By Grace Everhart, Comanche County Tax Assessor-Collector
I thought and searched for a witty headline that would make you want to read this article - then realized when it comes to property tax, I should toss that idea and just tell you what I know.
June 30, 2022. Deadline for 2nd payment if you paid your 2021 taxes using the “Half-Pay Plan”; this is ½ of your taxes paid by November 30, 2021 and the remainder by June 30, 2022. Postmark date on your mailed envelope will also work. You can also pay online at www.texaspayments.com. For credit and debit cards there is an additional 2.5% convenience fee; this goes to the card processor and not to the tax office. The availability to do e-check is at the same website and it is $5 per account.
Notices of Appraised Value for 2022. Most of us have received our 2022 Notice of Appraised Value from the Comanche Central Appraisal District (CCAD). If you disagree with your value, the time to protest is on or before July 5, 2022. The CCAD provided information regarding online and in-person protest. This is only being mentioned in a property tax article because we see many unopened envelopes containing these notices in October and by the time you have received your 2022 property tax statement if you have not opened your Notice of Appraised Value and you are… not happy it is a lot more difficult to do anything about it.
Delinquent Taxes. If you have not paid your 2021 property taxes and it is your homestead property it is better to enter a Homestead Payment Agreement prior to July 1, 2022. On July 1, 2022 there will be 18% penalty and interest and 15% attorney fees. If you sign up and start your payment plan prior to July 1, 2022 it’s 15% penalty and interest and the 15% attorney fees are not yet included. This agreement is done at the Tax Office.
Deferral for Over-65 and Disabled. This office cannot give legal advice however, if you are over 65 or disabled or a disabled Veteran and have delinquent taxes or may have troubles with 2022 property tax you may be entitled to a deferral of tax on your homestead property. In layman’s terms a deferral means you do not have to pay your property tax and it stops the property tax attorneys from pursuing a law suit for delinquent taxes on your homestead property. The interest rate accrual is at a lower rate once you have applied – currently 5% interest vice the 33% discussed above. The paperwork is completed at CCAD and then sent to the tax office. The deferral ends (with the reduced interest amount) on the 181st day after you sell or pass away. It is transferrable to a surviving spouse over the age of 55. Any delinquent taxes assessed prior to the deferral remain at the higher penalty and interest rate.
Disabled Veterans. If you are a disabled Veteran and have a letter from the VA stating such you may be entitled to an additional exemption on your property. If you are 100% disabled you may be entitled to $0 taxation on your homestead property. Again, the paperwork is completed at CCAD. We just had a property owner and 100% disabled Veteran come into our office who has been 100% disabled for over 30 years and did not know he was entitled to an exemption – so please help spread the word. This information may not help you but it could help your friend or your neighbor.
New Property Owners and 2022 Property Tax. This is explained at closing; but closing can be overwhelming. If you bought property prior to the 2022 property tax statements being mailed out (mailed October 2022) you are more than likely responsible for the 2022 property tax. On the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Settlement Statement received at closing you will see two blocks the “Adjustments for items paid for by seller” and “Adjustments for items unpaid by seller”. The adjustment is given to the buyer for the seller’s portion of the current year property tax; however, that is just an estimated amount of taxes for the period of time they owned the property and it is credited to the buyer – but no tax is paid at that time; making the buyer responsible for 2022 property taxes. Also, depending on when you bought your property your owner information may not have reached the CCAD so the prior owner receives the statement. Rule of thumb is if you have not received a property tax statement by Halloween you should contact the tax office and let us see if we can figure out why so there is an opportunity to pay without any additional penalty or interest.
Texas Homeowner Assistance Fund Program. A success story! For informational purposes only, not an endorsement by the Tax Office. On April 21, 2022 the McCreary, Veselka, Bragg and Allen PC Law Firm sent letters to property owners with delinquent property tax on their homestead property that stated if you have fallen behind on your mortgage or have delinquent property tax or other debts against your homestead you may be entitled to a grant that would pay your property tax. The Tax Office assisted a homeowner with the process to see what hoops and loops you would have to jump through. We provided driver’s licenses and IDs, pay stubs for a month, a utility bill and some personal information. We would submit what was requested and 2 days later they would want something else. The process took from May 5 to June 10th but on June 10th we received notice the homeowners had been approved for payment of delinquent tax. It took a little time but this program will be paying delinquent property taxes of not quite $2000.00 and it’s a grant and not a loan. If you lost the letter the website is www.TexasHomeownerAssistance.com. It is fairly user friendly. We had another homeowner go to the library to begin the process and reported back the process was not as difficult as she had planned. The phone number listed on the letter is 1-833-651-3874; the representative I spoke to was not user friendly or helpful but that may be the exception not the “norm”. There is a Median income you must be under to qualify but much of Comanche County is under that median level of income.
We will provide more information in future articles as time goes by and we get closer to the 2022 property taxes hitting your mailbox. Our business hours for Property Tax are 8:30 -12:30 and 1:30 -5:00 Monday through Friday with the exception of holidays and Registration/Motor Vehicle the hours are 8:30 -12:30 and 1:30 – 4:00 for title changes and 4:30 for general registration. Property Tax phone number is 325-356-3101 and Registration/Motor Vehicle phone number is 325-356-2757.
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