Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2455 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Goldman H.B. No. 2455
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the limitation of certain special district tax on the
7	7	homesteads of the disabled and elderly.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 11.261, Tax Code, is amended to read as
10	10	follows:
11	11	Sec. 11.261. LIMITATION OF [COUNTY, MUNICIPAL, OR JUNIOR
12	12	COLLEGE] DISTRICT TAX ON HOMESTEADS OF DISABLED AND ELDERLY. (a)
13	13	"District" is defined as a county, municipality, junior college,
14	14	regional water district or hospital district. This section applies
15	15	only to a [county, municipality, or junior college] district that
16	16	has established a limitation on the total amount of taxes that may
17	17	be imposed by the [county, municipality, or junior college]
18	18	district on the residence homestead of a disabled individual or an
19	19	individual 65 years of age or older under Section 1-b(h), Article
20	20	VIII, Texas Constitution.
21	21	(b) The tax officials shall appraise the property to which
22	22	the limitation applies and calculate taxes as on other property,
23	23	but if the tax so calculated exceeds the limitation provided by this
24	24	section, the tax imposed is the amount of the tax as limited by this
25	25	section, except as otherwise provided by this section. The
26	26	[county, municipality, or junior college] district may not increase
27	27	the total annual amount of ad valorem taxes the [county,
28	28	municipality, or junior college] district imposes on the residence
29	29	homestead of a disabled individual or an individual 65 years of age
30	30	or older above the amount of the taxes the [county, municipality, or
31	31	junior college]district imposed on the residence homestead in the
32	32	first tax year, other than a tax year preceding the tax year in
33	33	which the [county, municipality, or junior college] district
34	34	established the limitation described by Subsection (a), in which
35	35	the individual qualified that residence homestead for the exemption
36	36	provided by Section 11.13(c) for a disabled individual or an
37	37	individual 65 years of age or older. If the individual qualified
38	38	that residence homestead for the exemption after the beginning of
39	39	that first year and the residence homestead remains eligible for
40	40	the exemption for the next year, and if the [] district taxes
41	41	imposed on the residence homestead in the next year are less than
42	42	the amount of taxes imposed in that first year, a [county,
43	43	municipality, or junior college] district may not subsequently
44	44	increase the total annual amount of ad valorem taxes it imposes on
45	45	the residence homestead above the amount it imposed on the
46	46	residence homestead in the year immediately following the first
47	47	year, other than a tax year preceding the tax year in which the
48	48	[county, municipality, or junior college] district established the
49	49	limitation described by Subsection (a), for which the individual
50	50	qualified that residence homestead for the exemption.
51	51	(c) If an individual makes improvements to the individual's
52	52	residence homestead, other than repairs and other than improvements
53	53	required to comply with governmental requirements, the [county,
54	54	municipality, or junior college] district may increase the amount
55	55	of taxes on the homestead in the first year the value of the
56	56	homestead is increased on the appraisal roll because of the
57	57	enhancement of value by the improvements. The amount of the tax
58	58	increase is determined by applying the current tax rate to the
59	59	difference between the appraised value of the homestead with the
60	60	improvements and the appraised value it would have had without the
61	61	improvements. A limitation provided by this section then applies
62	62	to the increased amount of [county, municipal, or junior college]
63	63	district taxes on the residence homestead until more improvements,
64	64	if any, are made.
65	65	(d) A limitation on [county, municipal, or junior college]
66	66	district tax increases provided by this section expires if on
67	67	January 1:
68	68	(1) none of the owners of the structure who qualify for
69	69	the exemption provided by Section 11.13(c) for a disabled
70	70	individual or an individual 65 years of age or older and who owned
71	71	the structure when the limitation provided by this section first
72	72	took effect is using the structure as a residence homestead; or
73	73	(2) none of the owners of the structure qualifies for
74	74	the exemption provided by Section 11.13(c) for a disabled
75	75	individual or an individual 65 years of age or older.
76	76	(e) If the appraisal roll provides for taxation of appraised
77	77	value for a prior year because a residence homestead exemption for
78	78	disabled individuals or individuals 65 years of age or older was
79	79	erroneously allowed, the tax assessor for the applicable [county,
80	80	municipality, or junior college] district shall add, as back taxes
81	81	due as provided by Section 26.09(d), the positive difference, if
82	82	any, between the tax that should have been imposed for that year and
83	83	the tax that was imposed because of the provisions of this section.
84	84	(f) A limitation on tax increases provided by this section
85	85	does not expire because the owner of an interest in the structure
86	86	conveys the interest to a qualifying trust as defined by Section
87	87	11.13(j) if the owner or the owner's spouse is a trustor of the
88	88	trust and is entitled to occupy the structure.
