Coronavirus may drop Fort Worth-area property values, but likely not your tax bills
Tarrant property owners: Get ready for sticker shock.
When appraisals are mailed around May 1, you’ll see what your home or business was valued at as of Jan. 1.
And that may be more than your home’s value after the coronavirus and stay-at-home orders shut down businesses across Texas.
“Appraising properties as of the January 1st date could appear to some that TAD doesn’t care or TAD doesn’t have a heart, but that’s simply not true,” according to a statement from Jeff Law, Tarrant County’s chief appraiser.
Law said the state’s property tax code requires taxable properties to be appraised at the market value as of Jan. 1, which was before COVID-19 cases began appearing in Texas. He said appraisal districts asked the governor’s office to suspend or waive laws regarding assessments, but no relief has been granted.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Details of how protests will be handled are still being worked out.
“I would expect a significant number of protests this year, and people should protest because COVID-19 has definitely impacted the Jan. 1 value of their home,” said Ryan Ray, an attorney and senior property tax consultant with the Haltom City-based Ray Tax Group. “TAD is going to have serious challenges dealing with them.”
Law’s release noted that TAD tries to informally resolve value disputes and other issues. But workers are trying to develop “new and safer methods of interacting with the public under these circumstances.
“TAD needs the public’s help.”
TAD tips
The appraisal you receive in the mail is not a bill.
Cities, counties and school districts still have to set tax rates that will be used to calculate tax bills later in the year. After that, tax assessor collectors will send bills in October.
Anyone who believes their appraisal is higher than it should be may file a protest.
Here’s some information TAD is sharing:
▪ Values will be mailed around May 1. The deadline to protest is extended until June 1 or 30 days after the mail date listed on the notice.
▪ Property owners are encouraged to file protests at tad.org. If that’s not possible, fill out the back of the property value notice and mail it in. TAD also has an automated system online that may offer a lower value than the one listed. Or it might approve a lower value that you suggest for your home.
▪ TAD encourages property owners to create an online account, where documents may be submitted for TAD to review.
▪ Even if the market value doesn’t go up on a house, the appraised value may. If the appraised value, which also is known as a homestead capped value, was limited by the appraisal cap last year, that value could increase as much as 10% on this year’s appraisal notice. “This change may result in an increase in property taxes, but it is the result of a math formula and not based on appraisal judgment,” Law’s statement noted.
▪ The TAD office is closed. When it reopens, protesters may have to wear masks, and the number of people allowed in the building at any time will be limited. When people pull up, there will be a short radio broadcast transmitted from TAD to the car radio with instructions on how to protest and file exemptions.
▪ Face-to-face protests may be delayed until late June, July or August. “Every effort will be taken to avoid face to face contact during this time until it is considered safe to resume hearings,” Law’s release stated.
“I applaud TAD for doing what they’re doing,” said Stephen Dunson, owner of IntegraTax and past president of the Texas Association of Property Tax Professionals. “They are fortunate in that they’ve had an online system in place that allows for homeowners/property owners to negotiate with them for a couple of years prior to this year.”
Protest concerns
But problems may arise in the case of Appraisal Review Board hearings, Dunson said.
“How they’re going to handle that is up in the air and the Texas Property Tax Code specifically states in several places that a taxpayer has the right to appear in person,” said Dunson, also a member of the property tax consultants advisory council for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Protest hearings could present challenges for older property owners and those who don’t have access to computers.
“I think it’s going to be harder for property owners than before because it’s going to be more difficult to relay their issues with TAD staff,” Dunson said.
Ray said some members of the Appraisal Review Board have resigned, “worried about having in-person hearings,” which could slow down the appraisal appeals process even more.
“In past years, TAD has been flooded with protesters, often with people waiting hours beyond their scheduled time for a hearing while sitting in the lobby,” Ray said. “I would expect if people protest themselves and go down to TAD, they will likely be spending quite a bit of time sitting in their cars outside waiting to get in to talk to someone.”
‘Be patient’
Law asks anyone with questions or protests to call, email or use the online portal.
And he said the telephone lines are likely to be very busy.
“Please be patient with us this year,” he said in the release.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
