Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation On Appraised Value of Residence Homestead
(a) Notwithstanding the requirements of § 25.18 and regardless of whether the appraisal office has appraised the property and determined the market value of the property for the tax year, an appraisal office may increase the appraised value of a residence homestead for a tax year to an amount not to exceed the lesser of:
(1) the market value of the property for the most recent tax year that the market value was determined by the appraisal office; or
(2) the sum of:
(A) 10 percent of the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year;
(B) the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year; and
(C) the market value of all new improvements to the property.
(b) When appraising a residence homestead, the chief appraiser shall:
(1) appraise the property at its market value; and
(2) include in the appraisal records both the market value of the property and the amount computed under Subsection (a)(2).
Terms Used In Texas Tax Code 23.23
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Appraised value: means the value determined as provided by Chapter 23 of this code. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
- Improvement: means :
(A) a building, structure, fixture, or fence erected on or affixed to land;
(B) a transportable structure that is designed to be occupied for residential or business purposes, whether or not it is affixed to land, if the owner of the structure owns the land on which it is located, unless the structure is unoccupied and held for sale or normally is located at a particular place only temporarily; or
(C) for purposes of an entity created under § 52, Article III, or § 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, the:
(i) subdivision of land by plat;
(ii) installation of water, sewer, or drainage lines; or
(iii) paving of undeveloped land. See Texas Tax Code 1.04 - Market value: means the price at which a property would transfer for cash or its equivalent under prevailing market conditions if:
(A) exposed for sale in the open market with a reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser;
(B) both the seller and the purchaser know of all the uses and purposes to which the property is adapted and for which it is capable of being used and of the enforceable restrictions on its use; and
(C) both the seller and purchaser seek to maximize their gains and neither is in a position to take advantage of the exigencies of the other. See Texas Tax Code 1.04 - Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Tax year: means the calendar year. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) The limitation provided by Subsection (a) takes effect as to a residence homestead on January 1 of the tax year following the first tax year the owner qualifies the property for an exemption under § 11.13. The limitation expires on January 1 of the first tax year that neither the owner of the property when the limitation took effect nor the owner’s spouse or surviving spouse qualifies for an exemption under § 11.13.
(c-1) For purposes of Subsection (c), an owner who receives an exemption as provided by § 11.42(f) is considered to have qualified the property for the exemption as of January 1 of the tax year following the tax year in which the owner acquired the property.
(d) This section does not apply to property appraised under Subchapter C, D, E, F, or G.
(e) In this section, “new improvement” means an improvement to a residence homestead made after the most recent appraisal of the property that increases the market value of the property and the value of which is not included in the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year. The term does not include repairs to or ordinary maintenance of an existing structure or the grounds or another feature of the property.
(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (e) and except as provided by Subdivision (2), an improvement to property that would otherwise constitute a new improvement is not treated as a new improvement if the improvement is a replacement structure for a structure that was rendered uninhabitable or unusable by a casualty or by wind or water damage. For purposes of appraising the property under Subsection (a) in the tax year in which the structure would have constituted a new improvement:
(1) the appraised value the property would have had in the preceding tax year if the casualty or damage had not occurred is considered to be the appraised value of the property for that year, regardless of whether that appraised value exceeds the actual appraised value of the property for that year as limited by Subsection (a); and
(2) the replacement structure is considered to be a new improvement only if:
(A) the square footage of the replacement structure exceeds that of the replaced structure as that structure existed before the casualty or damage occurred; or
(B) the exterior of the replacement structure is of higher quality construction and composition than that of the replaced structure.
(g) In this subsection, “disaster recovery program” means the disaster recovery program administered by the General Land Office or by a political subdivision of this state that is funded with community development block grant disaster recovery money authorized by federal law. Notwithstanding Subsection (f)(2), and only to the extent necessary to satisfy the requirements of the disaster recovery program, a replacement structure described by that subdivision is not considered to be a new improvement if to satisfy the requirements of the disaster recovery program it was necessary that:
(1) the square footage of the replacement structure exceed that of the replaced structure as that structure existed before the casualty or damage occurred; or
(2) the exterior of the replacement structure be of higher quality construction and composition than that of the replaced structure.