Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1126 Compare Versions

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1	1	89R9218 JBD-D
2	2	By: Middleton S.B. No. 1126
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of part of the
10	10	appraised value of the residence homestead of a partially disabled
11	11	veteran or the surviving spouse of such a veteran based on the
12	12	disability rating of the veteran.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Tax Code, is amended by
15	15	adding Section 11.136 to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 11.136. RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF CERTAIN PARTIALLY
17	17	DISABLED VETERANS. (a) In this section:
18	18	(1) "Disability rating" and "disabled veteran" have
19	19	the meanings assigned by Section 11.22.
20	20	(2) "Residence homestead" has the meaning assigned by
21	21	Section 11.13.
22	22	(3) "Surviving spouse" has the meaning assigned by
23	23	Section 11.131.
24	24	(b) A disabled veteran who has a disability rating of at
25	25	least 10 percent but less than 100 percent is entitled to an
26	26	exemption from taxation of a percentage of the appraised value of
27	27	the disabled veteran's residence homestead equal to the disabled
28	28	veteran's disability rating.
29	29	(c) The surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who qualified
30	30	for an exemption under Subsection (b) of a percentage of the
31	31	appraised value of the disabled veteran's residence homestead when
32	32	the disabled veteran died, or of a disabled veteran who would have
33	33	qualified for an exemption under that subsection if that subsection
34	34	had been in effect on the date the disabled veteran died, is
35	35	entitled to an exemption from taxation of the same percentage of the
36	36	appraised value of the same property to which the disabled
37	37	veteran's exemption applied, or to which the disabled veteran's
38	38	exemption would have applied if the exemption had been authorized
39	39	on the date the disabled veteran died, if:
40	40	(1) the surviving spouse has not remarried since the
41	41	death of the disabled veteran; and
42	42	(2) the property:
43	43	(A) was the residence homestead of the surviving
44	44	spouse when the disabled veteran died; and
45	45	(B) remains the residence homestead of the
46	46	surviving spouse.
47	47	(d) If a surviving spouse who qualifies for an exemption
48	48	under Subsection (c) subsequently qualifies a different property as
49	49	the surviving spouse's residence homestead, the surviving spouse is
50	50	entitled to an exemption from taxation of the subsequently
51	51	qualified residence homestead in an amount equal to the dollar
52	52	amount of the exemption from taxation of the former residence
53	53	homestead under Subsection (c) in the last year in which the
54	54	surviving spouse received an exemption under that subsection for
55	55	that residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not remarried
56	56	since the death of the disabled veteran. The surviving spouse is
57	57	entitled to receive from the chief appraiser of the appraisal
58	58	district in which the former residence homestead was located a
59	59	written certificate providing the information necessary to
60	60	determine the amount of the exemption to which the surviving spouse
61	61	is entitled on the subsequently qualified residence homestead.
62	62	SECTION 2. Section 11.42(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
63	63	follows:
64	64	(c) An exemption authorized by Section 11.13(c) or (d),
65	65	11.132, 11.133, [or] 11.134, or 11.136 is effective as of January 1
66	66	of the tax year in which the person qualifies for the exemption and
67	67	applies to the entire tax year.
68	68	SECTION 3. Sections 11.43(c) and (k), Tax Code, are amended
69	69	to read as follows:
70	70	(c) An exemption provided by Section 11.13, 11.131, 11.132,
71	71	11.133, 11.134, 11.136, 11.17, 11.18, 11.182, 11.1827, 11.183,
72	72	11.19, 11.20, 11.21, 11.22, 11.23(a), (h), (j), (j-1), or (m),
73	73	11.231, 11.254, 11.27, 11.271, 11.29, 11.30, 11.31, 11.315, 11.35,
74	74	or 11.36, once allowed, need not be claimed in subsequent years, and
75	75	except as otherwise provided by Subsection (e), the exemption
76	76	applies to the property until it changes ownership or the person's
77	77	qualification for the exemption changes. However, except as
78	78	provided by Subsection (r), the chief appraiser may require a
79	79	person allowed one of the exemptions in a prior year to file a new
80	80	application to confirm the person's current qualification for the
81	81	exemption by delivering a written notice that a new application is
82	82	required, accompanied by an appropriate application form, to the
83	83	person previously allowed the exemption. If the person previously
84	84	allowed the exemption is 65 years of age or older, the chief
85	85	appraiser may not cancel the exemption due to the person's failure
86	86	to file the new application unless the chief appraiser complies
87	87	with the requirements of Subsection (q), if applicable.
88	88	(k) A person who qualifies for an exemption authorized by
89	89	Section 11.13(c) or (d), [or] 11.132, or 11.136 must apply for the
90	90	exemption no later than the first anniversary of the date the person
91	91	qualified for the exemption.
92	92	SECTION 4. Section 11.439(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
93	93	as follows:
94	94	(a) The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny an
95	95	application for an exemption under Section 11.131, [or] 11.132, or
96	96	11.136 for the residence homestead of a disabled veteran but not the
97	97	surviving spouse of the disabled veteran or Section 11.22 after the
98	98	filing deadline provided by Section 11.43 if the application is
99	99	filed not later than five years after the delinquency date for the
100	100	taxes on the property.
