Texas Tax Code 33.045 – Notice of Provisions Authorizing Deferral or Abatement
(a) A tax bill mailed by an assessor or collector under § 31.01 and any written communication delivered to a property owner by an assessor or collector for a taxing unit or an attorney or other agent of a taxing unit that specifically threatens a lawsuit to collect a delinquent tax assessed against property that may qualify as a residence homestead shall contain the following explanation in capital letters: “IF YOU ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER OR ARE DISABLED, AND YOU OCCUPY THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN THIS DOCUMENT AS YOUR RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD, YOU SHOULD CONTACT THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT REGARDING ANY ENTITLEMENT YOU MAY HAVE TO A POSTPONEMENT IN THE PAYMENT OF THESE TAXES”.
(b) This section does not apply to a communication that relates to taxes that are the subject of pending litigation.
Terms Used In Texas Tax Code 33.045
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Assessor: means the officer or employee responsible for assessing property taxes as provided by Chapter 26 of this code for a taxing unit by whatever title he is designated. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
- Collector: means the officer or employee responsible for collecting property taxes for a taxing unit by whatever title he is designated. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Taxing unit: means a county, an incorporated city or town (including a home-rule city), a school district, a special district or authority (including a junior college district, a hospital district, a district created by or pursuant to the Water Code, a mosquito control district, a fire prevention district, or a noxious weed control district), or any other political unit of this state, whether created by or pursuant to the constitution or a local, special, or general law, that is authorized to impose and is imposing ad valorem taxes on property even if the governing body of another political unit determines the tax rate for the unit or otherwise governs its affairs. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005