Texas Tax Code - Section 11.26. Limitation Of School Tax On Homesteads Of Elderly Or Disabled
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Texas Laws > Tax Code > Texas Tax Code - Section 11.26. Limitation Of School Tax On Homesteads Of Elderly Or Disabled
§ 11.26. LIMITATION OF SCHOOL TAX ON HOMESTEADS OF ELDERLY
OR DISABLED. (a) The tax officials shall appraise the property to
which this section applies and calculate taxes as on other
property, but if the tax so calculated exceeds the limitation
imposed by this section, the tax imposed is the amount of the tax as
limited by this section, except as otherwise provided by this
section. A school district may not increase the total annual amount
of ad valorem tax it imposes on the residence homestead of an
individual 65 years of age or older or on the residence homestead of
an individual who is disabled, as defined by Section 11.13, above
the amount of the tax it imposed in the first tax year in which the
individual qualified that residence homestead for the applicable
exemption provided by Section 11.13(c) for an individual who is 65
years of age or older or is disabled. If the individual qualified
that residence homestead for the exemption after the beginning of
that first year and the residence homestead remains eligible for
the same exemption for the next year, and if the school district
taxes imposed on the residence homestead in the next year are less
than the amount of taxes imposed in that first year, a school
district may not subsequently increase the total annual amount of
ad valorem taxes it imposes on the residence homestead above the
amount it imposed in the year immediately following the first year
for which the individual qualified that residence homestead for the
same exemption, except as provided by Subsection (b). If the first
tax year the individual qualified the residence homestead for the
exemption provided by Section 11.13(c) for individuals 65 years of
age or older was a tax year before the 1997 tax year, the amount of
the limitation provided by this section is the amount of tax the
school district imposed for the 1996 tax year less an amount equal
to the amount determined by multiplying $10,000 times the tax rate
of the school district for the 1997 tax year, plus any 1997 tax
attributable to improvements made in 1996, other than improvements
made to comply with governmental regulations or repairs.
(b) If an individual makes improvements to the individual's
residence homestead, other than improvements required to comply
with governmental requirements or repairs, the school district may
increase the tax on the homestead in the first year the value of the
homestead is increased on the appraisal roll because of the
enhancement of value by the improvements. The amount of the tax
increase is determined by applying the current tax rate to the
difference in the assessed value of the homestead with the
improvements and the assessed value it would have had without the
improvements. A limitation imposed by this section then applies to
the increased amount of tax until more improvements, if any, are
made.
(c) The limitation on tax increases required by this section
expires if on January 1:
(1) none of the owners of the structure who qualify for
the exemption and who owned the structure when the limitation first
took effect is using the structure as a residence homestead; or
(2) none of the owners of the structure qualifies for
the exemption.
(d) If the appraisal roll provides for taxation of appraised
value for a prior year because a residence homestead exemption for
individuals 65 years of age or older or for disabled individuals was
erroneously allowed, the tax assessor shall add, as back taxes due
as provided by Section 26.09(d), the positive difference if any
between the tax that should have been imposed for that year and the
tax that was imposed because of the provisions of this section.
(e) For each school district in an appraisal district, the
chief appraiser shall determine the portion of the appraised value
of residence homesteads of individuals on which school district
taxes are not imposed in a tax year because of the limitation on tax
increases imposed by this section. That portion is calculated by
determining the taxable value that, if multiplied by the tax rate
adopted by the school district for the tax year, would produce an
amount equal to the amount of tax that would have been imposed by
the school district on those residence homesteads if the limitation
on tax increases imposed by this section were not in effect, but
that was not imposed because of that limitation. The chief
appraiser shall determine that taxable value and certify it to the
comptroller as soon as practicable for each tax year.
(f) The limitation on tax increases required by this section
does not expire because the owner of an interest in the structure
conveys the interest to a qualifying trust as defined by Section
11.13(j) if the owner or the owner's spouse is a trustor of the
trust and is entitled to occupy the structure.
