three factors determine the total amount of taxes imposed on a property. These include the appraised value established by the appraisal district for the county in which the property is located; the exemptions, if any, to which that property may be entitled, such as the homestead exemption for owner-occupied residential property; and the tax rates set by the governing bodies of the taxing units (jurisdictions) in which the property is located. The purpose of the appraisal is to allocate the tax burden fairly among all taxpayers.

For owner-occupied residential property receiving a homestead exemption, appraised value may be lower than the property’s market value because of what the law refers to as the “homestead cap.” Under current law, while a homestead property’s January 1 market value isn’t capped, that property’s appraised value is capped at a maximum increase of 10% each year. For example, the January 1 market value of a capped residence might be $200,000. However, if that home were appraised at $175,000 on January 1 of the prior year, this year’s appraised value would be $192,500 ($175,000 x 1.10). A residential property qualifies for the cap the year after the year the owner first receives his or her homestead exemption on the property. In our present economy, there are likely to be situations where the market value of a home may have decreased as of January 1, but the current year's appraised value may still increase because it was capped the previous year at less than the current market value.

To ensure a smooth flow of the protest hearing process, hearings are scheduled throughout the day. If you arrive more than 30 minutes early for your hearing, it will be difficult to find a parking space at HCAD and the seating capacity of our 1st floor waiting area may be exceeded.

For these reasons, in cooperation with the Houston Fire Marshal’s office, we request that you not arrive for your hearing more than 30 minutes before the time it is scheduled. This will help alleviate the possibility of overcrowding and will reduce the amount of time you may need to wait for your hearing to begin.