Property Tax
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Property Tax Frequently Asked Questions
Tax Payments
Appraised Value
Tax Sales
Exemptions
Tax Statements
Rendition Penalty
Miscellaneous
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| Tax Payment Questions |
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| Q. |
When I receive my 2009 Harris County tax bill, when is the last
day that I can pay without penalty and interest? |
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February 1, 2010
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| Q. |
Where can I pay my property taxes? |
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You can pay by
cash or check at any of our 16
branch office locations throughout Harris County.
Payments by check
only should be mailed to:
Leo Vasquez, Tax Assessor-Collector
P.O. Box 3547
Houston, Texas 77253-3547
Please make your check
payable to Leo Vasquez, and if possible, enclose the coupon from your
tax statement with your payment.
Online and telephone property tax payments by credit card or
e-check are also accepted (see below for more information).
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| Q. |
Why do I make checks payable to Leo Vasquez? |
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The County Tax Assessor-Collector is an office created by the Texas Constitution. Under the
Constitution’s provisions, the Assessor-Collector is personally liable for the
funds collected and deposited in separate bank accounts under his control. The
Assessor-Collector is relieved of this responsibility and liability when he
deposits the funds with the County Treasurer.
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| Q. |
Can I pay my property taxes online? |
Yes. The Tax Office accepts full or partial payment of
property taxes online. Property taxpayers may also use any
combination of credit cards and/or e-Checks for payment.
We accept American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa
credit/debit card.
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A non-refundable surcharge of 2.15% will be added to each
credit card transaction. A flat fee of $3.95 is charged for
Visa debit card. E-checks are free.
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| Q. |
Can I pay my property taxes by telephone? |
Yes. The Tax Office accepts full or partial payment of property
taxes by touch-tone telephone by calling 713-368-CARD (2273)
at any place in the world, seven days a week. Property
taxpayers may also use any combination of credit cards
and/or e-Checks for payment. We accept American Express,
Discover, MasterCard, and Visa credit/debit card.
A non-refundable surcharge of 2.15% will be added to each credit card transaction. A
flat fee of $3.95 is charged for Visa debit card. E-checks are free.
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| Q. |
Can I pay my current taxes before paying my delinquent taxes? |
| Payments made by mail, credit card, or over the phone are applied to the current taxes first. |
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| Q. |
Can I make monthly payments on my current taxes? |
Yes. For real property you can make monthly payments through June but you will have to pay penalty and interest
starting February 1. If you still have a balance at the end of June, you can enter into an installment agreement with our office at that time
to pay any remaining balance plus penalty and interest over the next six months. While you won't avoid paying penalty and interest
under this plan, you will avoid the additional collection fee of 15% to 20% on the outstanding balance by signing the installment
agreement in June and making the payments on time.
Installment agreements are only available through April 1 for business personal
property accounts that have been noticed in February. After April 1 the additional 15% to 20% collection fee will apply to these accounts.
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Can I make monthly payments on my delinquent taxes? |
| Yes, but payment arrangements will have to be made through the delinquent tax law firm. |
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| Q. |
Why do I have to pay penalty and interest when I never received a bill? |
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As a property owner,
it is your responsibility to make sure that you receive a bill and
that it is paid on time. The statements are mailed and the taxes are
due at the same time each year. If you have not received a bill by
the middle of December, you should call and request that another one
be mailed to you. You are also able to call and get an amount due
over the phone as early as October or look up your account on the
website www.hctax.net. It is not
necessary to have a statement to make payment as long as you have your account number and know the correct amount. You can
either mail or take your payment to any Harris County Tax office location.
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| Q. |
Can a refund be mailed directly to me? |
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If the refund is due to the granting of an exemption (i.e. homestead or disabled veteran),
the refund check will be mailed directly to the name and address on the tax roll, if there is no name change on the account.
Otherwise, the refund is sent to the payer of the taxes. |
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| Q. |
The mortgage company paid my current taxes. I failed to claim the homestead. How do I get a refund? |
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First, apply to HCAD for the exemption. We will send an application for the homestead exemption,
or you may obtain the form directly from HCAD by calling 713-957-7800. If there
is no name change on the account, the refund will be issued automatically to the
name and address on the tax roll. If there is a name change, the refund will be issued to the actual payer of the taxes.
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| Q. |
I received a bill for personal property taxes, but I do not own any
real estate; I just lease it for my business. Why am I receiving a bill on property I do not own? Should the property owner be paying this?
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| All businesses are taxed on their personal property, such as furniture, fixtures,
machinery, equipment, inventory and vehicles. Most likely, the bill that you received is for your business personal property and not
for the real estate itself. The real estate is taxed separately and the tax statement sent to the property owner.