(g) Except as provided by Subsection (b), if an individual
who receives a limitation on tax increases imposed by this section,
including a surviving spouse who receives a limitation under
Subsection (i), subsequently qualifies a different residence
homestead for the same exemption under Section 11.13, a school
district may not impose ad valorem taxes on the subsequently
qualified homestead in a year in an amount that exceeds the amount
of taxes the school district would have imposed on the subsequently
qualified homestead in the first year in which the individual
receives that same exemption for the subsequently qualified
homestead had the limitation on tax increases imposed by this
section not been in effect, multiplied by a fraction the numerator
of which is the total amount of school district taxes imposed on the
former homestead in the last year in which the individual received
that same exemption for the former homestead and the denominator of
which is the total amount of school district taxes that would have
been imposed on the former homestead in the last year in which the
individual received that same exemption for the former homestead
had the limitation on tax increases imposed by this section not been
in effect.
(h) An individual who receives a limitation on tax increases
under this section, including a surviving spouse who receives a
limitation under Subsection (i), and who subsequently qualifies a
different residence homestead for an exemption under Section 11.13,
or an agent of the individual, is entitled to receive from the chief
appraiser of the appraisal district in which the former homestead
was located a written certificate providing the information
necessary to determine whether the individual may qualify for that
same limitation on the subsequently qualified homestead under
Subsection (g) and to calculate the amount of taxes the school
district may impose on the subsequently qualified homestead.
(i) If an individual who qualifies for the exemption
provided by Section 11.13(c) for an individual 65 years of age or
older dies, the surviving spouse of the individual is entitled to
the limitation applicable to the residence homestead of the
individual if:
(1) the surviving spouse is 55 years of age or older
when the individual dies; and
(2) the residence homestead of the individual:
(A) is the residence homestead of the surviving
spouse on the date that the individual dies; and
(B) remains the residence homestead of the
surviving spouse.
(j) If an individual who qualifies for an exemption provided
by Section 11.13(c) for an individual 65 years of age or older dies
in the first year in which the individual qualified for the
exemption and the individual first qualified for the exemption
after the beginning of that year, except as provided by Subsection
(k), the amount to which the surviving spouse's school district
taxes are limited under Subsection (i) is the amount of school
district taxes imposed on the residence homestead in that year
determined as if the individual qualifying for the exemption had
lived for the entire year.
(k) If in the first tax year after the year in which an
individual dies in the circumstances described by Subsection (j)
the amount of school district taxes imposed on the residence
homestead of the surviving spouse is less than the amount of school
district taxes imposed in the preceding year as limited by
Subsection (j), in a subsequent tax year the surviving spouse's
school district taxes on that residence homestead are limited to
the amount of taxes imposed by the district in that first tax year
after the year in which the individual dies.
(l) For the purpose of calculating a limitation on ad
valorem tax increases by a school district under this section, an
individual who qualified a residence homestead before January 1,
2003, for an exemption under Section 11.13(c) for a disabled
individual is considered to have first qualified the homestead for
that exemption on January 1, 2003.
(m) For the purpose of qualifying under Subsection (g) for
the limitation on ad valorem taxes on a subsequently qualified
homestead imposed by a school district, the residence homestead of
a disabled individual may be considered to be a subsequently
qualified homestead only if the disabled individual qualified the
former homestead for an exemption under Section 11.13(c) for a
disabled individual for a tax year beginning on or after January 1,
2003.
Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2244, ch. 841, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1980.
Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., 1st C.S., p. 130, ch. 13, § 38,
eff. Jan. 1, 1982; Acts 1984, 68th Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 28, art. II,
§ 16, eff. Sept. 1, 1984; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 6,
§ 10, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 854, § 2,
eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 592, § 2.02; Acts
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1039, § 11, 14; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch.
1059, § 3, eff. June 19, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, §
16.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1481, § 2,
eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 193, § 1, eff. Jan.
1, 2002; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, § 18.003, eff. Sept. 1,
2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 411, § 1, 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.
Section: 11.21 11.22 11.23 11.24 11.25 11.251 11.252 11.26 11.261 11.27 11.271 11.28 11.29 11.30 11.31
Last modified: August 11, 2007
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