89	89	(g) Except as provided by Subsection (c), if an individual
90	90	who receives a limitation on [county, municipal, or junior college]
91	91	district tax increases provided by this section subsequently
92	92	qualifies a different residence homestead in the same [county,
93	93	municipality, or junior college] district for an exemption under
94	94	Section 11.13, the [county, municipality, or junior college]
95	95	district may not impose ad valorem taxes on the subsequently
96	96	qualified homestead in a year in an amount that exceeds the amount
97	97	of taxes the [county, municipality, or junior college] district
98	98	would have imposed on the subsequently qualified homestead in the
99	99	first year in which the individual receives that exemption for the
100	100	subsequently qualified homestead had the limitation on tax
101	101	increases provided by this section not been in effect, multiplied
102	102	by a fraction the numerator of which is the total amount of taxes
103	103	the [county, municipality, or junior college] district imposed on
104	104	the former homestead in the last year in which the individual
105	105	received that exemption for the former homestead and the
106	106	denominator of which is the total amount of taxes the [county,
107	107	municipality, or junior college] district would have imposed on the
108	108	former homestead in the last year in which the individual received
109	109	that exemption for the former homestead had the limitation on tax
110	110	increases provided by this section not been in effect.
111	111	(h) An individual who receives a limitation on [county,
112	112	municipal, or junior college] district tax increases under this
113	113	section and who subsequently qualifies a different residence
114	114	homestead in the same [county, municipality, or junior college]
115	115	district for an exemption under Section 11.13, or an agent of the
116	116	individual, is entitled to receive from the chief appraiser of the
117	117	appraisal district in which the former homestead was located a
118	118	written certificate providing the information necessary to
119	119	determine whether the individual may qualify for a limitation on
120	120	the subsequently qualified homestead under Subsection (g) and to
121	121	calculate the amount of taxes the [county, municipality, or junior
122	122	college] district may impose on the subsequently qualified
123	123	homestead.
124	124	(i) If an individual who qualifies for a limitation on
125	125	[county, municipal, or junior college] district tax increases under
126	126	this section dies, the surviving spouse of the individual is
127	127	entitled to the limitation on taxes imposed by the [county,
128	128	municipality, or junior college] district on the residence
129	129	homestead of the individual if:
130	130	(1) the surviving spouse is disabled or is 55 years of
131	131	age or older when the individual dies; and
132	132	(2) the residence homestead of the individual:
133	133	(A) is the residence homestead of the surviving
134	134	spouse on the date that the individual dies; and
135	135	(B) remains the residence homestead of the
136	136	surviving spouse.
137	137	(j) If an individual who is 65 years of age or older and
138	138	qualifies for a limitation on [county, municipal, or junior
139	139	college] district tax increases for the elderly under this section
140	140	dies in the first year in which the individual qualified for the
141	141	limitation and the individual first qualified for the limitation
142	142	after the beginning of that year, except as provided by Subsection
143	143	(k), the amount to which the surviving spouse's [county, municipal,
144	144	or junior college] district taxes are limited under Subsection (i)
145	145	is the amount of taxes imposed by the [county, municipality, or
146	146	junior college] district, as applicable, on the residence homestead
147	147	in that year determined as if the individual qualifying for the
148	148	exemption had lived for the entire year.
149	149	(k) If in the first tax year after the year in which an
150	150	individual who is 65 years of age or older dies under the
151	151	circumstances described by Subsection (j) the amount of taxes
152	152	imposed by a [county, municipality, or junior college] district on
153	153	the residence homestead of the surviving spouse is less than the
154	154	amount of taxes imposed by the [county, municipality, or junior
155	155	college] district in the preceding year as limited by Subsection
156	156	(j), in a subsequent tax year the surviving spouse's taxes imposed
157	157	by the [county, municipality, or junior college] district on that
158	158	residence homestead are limited to the amount of taxes imposed by
159	159	the [county, municipality, or junior college] district in that
160	160	first tax year after the year in which the individual dies.
161	161	(l) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), a limitation on
162	162	[county, municipal, or junior college] district tax increases
163	163	provided by this section does not expire if the owner of the
164	164	structure qualifies for an exemption under Section 11.13 under the
165	165	circumstances described by Section 11.135(a).
166	166	(m) Notwithstanding Subsections (b) and (c), an improvement
167	167	to property that would otherwise constitute an improvement under
168	168	Subsection (c) is not treated as an improvement under that
169	169	subsection if the improvement is a replacement structure for a
170	170	structure that was rendered uninhabitable or unusable by a casualty
171	171	or by wind or water damage. For purposes of appraising the property
172	172	in the tax year in which the structure would have constituted an
173	173	improvement under Subsection (c), the replacement structure is
174	174	considered to be an improvement under that subsection only if:
175	175	(1) the square footage of the replacement structure
176	176	exceeds that of the replaced structure as that structure existed
177	177	before the casualty or damage occurred; or
178	178	(2) the exterior of the replacement structure is of
179	179	higher quality construction and composition than that of the
180	180	replaced structure.
181	181	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.