1. Appraisal Districts: What They Do For Local Government
Local Government Seminar January 29, 2015
Appraisal Districts: What They Do For Local Government
Presented by:
Salina Ali

3. Olson and Olson Harris County Appraisal District Since inception
Over 1,000 lawsuits a year
Largest appraisal district in Texas
One of the largest in the United States

4. How Does The Property Tax System Work?
4 Steps:
1. Appraisal or Property Valuation
2. Equalization or Value Protests
3. Taxation or Adopting Budgets and Setting Tax Rates
4. Collection

5. How Does The Property Tax System Work?
Appraisal or Property Valuation
Appraisal districts in each county set the value of property each year in that county.
An appraisal district is a political subdivision of the state
There is one in every county
There is a chief appraiser that administers and operates the appraisal office

6. How Does The Property Tax System Work?
Appraisal or Property Valuation
Appraisal Districts are charged with…
The appraisal district cannot tax a piece of property more than its fair market value
The appraisal district must tax all property equally and uniformly
Value is determined as of January 1st of each year in question

7. How Does The Property Tax System Work?
Equalization or Value Protests
Appraisal Review Board (ARB), which is a board of citizens, that hears any disagreements between a property owner and the appraisal district about a property’s value
The ARB is not controlled by the appraisal district
In counties with 120,000 people or more, the local administrative district judge appoints the ARB members
Protest hearings begin around May 15th
If the property owner does not like the result of their protest, they can file a lawsuit in District Court
Once this process is done, the appraisal district gives each taxing unit a list of taxable property

8. How Does The Property Tax System Work?
Taxation
Local taxing entities decide how much money they will spend by adopting a budget.
The entities set tax rates that will raise the revenue necessary to fund their budges.
The budgets and tax rates set to fund the budgets determine the total amount of tax.
This happens around August or September.

9. How Does The Property Tax System Work?
Taxation
Local Taxing Jurisdictions:
254 counties (more than any other State)
1064 incorporated cities*
1024 school districts*
1675 special purpose districts*
Hospital districts, junior colleges, water districts, road districts etc.
State does not assess taxes
* As of 2010

10. How Does The Property Tax System Work?
Collection
Tax collection begins around October 1st and tax payers have until January 31st of the following year to pay their taxes.
After February 1st, penalty and interest charges begin to accrue
Regular penalty charges can be as high as 12%
Interest is charged at a rate of 1% per month with no maximum
The tax collector can sue you
Each taxing unit holds a lien on your taxable property, so they can foreclose and seize the property

11. How Does The Property Tax System Work?
Collection
So pay your taxes!!!

12. What Kind Of Property Is Taxed?
Real & Personal property
Land
Residences
Commercial real estate
Business personal property
Interests in minerals
Industrial complexes etc.

13. Why Is This Important To The Local Government?
Property taxes provide more tax dollars for local services in Texas than any other source

14. Why Is This Important To The Local Government?
Help pay for:
Public schools
Libraries
Play grounds
City streets
County roads
Police
Fire protection
Emergency medical service etc.

15. More Local Government Levy On Property Taxes Every Year

16. More Local Government Levy On Property Taxes Every Year
In 2000, total property tax levied by local jurisdictions amounted to $22.5 billion.
In 2010, total property tax levied by local jurisdictions amounted to $40.28 Billion

17. More Local Government Levy On Property Taxes Every Year

18. Growth Of Property Tax

19. Number Of Local Property Tax Entities By County
Harris County has 101 or more taxing Entities
Generally speaking,
The more densely
Populated the
County, the more
Taxing entities

20. So really…