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| Appraised Value Questions |
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How did you arrive at the appraised value of my property? |
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Placing a taxable value on real property and personal property is a function of the Harris
County Appraisal District, not the Tax Office. Please call the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) at 713-957-7800, or go to their website at www.hcad.org.
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| Q. |
How can I protest my appraised value? |
| All protests must be directed to the Harris
County Appraisal District. This office can send a protest form to you, or you may obtain the
form directly from HCAD by calling 713-957-7800. The deadline for filing
written protests for homestead properties is April 30th or 30 days after the
date the appraisal district sends a notice of appraised value, whichever is
later.
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| Q. |
The Harris County Appraisal District reduced my value. When will I receive another statement? |
| You will receive a new tax bill after this office receives the adjusted taxable value from HCAD,
if taxes are still owed on the account. |
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| Q. |
I sold part of my acreage. How can I pay my taxes on what I actually own? |
| This will require what is referred to as a "split-out," which is performed by the Harris County Appraisal District. |
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I own several adjoining lots and the homestead was assigned to the wrong lot. How do I get it corrected? |
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The Harris County Appraisal District will have to make the correction. You will
receive a corrected statement after HCAD certifies the correction to the Harris
County Tax Office, if the taxes are unpaid. However, this does not extend
the original due date, so do not wait to pay your tax bill! |
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What do I do if one of my jurisdictions on my
bill is wrong? |
| Contact the Harris County Appraisal District at
713-957-7800. |
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| Tax Sale Questions |
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Can the delinquent tax attorneys sell my property for unpaid taxes? |
| It is possible that property can be sold for delinquent taxes. A lawsuit for tax lien
foreclosure can be filed and a judgment subsequently granted by the court. The attorneys, with the approval of
the Harris County Tax Office, can then proceed with tax sale procedures.
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What is the procedure for purchasing property with delinquent taxes? |
| Property can be bought for delinquent taxes only after a lawsuit for tax lien foreclosure has been filed, and later
a judgment has been granted by the court to sell the property. You will need to contact the law firm that administers delinquent tax
sales on behalf of Harris County. The law firm for Harris County, Houston
Independent School District, Houston Commmunity College and the City of
Houston is Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, L.L.P. Their telephone number is 713-844-3400.
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| Exemption Questions |
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| Q. |
I received my tax statement and it does not show my exemption. |
| Perhaps you have not filed the proper affidavit with
the appraisal district. You are entitled to a homestead exemption if you own your
home on January 1 and it is your primary residence. You can claim only one homestead exemption as of
January 1. In order to receive a homestead exemption, an affidavit must be filed with the Harris County Appraisal
District. All exemptions, such as homestead, over 65, disabled persons, and disabled veterans require execution of an affidavit
with the Harris County Appraisal District. You can request the Tax Office to send the necessary form to
you, or you can obtain them directly from HCAD by calling 713-957-7800.
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| Q. |
We are over 65 and pay no taxes. We received a statement showing a emergency service district tax. Why? |
| Emergency service districts were created by the state legislature and approved by the voters of the various
districts. They have the legal authority to set a tax rate and may not allow exemptions. These exemptions are not mandatory, and they do not have to grant them.
If no exemption is allowed, you are liable for the tax. There is a maximum allowable exemption, and if the value is higher than the
exemption, the value above the exemption is taxable.
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| Q. |
I received a homestead exemption for the current year, but I sold the property. How can I correct this matter? |
| The exemption goes by its status as of January 1st of each year. If you purchased a new home you need
to file for a homestead exemption on your new homestead property with the Harris County Appraisal District for the next January 1.
You can download an application for a homestead exemption from our site, or you may obtain it directly from HCAD by calling 713-957-7800.
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| Tax Statement Questions |
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I understood totally (100%) disabled veterans
were to receive a total exemption from their property taxes; why did I receive tax bills for 2007?
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| Voters did approve a constitutional amendment on November 6, 2007 to
provide a total exemption from property taxes to 100% disabled veterans. However, the legislation necessary to put the
exemption into affect was not approved by the Texas Legislature until the 2009 session.
The
exemption was effective for 2009 property taxes. Please contact HCAD by
calling 713 957-7800 for the application and required documentation.
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| Q. |
I paid off my house and my mortgage company will not be paying my taxes
this year. How do I make sure that I receive my tax statement? When are the statements mailed out and when are taxes due?