101	101	SECTION 5. Section 26.10(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
102	102	follows:
103	103	(b) If the appraisal roll shows that a residence homestead
104	104	exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d), 11.132, 11.133, [or]
105	105	11.134, or 11.136 applicable to a property on January 1 of a year
106	106	terminated during the year and if the owner of the property
107	107	qualifies a different property for one of those residence homestead
108	108	exemptions during the same year, the tax due against the former
109	109	residence homestead is calculated by:
110	110	(1) subtracting:
111	111	(A) the amount of the taxes that otherwise would
112	112	be imposed on the former residence homestead for the entire year had
113	113	the owner qualified for the residence homestead exemption for the
114	114	entire year; from
115	115	(B) the amount of the taxes that otherwise would
116	116	be imposed on the former residence homestead for the entire year had
117	117	the owner not qualified for the residence homestead exemption
118	118	during the year;
119	119	(2) multiplying the remainder determined under
120	120	Subdivision (1) by a fraction, the denominator of which is 365 and
121	121	the numerator of which is the number of days that elapsed after the
122	122	date the exemption terminated; and
123	123	(3) adding the product determined under Subdivision
124	124	(2) and the amount described by Subdivision (1)(A).
125	125	SECTION 6. Section 26.1127, Tax Code, is amended to read as
126	126	follows:
127	127	Sec. 26.1127. CALCULATION OF TAXES ON [DONATED] RESIDENCE
128	128	HOMESTEAD OF CERTAIN DISABLED VETERANS [VETERAN] OR SURVIVING
129	129	SPOUSE OF CERTAIN DISABLED VETERANS [VETERAN]. (a) Except as
130	130	provided by Section 26.10(b), if at any time during a tax year
131	131	property is owned by an individual who qualifies for an exemption
132	132	under Section 11.132 or 11.136, the amount of the tax due on the
133	133	property for the tax year is calculated as if the individual
134	134	qualified for the exemption on January 1 and continued to qualify
135	135	for the exemption for the remainder of the tax year.
136	136	(b) If an individual qualifies for an exemption under
137	137	Section 11.132 or 11.136 with respect to the property after the
138	138	amount of the tax due on the property is calculated and the effect
139	139	of the qualification is to reduce the amount of the tax due on the
140	140	property, the assessor for each taxing unit shall recalculate the
141	141	amount of the tax due on the property and correct the tax roll. If
142	142	the tax bill has been mailed and the tax on the property has not been
143	143	paid, the assessor shall mail a corrected tax bill to the individual
144	144	in whose name the property is listed on the tax roll or to the
145	145	individual's authorized agent. If the tax on the property has been
146	146	paid, the tax collector for the taxing unit shall refund to the
147	147	individual who was the owner of the property on the date the tax was
148	148	paid the amount by which the payment exceeded the tax due.
149	149	SECTION 7. Section 31.031(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
150	150	as follows:
151	151	(a) This section applies only to:
152	152	(1) an individual who is:
153	153	(A) disabled or at least 65 years of age; and
154	154	(B) qualified for an exemption under Section
155	155	11.13(c); or
156	156	(2) an individual who is:
157	157	(A) a disabled veteran or the unmarried surviving
158	158	spouse of a disabled veteran; and
159	159	(B) qualified for an exemption under Section
160	160	11.132, 11.136, or 11.22.
161	161	SECTION 8. Section 140.011(c), Local Government Code, is
162	162	amended to read as follows:
163	163	(c) For the purposes of this section, the amount of a local
164	164	government's lost ad valorem tax revenue for a fiscal year is
165	165	calculated by multiplying the ad valorem tax rate adopted by the
166	166	local government under Section 26.05, Tax Code, for the tax year in
167	167	which the fiscal year begins by the sum of:
168	168	(1) the total appraised value of all property located
169	169	in the local government that is exempt [granted an exemption] from
170	170	taxation under Section 11.131, Tax Code, for that tax year; and
171	171	(2) the total dollar amount of the portion of the
172	172	appraised value of all property located in the local government
173	173	that is exempt from taxation under Section 11.136, Tax Code, for
174	174	that tax year.
175	175	SECTION 9. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed
176	176	for an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the effective
177	177	date of this Act.
178	178	SECTION 10. It is the intent of the 89th Legislature,
179	179	Regular Session, 2025, that the amendments made by this Act be
180	180	harmonized with another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular
181	181	Session, 2025, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and
182	182	corrections in enacted codes.
183	183	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026, but only
184	184	if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 89th Legislature,
185	185	Regular Session, 2025, authorizing the legislature to provide for
186	186	an exemption from ad valorem taxation of part of the market value of
187	187	the residence homestead of a partially disabled veteran or the
188	188	surviving spouse of such a veteran based on the disability rating of
189	189	the veteran is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not
190	190	approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.