HCAD Flood damage

Harris County Appraisal District News Release For additional information contact Jack Barnett, Communications Officer, 713-957-5663 ________________________________________________________________

May 11, 2016

Harris County Appraisal District Provides Information About Property Values After Flooding Houston —The Harris County Appraisal District is reminding property owners who had flood damage that this year’s property value is based on the value of your property on January 1, 2016.

“Texas law requires us to appraise property at the value it would sell for on January 1 of each year,” said Sands Stiefer, chief appraiser. “The recent flooding has had a devastating impact on many residents, and I want to give them some tips that may save them money in the future.”

First it is important to let the appraisal district know that your property had flood damage. You can do this by calling the appraisal district at 713.957.7800 and press option 9, which was specifically set up to take these calls.

“The district already is aware of general areas that flooded and will be looking at properties in those areas closely,” Stiefer said.

Second, property owners should notify the appraisal district of a temporary address change to make sure they receive any mail about property taxes. The property owner can fill out an Address Correction Form on the HCAD website at www.hcad.org under Forms > Corrections Forms. There are versions for homeowners or business owners. Writing FLOOD VICTIM on the top of either form will alert the district that the address should be changed immediately. Property owners also can get notices electronically if they have created an HCAD online owners account.

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Third, if a property has had flood damage, the owner should file a protest for this year.

The deadline to file a protest is Tuesday, May 31. Protest forms are available the HCAD website.

“While the flooding will not affect your current value, filing a protest will ensure a review of your account to make sure the value of your property is as accurate as it can be,” Stiefer said.

Property owners also should make sure they have a homestead exemption, which can provide a substantial tax savings. If the property owner is over 65 or disabled, they can file for another exemption which may provide additional savings.

If a property owner is over 65 or disabled, they also can file for a tax deferral, which will postpone tax payments, or they can file to pay their taxes in installments. The tax deferral form is on the HCAD website under Forms > Affidavits. Installment payments can be paid quarterly and arrangements can be made through the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office.

“The final point to remember is to protest your 2017 property value if you have unrepaired damage or believe your property value has been permanently affected by the flooding,” Stiefer said. “It’s especially important to keep any repair receipts or estimates and any damage photos you might have taken to include in next year’s protest.”

About HCAD The Harris County Appraisal District is a political subdivision of the State of Texas established in 1980 for the purpose of discovering and appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes for each taxing unit within the boundaries of the district. The district has more than 1.7 million parcels of property to assess each year with a total market value of approximately $526 billion. The appraisal district in Harris County is the largest in Texas, serving approximately 500 taxing units, and one of the largest appraisal districts in the United States. For further information, visit www.hcad.org. ###