poconnor

 You qualify for an over-65 homestead exemption the day you or your spouse turn 65.  Other requirements are you must own the house and it must be your primary residence. Most issues related to Texas property taxes are based on a January 1 date.  The over-65 homestead becomes effective when you or your spouse turn 65.  It is prorated for the first year based on the portion of the year you are 65. Benefits of an over-65 homestead exemption include: School property taxes are frozen forever. If you live to be 100, your school taxes would never rise (unless you remodel or add-on to the house). Substantially higher homestead exemptions in many tax entities. You can allow property taxes to accrue with $0 in annual payments. Upon the death of the second spouse, the balance plus interest is due.  However, there are no penalties. If one spouse dies, the surviving spouse can retain the over-65 homestead exemption if they are 55 year of age or older. Homestead exemptions ca...

  Typical appeal Most tax appeals have a reasonable to good resolution.  Between the informal hearing and the appraisal review board, there are two opportunities for reasonable people to review evidence. Atypical Case George is a friend who purchased a house for $350,000.  The house was a little different.  The house was marketed for 2 years (this occurred 5 years ago).  The house had been listed for $500,000, but there were no takers at that price.  The price was gradually lowered to $350,000. The sale occurred early in the year of the appeal deadline.  An appeal was filed.  The informal appraiser “did not understand” how a house listed at $500,000 could sell at $350,000.  The appraisal review board also got stuck on the disparity between the initial list price and the sales price.  So after the informal and appraisal review hearings, the house was valued at $485,000, just a token reduction. People and System Freeze Periodically, apprai...

  Most homeowners pay a lot of property taxes. Property taxes cannot be avoided but there are a few tricks that can help you see a lower amount on your property tax bill. Before we dive into the tricks, let us begin with understanding the property tax bill. UNDERSTANDING THE PROPERTY TAX BILL & HOW IT IS CALCULATED Most homeowners feel their property taxes are too high. But it is important to understand how the local government has reached that number on the bill. Many homeowners are not aware of how property taxes are calculated. There are two important aspects involved when it comes to calculating the property tax bill, tax rate and the market value of the property. The tax rates are based on state law. Some states change them annually and some every five years. Local governments set up the tax rates as well and this is known as the mill rate. The market value is determined by an assessor who is hired by the local government. The assessor determines the market value for a pro...