For many people, October means pumpkin spice, fall weather, costumes, and gearing up for Trick-or-Treating. In our industry, October means something even scarier than the best Halloween costume or horror movie – property tax bills! Most Texas counties sent out property tax bills on October 1st, so don’t be surprised or scared when yours arrives. If you need help paying for your property taxes to avoid high late fees, call Home Tax Solutions in one of our five Texas locations to learn more. We have offices throughout the state to service all 254 Texas counties. We have offices in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and McAllen, so there should be a Home Tax Solutions team nearby – wherever you call home. You can also complete our quick estimate form to get more information. In less than five minutes, you can give our team all of the information we need to get started on your estimate. Then, one of our team members will be in touch within 24 hours.
When to Expect Your Bill
Your annual property tax bill usually gets mailed out on October 1st, so most people get the bill in the first few weeks of the month. In some cases, the county assessor is unable to prepare and mail bills on October 1st, and the state of Texas tax code allows that they be mailed as soon as is practicable after this date. If you haven’t gotten your property tax bill by the end of October, you may want to reach out to your local tax office to find out if there is a delay. If your home is mortgaged, your lender may have taken authority for the payment of annual taxes. In this case, you will not likely receive a property tax bill. You can usually request a copy from your mortgage company for your records.
Understanding Your Property Tax Bill
The price on the property tax bill can be overwhelming but trying to read the bill is what many people find scary. Your property tax bill will include all of the following information:
- The property subject to tax and its appraised and taxable value
- The market value of the property subject to tax
- The assessment ratio (the percentage of the market value of the property assessed to be taxable)
- The type and amount of exemptions
- List of assessed taxes from local and county offices, school districts, etc.
- Total tax rate
- Total property taxes due as well as due dates
- Payment options
- Delinquency dates and associated fees
- Contact information for your county assessor
- Five years of historical property tax appraisal and billing information
If you need help making heads or tails of this bill, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our offices. The team of experts at Home Tax Solutions is here to help.
When to Call Home Tax Solutions
When you get your tax bill, take some time to review your finances in order to determine whether or not you’ll be able to pay your property taxes in full by January 31st. You should contact Home Tax Solutions in the following situations:
- Paying your property taxes in full by January 31st will significantly strain your finances making it difficult for you to make other necessary payments or purchases.
- You know that it will be impossible for you to pay for the cost of your annual property taxes.
- If your property taxes from last year are still outstanding and accruing fees, and you can’t afford the cost of either your current or previous year’s taxes.
- You’ll have to put your business plans on hold in order to pay your commercial property taxes.
