(a)An owner may initiate an appeal of an ARB order
determining a protest of property value through binding arbitration,
upon submission of a written request with the required deposit to
the appraisal district responsible for appraising the owner's property,
under the terms and conditions of this section.
(b)The request for binding arbitration and a deposit
in the appropriate amount under subsection (h) of this section must
be filed with the appraisal district not later than the 45th calendar
day after the date the owner receives the ARB order determining the
protest, as evidenced by the certified mail receipt showing delivery
to the owner. The request and deposit shall be submitted to the appraisal
district by hand delivery, by certified first-class mail, or as provided
by Tax Code, §1.08 or §1.085.
(c)The request for arbitration must be on the comptroller's
prescribed Request for Binding Arbitration form (Form AP-219). The
ARB shall provide a copy of this form as well as a notice of the owner's
right to binding arbitration when it sends to the owner the ARB's
order determining a protest filed pursuant to Tax Code, §41.41(a)(1)
or (2) if the value of the property determined by the order is $5
million or less or the property qualifies as the owner's residence
homestead under Tax Code, §11.13.
(d)If an agent, other than an attorney, has been appointed
to represent the owner, and the agent signs the Request for Binding
Arbitration form (Form AP-219) on behalf of the owner, the comptroller
shall deny the request unless the Appointment of Agent for Binding
Arbitration form (Form 50-791), signed by the owner, is properly completed
and submitted with the request, Form AP-219.
(e)If the owner signs and submits the Request for
Binding Arbitration form (Form AP-219) and indicates on the request
form that an agent has been appointed but fails to submit the Appointment
of Agent for Binding Arbitration form (Form 50-791), the comptroller's
office may recognize the agent as the owner's representative with
the authority to receive communications and a refund of the arbitration
deposit, as applicable, only if the appointment of agent form (Form
50-791), signed by the owner, is properly completed and submitted
within ten (10) calendar days of the comptroller's written or verbal
notice to the owner that Form 50-791 was not previously provided with
the request for arbitration.
(f)A request for binding arbitration on property that
meets the following terms and conditions qualifies for binding arbitration
under Tax Code, Chapter 41A:
(1)The request concerns the appraised or market value
of $5 million or less for the property as determined by the ARB order,
or the property qualifies as the owner's residence homestead under
Tax Code, §11.13.
(2)The request does not involve any matter in dispute
other than the determination of the appraised or market value of the
property pursuant to a protest filed under Tax Code, §41.41(a)(1)
for the appraised or market value or §41.41(a)(2) for unequal
appraisal. Issues not subject to binding arbitration include a protest
regarding the owner's motion for correction of an appraisal roll,
a protest concerning the qualification of property for a tax exemption
or special appraisal, or any other issue outside the scope of Tax
Code, §41.41(a)(1) or (2).
(3)A deposit in the correct amount set forth under
subsection (h) of this section, in the form of a check issued and
guaranteed by a banking institution (such as a cashier's or teller's
check) or by a money order, payable to the Comptroller of Public Accounts,
is included with the request. Personal checks, cash, or other forms
of payment shall not be accepted.
(4)No taxes on the property at issue are delinquent
and the undisputed taxes due on the property were paid before the
delinquency date set by Tax Code, Chapter 31, as applicable.
(5)No lawsuit has been filed in district court regarding
the property for the tax year at issue.
(6)The request for binding arbitration is timely filed
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(7)The request is made on the comptroller's Request
for Binding Arbitration form (Form AP-219) and is signed by the property
owner or by the owner's agent, if authorized.
(8)If the owner's agent signs the comptroller's Request
for Binding Arbitration form (Form AP-219), the comptroller's Appointment
of Agent for Binding Arbitration form (Form 50-791) must be submitted
with the request. The appointment of agent form (Form 50-791) must
be signed by the owner, identify as the owner's agent the same individual
who signed the request form, and explicitly authorize the individual
agent to sign the request form.
(g)If the request involves contiguous tracts of land
pursuant to Tax Code, §41A.03(a-1), each tract of land and ARB
order must separately meet the requirements of subsection (f) of this
section, except that a single arbitration deposit in an amount under
subsection (h) of this section that corresponds to the tract with
the highest appraised or market value of all the contiguous tracts
as reflected on the ARB orders being appealed is sufficient. In the
event two or more tracts are not contiguous, the property owner may
select the one property that will be arbitrated; otherwise, the property
with the highest appraised or market value will be selected for arbitration.
For purposes of this section, two or more tracts of land qualify as
contiguous if:
(1)each tract of land physically touches another tract
of land being appealed;
(2)no intervening area, whether natural or manmade,
that is owned by another person, entity, or governmental unit, separates
the tracts;
(3)the property type of each tract being appealed
is identified on the request for binding arbitration as "Land" or
"Agricultural" or any other category of real property that is not
an improvement; and
(4)all of the tracts of land being appealed are of
the same property type, i.e., all are designated "Land" or all are
designated "Agricultural" or all are designated another category of
real property that is not an improvement.
(h)A deposit made payable to the Comptroller of Public
Accounts is required to be submitted with each request for binding
arbitration in the following amounts, as applicable:
(1)$450 if the property qualifies as the owner's residence
homestead under Tax Code, §11.13, and the appraised or market
value is $500,000 or less as determined by the ARB order;
(2)$500 if the property qualifies as the owner's residence
homestead under Tax Code, §11.13, and the appraised or market
value is more than $500,000 as determined by the ARB order;
(3)$500 if the property does not qualify as the owner's
residence homestead under Tax Code, §11.13, and the appraised
or market value is $1 million or less as determined by the ARB order;
(4)$800 if the property does not qualify as the owner's
residence homestead under Tax Code, §11.13, and the appraised
or market value is more than $1 million but not more than $2 million
as determined by the ARB order;
(5)$1,050 if the property does not qualify as the
owner's residence homestead under Tax Code, §11.13, and the appraised
or market value of the property is more than $2 million but not more
than $3 million as determined by the ARB order; and
(6)$1,550 if the property does not qualify as the
owner's residence homestead under Tax Code, §11.13, and the appraised
or market value of the property is more than $3 million but not more
than $5 million as determined by the ARB order.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed
the proposal and found it to be within the state
agency's legal authority
to adopt.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on October 24, 2017
TRD-201704291 Lita Gonzalez
General Counsel
Comptroller of Public Accounts
Earliest possible date of adoption: December 10, 2017
For further information, please call: (512) 475-0387
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