By: Eckhardt, et al. S.B. No. 1381
(Hefner)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of the surviving spouse of an elderly
person who qualified for a local option exemption from ad valorem
taxation by a taxing unit of a portion of the appraised value of the
deceased person's residence homestead to continue to receive an
exemption for the same property from the same taxing unit in an
amount equal to that of the exemption for which the deceased person
qualified without applying for the exemption.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.43, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (l) and adding Subsections (m-2) and (m-3) to read as
follows:
(l) The form for an application under Section 11.13 must
include a space for the applicant to state the applicant's date of
birth and, if applicable, the date of birth of the applicant's
spouse. Failure to provide the applicant's date of birth does not
affect the applicant's eligibility for an exemption under that
section, other than an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for
an individual 65 years of age or older. Failure to provide the date
of birth of the applicant's spouse does not affect the applicant's
eligibility for an exemption under Section 11.13 or the applicant's
spouse's eligibility for an exemption under that section, other
than an exemption under Section 11.13(q) for the surviving spouse
of an individual 65 years of age or older.
(m-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if a person who
receives an exemption under Section 11.13(d) for an individual 65
years of age or older dies in a tax year, that person's surviving
spouse is entitled to receive an exemption under Section 11.13(q)
in the next tax year on the same property without applying for the
exemption if:
(1) the appraisal district learns of the person's
death from any source, including the death records maintained by
the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health
Services or a local registration official; and
(2) the surviving spouse is otherwise eligible to
receive the exemption as shown by:
(A) information in the records of the appraisal
district that was provided to the appraisal district in an
application for an exemption under Section 11.13 on the property or
in correspondence relating to the property; or
(B) information provided by the Texas Department
of Public Safety to the appraisal district under Section 521.049,
Transportation Code.
(m-3) Subsection (m-2) does not apply if the chief appraiser
determines that the surviving spouse is no longer entitled to any
exemption under Section 11.13 on the property.
SECTION 2. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed
for an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.