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| As long as a statement is not requested by a mortgage
company, it is automatically mailed to the homeowner. The majority of statements
are mailed out during November of each year. If you have not received your
statement by mid-December, it is your responsibility to notify us so that we can
send out another statement. Taxes are due upon receipt of the statement, and
should be paid no later than January 31st of the year following the year the tax
was incurred.
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| Q. |
This is not my property. What shall I do with this statement? |
| If you know the name of the owner, please return the statement to this office with the name
of the owner. If you do not know the name of the owner, return the statement with that notation.
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The name and address on this statement are incorrect. How can I get it changed? |
| The Harris County Appraisal District is responsible for determining each property owner's name
and address. We can send you a name and address correction form, and then you forward it to the Harris County Appraisal District,
Customer Service Division, P.O. Box 922010, Houston, TX 77292-2010. If it is more convenient, you can get the form directly from HCAD by
calling 713-957-7800, or download the
real property correction form or
personal property correction form directly from our website.
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What is a tax account number and what do you mean by a "legal description"? |
| The tax account number is assigned by the Harris County Appraisal District and is used
to help identify each piece of property. Normally, only one account number is assigned to each parcel. The legal description
describes the property as a parcel in a larger tract (e.g., Lot 1, Block 2 in Meadow
Subdivision), so it can be located on a map. If the legal description is wrong on your statement, this error should be
directed to the Harris County Appraisal District for proper handling. If you so request, we will send the necessary real property correction form or personal property correction form to you, or you may obtain them directly from HCAD by calling 713-957-7800.
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| Q. |
Can you send me a statement on my taxes for part of the year? |
| The Harris County Tax Office does not prorate taxes; the tax bill must
reflect the full amount owed. |
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Why am I getting a delinquent tax bill on a parcel I just purchased? |
| The tax laws require this office to mail delinquent tax bills to the current owner of real
estate, rather than to the previous owner. Because a tax lien exists against that parcel, it is in the current owner's
best interest to have knowledge of that lien. If a lawsuit were filed to foreclose the lien, the current owner (not the
previous owner) risks losing the property to foreclosure.
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What is the rendition penalty? |
| Chapter 22, Texas Tax Code, requires owners of business personal property to file a rendition describing the property with the chief appraiser
by April 15 of each year and also prescribes the penalty for failure to comply.
The rendition penalty is a penalty created by the Texas Legislature on those businesses failing to file their business personal property rendition, or filing their rendition late, to the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD).
The rendition penalty is generally equal to
10% of the amount of property taxes ultimately imposed on the
property.
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How do I protest my penalty (or get a waiver)? |
| The Tax Office does not have the legal authority to waive or reduce the penalty. If you can provide evidence that you substantially complied with the rendition requirement or that your failure to comply was due to circumstances beyond your control, you can apply to the chief appraiser for a waiver. Lack of knowledge or forgetting the deadline will not be considered as a basis for a waiver.
Your application letter must be received by the appraisal district within 30 days of the date you received your bill. Send a cover letter, a detailed explanation of the reason(s) for your failure to timely file, and a completed rendition form (or supporting statement, if the penalty relates to a supporting statement).
If the chief appraiser fails to approve your
request for waiver, you may protest the decision to the appraisal
review board.
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| Q. |
If I am a vendor, will I be prevented from
getting County contracts until the bill is paid? |
| Yes, unpaid rendition penalty will be treated the same as unpaid property tax for purposes of determining compliance with the Harris County vendors policy. |
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I want to protest the rendition penalty or
request a waiver. How do I do this? |
| Contact the Harris County Appraisal District at 713-957-7800. |
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I filed all of my rendition paper work by the
deadline. How do I get the penalty removed? |
| Contact the Harris County Appraisal District at 713-957-7800. |
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Who does this money go to? |
| The penalty is divided 5% to the appraisal district and
95% to the various taxing jurisdictions. |
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| Miscellaneous Questions |
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Can the Harris County Tax Office tell me if my school taxes are paid? |
| The Harris County Tax Office collects for the Houston, Deer Park and North Forest Independent School Districts. If you live in another school district please contact the tax assessor-collector for your district. |
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Why are my taxes higher this year than in previous years? |
Check your exemptions. If you were not granted the exemption allowed, contact HCAD. The appraised value may be greater than in the
previous year. If so, you will receive an explanation
from the Harris County Appraisal District for the increase.
Also, the tax rate may
have increased and if so, the amount of your tax could be more
than the previous year. The breakdown of the tax rates of the
various jurisdictions is shown on your tax statement.
Lastly, periodically the Harris County Tax Office will start collecting for a jurisdiction that was previously billed separately. A consolidated bill will be more than the previous year's bill.
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