Jack A. Coleman Jr.
Certified Public
Accountant
903-723-6064
Property
Taxation
The purpose
of these type engagements is to assist the appraisal district in valuing your
property at its fair market value. This
is achieved by making sure the property is being depreciated in accordance with
appropriate appraisal district guidelines, your valuation includes only
tangible property, your valuation does not include non-existent property, and the
valuation excludes intangibles.
The process
involves the following steps:
·
A
preliminary survey of your property’s assessment history and data sheet will be
conducted to determine the potential for adjustment.
·
An
engagement letter will be presented documenting an understanding of the work to
be performed, limitations of the work, and compensation for the work as it
progresses.
·
An
Appointment of Agent is prepared concurrent with the execution of the
engagement letter. This form allows me
to act on your behalf at the appraisal district.
·
A
conference will be arranged with the appraiser to attempt a negotiation of an
appropriate value. Efforts will be made
to resolve every possible valuation issue with the appraiser before filing a
protest appealing the valuation to the Appraisal Review Board.
·
After
evaluating the progress of value negotiation and upon your approval a Notice of
Protest will be filed to arrange a hearing before the Appraisal Review
Board. Negotiation will continue until
time for the meeting. Most disputes
resolve in advance of the Appraisal Review Board hearing as evidentiary
information is developed for presentation before the Appraisal Review Board.
·
The
valuation documentation is presented to the Appraisal Review Board at a hearing
if a negotiated settlement cannot be reached.
The hearings are somewhat informal.
The taxpayer should accompany me at this hearing to offer additional
information to support the taxpayer value.
The appraisal district will also present evidence to support their
valuation methodology and its application to your property. The ARB will reach a decision as to the
appropriate value.
·
The
taxpayer has the right to appeal to binding arbitration or State District Court
if the taxpayer disagrees with the ARB.
Fees for
this work are time dependent and subject to the complexity of the project and
the condition of the available records.
The work involves developing supporting valuation data, negotiating with
the appraisal district appraiser, and resolving the valuation at a mutually
agreeable amount. The work is time
dependent and is a “best effort” service with no guarantee of outcome. Fees may not be fully recovered through tax
savings in the current or future years.
No tax work is offered under a contingent fee agreement. Additional fee information appears at the end
of this page.
General Information (From
·
You
have the right to equal and uniform tax appraisals. Your property should be
appraised at market value in the same way as similar properties in the area.
·
Your
property should be taxed on its agricultural or timber value if it qualifies
for such treatment and you apply timely.
·
You
should receive all tax exemptions or other tax relief for which you qualify, if
you apply for such relief in a timely fashion.
·
You
should receive notices of changes in your property’s value or in your exemption
status. You should be informed about a taxing unit’s proposed tax rate increase
and comment on it before the taxing unit’s governing body.
·
If
you believe your property value is too high, or if you were denied an exemption
or agricultural appraisal, you may protest to your ARB. If you do not agree
with the ARB’s decision, you may take your case to
binding arbitration in some instances or to district court.
·
You
may speak before 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 through elections to roll back or limit tax rates.
·
You
must apply timely for general, over-65, disabled or any local-option homestead
exemptions with 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 must apply to each county appraisal district.
·
You
must apply for other exemptions, agricultural appraisal and other forms of tax
relief before the deadlines set by law.
·
You
must report, or render, taxable business personal property to your appraisal
district. In doing so, you may give your opinion of the property’s value. You
should ensure that your property is listed correctly on local tax records, with
your correct name, current address and property description.
·
You
must pay your taxes on time. You may not withhold or make conditional payment
or attempt to pay taxes into a special account to protest your assigned value,
tax rates or the budget of a taxing unit.
Some Things You Can Do For Yourself
Become Informed
·
Obtain
a copy of Taxpayer Rights and Responsibilities.
It is available free from the appraisal district or via the Internet
from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
·
Compare
the value of your property with that of your neighbors by going to www.txcountydata.com The service is
free. The data displayed is for the
prior year.
