Texas law empowers the Board to hear and resolve
protests only about the following issues concerning your property:
valuation; eligibility for exemptions; inclusion of the property
on the appraisal records for the District or for a particular
taxing unit within the District; whether you are/were the owner;
whether a notice required by law was delivered; determination
of changes of use of agricultural, open-space or timber lands,
or other actions by the District or Board that adversely affect
you as a property owner. The Board cannot hear or resolve other
matters, such as complaints about the amount of your taxes or
your ability to pay your taxes.
Organize your testimony and documents ahead of
time. You must present the original and 4 copies of each document
you want the Board to consider. Types of evidences relevant
to determination of the value of property includes:
Residential Real Estate:
1) Sale of Subject Property - signed and
dated closing settlement statement and fee appraisal.
2) Sales of Comparable Properties - sales
of comparable properties should include the following information
if available: photographs, property address, sales date/price,
grantor/grantee, financing terms/source/confirmed by; or appraisal
of subject property with date and reason for sale.
3) Proof of Physical, Functional or Economic
Obsolescence - This type of information can be documented
in a variety of ways. The best type of documents are usually estimates
for repairs from contractors and photographs of physical problems.
All documentation should be signed and notarized. This means you
must furnish "documented" evidence of your property's
needs.
Commercial Real Estate:
1) Sale of Subject Property - signed and
dated closing statement or sales contract with description of
property being transferred; photographs of the property; copy
of filed warranty deed if transferred in past 2 years;
basis of sale (was sale based on actual income and expense data
or pro forma income and expense data); complete copy of appraisal.
2) Income Approach - previous year rent
roll, rent summary and income statement (typically 3 years of
data); documentation of lease offering rates, lease concessions,
effective lease rates and current and historical occupancy as
of January 1 of the current year.
3) Cost Approach - signed and dated construction
contract(s) with detailed description of work to be performed;
certified A.I.A. document G702 or equivalent with details. Documentation
must reflect all hard and soft cost. IRS records may be required.
4) Market Approach - complete copy of
independent fee appraisal; confirmed sales of comparable properties
to include photographs, property description, location, land area/building
area, year built, date of contract, sales price, financing terms,
basis of sale, source/confirmed by.
Business Personal Property:
balance sheets; inventory controls, accounting
records journals, ledgers showing acquisitions by year of purchase
(depreciation schedules); CPA statements of costs; leases pertaining
to the property in question, a statement of general accounting
policy and procedures, especially concerning the capitalization
and expense policy, and the basis of deprecation. Additionally,
IRS schedule C or other forms may also be attached. The statement
should also address inventory methods and state whether physical
inventory equals book inventory. Any adjustments to fixed assets
or inventory should be documented. If you are claiming that the
goods are taxable elsewhere, you should be able to provide proof
the property was rendered to another jurisdiction and that it
is on another tax roll.
All documents that you present in the hearing
become part of the Board's permanent records and will not be returned
to you.
Before the date of your hearing, you may inspect
all of the data, schedules, formulas, and other information that
the District plans to introduce at the hearing to establish any
matter at issue. You may get copies of this information from Tarrant
Appraisal District. The charges for such copies will not exceed
$15 for each residence or $25 for each property of another type.
Neither the property owner nor the District
may give any board member information about a protest or motion
prior to the hearing. It is important that you be on time for
your hearing. Your motion will be dismissed if you fail to (1)
appear at your hearing in person, (2) send a sworn affidavit containing
evidence to support your protest or motion, or (3) send an authorized
representative.
