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Texas Statutes (Last Updated: January 4, 2014) |
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TAX CODE |
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Title 1. PROPERTY TAX CODE |
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Subtitle E. COLLECTIONS AND DELINQUENCY |
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Chapter 33. DELINQUENCY |
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Subchapter A. GENERAL PROVISIONS |
Sec. 33.011. WAIVER OF PENALTIES AND INTEREST
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(a) The governing body of a taxing unit:
(1) shall waive penalties and may provide for the waiver of interest on a delinquent tax if an act or omission of an officer, employee, or agent of the taxing unit or the appraisal district in which the taxing unit participates caused or resulted in the taxpayer's failure to pay the tax before delinquency and if the tax is paid not later than the 21st day after the date the taxpayer knows or should know of the delinquency;
(2) may waive penalties and provide for the waiver of interest on a delinquent tax if:
(A) the property for which the tax is owed is acquired by a religious organization; and
(B) before the first anniversary of the date the religious organization acquires the property, the organization pays the tax and qualifies the property for an exemption under Section 11.20 as evidenced by the approval of the exemption by the chief appraiser under Section 11.45; and
(3) may waive penalties and provide for the waiver of interest on a delinquent tax if the taxpayer submits evidence showing that:
(A) the taxpayer attempted to pay the tax before the delinquency date by mail;
(B) the taxpayer mailed the tax payment to an incorrect address that in a prior tax year was the correct address for payment of the taxpayer's tax;
(C) the payment was mailed to the incorrect address within one year of the date that the former address ceased to be the correct address for payment of the tax; and
(D) the taxpayer paid the tax not later than the 21st day after the date the taxpayer knew or should have known of the delinquency.
(b) If a tax bill is returned undelivered to the taxing unit by the United States Postal Service, the governing body of the taxing unit shall waive penalties and interest if:
(1) the taxing unit does not send another tax bill on the property in question at least 21 days before the delinquency date to the current mailing address furnished by the property owner and the property owner establishes that a current mailing address was furnished to the appraisal district by the property owner for the tax bill before September 1 of the year in which the tax is assessed; or
(2) the tax bill was returned because of an act or omission of an officer, employee, or agent of the taxing unit or the appraisal district in which the taxing unit participates and the taxing unit or appraisal district did not send another tax bill on the property in question at least 21 days before the delinquency date to the proper mailing address.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a property owner is considered to have furnished a current mailing address to the taxing unit or to the appraisal district if the current address is expressly communicated to the appraisal district in writing or if the appraisal district received a copy of a recorded instrument transferring ownership of real property and the current mailing address of the new owner is included in the instrument or in accompanying communications or letters of transmittal.
(d) A request for a waiver of penalties and interest under Subsection (a)(1) or (3), (b), or (h) must be made before the 181st day after the delinquency date. A request for a waiver of penalties and interest under Subsection (a)(2) must be made before the first anniversary of the date the religious organization acquires the property. To be valid, a waiver of penalties or interest under this section must be requested in writing. If a written request for a waiver is not timely made, the governing body of a taxing unit may not waive any penalties or interest under this section.
(e) Penalties and interest do not accrue during the period that a bill is not sent under Section 31.01(f).
(f) A property owner is not entitled to relief under Subsection (b) of this section if the property owner or the owner's agent furnished an incorrect mailing address to the appraisal district or the taxing unit or to an employee or agent of the district or unit.
(g) Taxes for which penalties and interest have been waived under Subsection (b) of this section must be paid within 21 days of the property owner having received a bill for those taxes at the current mailing address.
(h) The governing body of a taxing unit shall waive penalties and interest on a delinquent tax if:
(1) the tax is payable by electronic funds transfer under an agreement entered into under Section 31.06(a); and
(2) the taxpayer submits evidence sufficient to show that:
(A) the taxpayer attempted to pay the tax by electronic funds transfer in the proper manner before the delinquency date;
(B) the taxpayer's failure to pay the tax before the delinquency date was caused by an error in the transmission of the funds; and
(C) the tax was properly paid by electronic funds transfer or otherwise not later than the 21st day after the date the taxpayer knew or should have known of the delinquency.