·
The
·
Property
Tax forms and publications are available from the Texas Comptroller website
Take Action
·
Meet with the Appraisal District
appraiser. Your property has been grouped with
similar properties to determine values based on square footage, construction
type, location, condition, etc. Be
prepared to discuss factors which would cause your property’s value to differ. Use the information list below to help
identify those characteristics to point out.
The cost of your property may not be a good indicator of value because
of when the property was acquired or, in some cases, improvements may have been
made which meet your lifestyle preferences or needs but could reduce market value
perception to a third party. Take your
time with the appraiser to thoroughly discuss the issues and resolve any
question as to how your valuation was determined. The appraiser has a responsibility to you to
inform you of the processes and methods used to value your property. You have the responsibility to inquire about
those methods and processes so you will be fully informed.
·
Request a meeting with the Appraisal
Review Board. The appraiser’s value can be
appealed. If you are unable to arrive at
an agreeable value file a protest to request a hearing. Nothing catches the attention of your ACAD
appraiser like a protest form. The ARB
is composed of citizen volunteers who will consider the facts you present as
well as the information available from the Chief Appraiser and provide their
opinion of value. ARB hearings are
informal with limited rules of procedure. Binding Arbitration and litigation
are available in the event of dissatisfaction with the ARB ruling.
·
Engage yourself politically.
Register to vote. Vote in every
election. Write, call, or visit with
local elected officials to express your concern about the amount of money being
spent and the amount of tax you are paying.
Inform them if you feel you were not treated respectfully, honestly, and
fairly by the Appraisal District. And,
there’s no place off limits to have these discussions; letters to the editor,
church parking lots, restaurant waiting lines, service club luncheons, public
fundraisers, etc. Be hesitant to support
measures which increases governmental spending or which will increase the tax
rate. Local politicians need your help
to maintain perspective. You don’t want
good people making bad decisions when your tax money is involved.
Information Requested
·
Would
you sell your property for the Appraisal District’s valuation amount?
·
Can
you identify
·
How
long ago did you purchase your property?
·
When
was your property constructed?
·
State
when your property was last updated or significantly remodeled?
·
Are
there defects which would limit the marketability of your property?
·
Are
there additions or improvements to your property which, while costly, would not
increase your ability to sell the property or result in a discount against the
fair market value of the property?
·
Is
your property situated in a depressed area or adjacent to properties which
would impair your ability to sell your property or reduce your property’s
market value?
·
Have
your recently refinanced your property? What was the amount of the mortgage?
·
Do
you have a recent independent valuation appraisal of your property?
·
Did
you file a correct property rendition for your business personal property
supported by accurate inventory records?
·
Has
anything happened which justifies a reduction of your taxable values?
Fees for Property Tax Services work
·
Fees
for this work are time dependent and subject to the complexity of the project
and the condition of the available records.
·
As
a guideline, the fee for preparing the annual business property tax rendition
and analysis of the appraisal district’s Notice of Appraised Value falls in the
$300 range, depending on the quality and completeness of your property
records.
·
The
second tier service; developing data, filing a protest, negotiating with the
appraiser, and resolving the valuation by settlement or Appraisal Review Board
appearance is also time dependent but generally falls in the $360 to $480
range. A fixed-fee arrangement can be
negotiated in advance for the entire project. No tax work is offered under a
contingent fee agreement.
·
Property
Valuation contests are “best effort” work projects with no guarantee of
outcome. Fees may not be fully recovered
through tax savings in the current or future years.
·
Assuming
a combined tax rate of $2.85 per $100 valuation and using the high end of the
fee spectrum, the required reduction in value in a valuation protest would need
to be $15,000 to save the cost of the work in the first year. This level of change is difficult to achieve
on properties with low values (under $100,000), over-65 tax-freeze,
productivity valuations, or special exemptions.