organization

 The local property tax system follows the principle of checks and balances. An appraisal district board of directors hires the chief appraiser, sets the budget and appoints the appraisal review board members. 
The directors have no authority to set values or appraisal methods. The Chief Appraiser carries out the appraisal district's legal duties, hires the staff, makes the appraisals and operates the appraisal office. 

 The appraisal review board (ARB) is the judicial part of the system. The ARB is a separate body from the appraisal office and serves a different function. It hears and resolves disputes over appraisal matters. This is a very broad and important responsibility, but the ARB must be sensitive to its legal and practical limits.

First, the ARB only has authority over matters submitted to it. The ARB has no role in the day to day operations of the appraisal office or in appraising property.

Except where it is deciding a protest, challenge or a correction motion, the ARB has no authority to change a value or correct the appraisal records directly. In a challenge, it must order the chief appraiser to reappraise or correct the records related to the challenge. Only in resolving taxpayer protests can the ARB make changes or set a value on its own. Such a change only affects the property in question. 

 Texas has no state property tax. The Comptroller's office does not collect property tax or set tax rates. That's up to local taxing units, which use tax revenue to provide local services including schools, streets and roads, police and fire protection and many others. 

Truth-in-taxation is a concept embodied in the Texas Constitution that requires local taxing units to make taxpayers aware of tax rate proposals and to afford taxpayers the opportunity to roll back or limit tax increases. 1 Property owners have the right to know about increases in their properties' appraised value and to be notified of the estimated taxes that could result from the new value. 2

Creating a budget and adopting a property tax rate to support that budget are major functions of a taxing unit's governing body. This is accomplished by following truth-in-taxation requirements to ensure the public is informed of any increases. The type of taxing unit determines its applicable truth-in-taxation requirements.

If certain taxing units fail to comply with the hearing, notice or tax rate adopting process in good faith, a property owner in the taxing unit may seek an injunction to stop the taxing unit from sending tax bills until it convinces the district court that it has complied with the law. 3 A property owner must act to enjoin collections before the taxing unit delivers substantially all of its tax bills. 4 This injunction process does not apply to cities, counties, small taxing units or water districts. 5

By providing this information, the Comptroller's office provides technical assistance and not legal advice. Taxing units should consult legal counsel for questions about the meaning of statutes, notice and hearing requirements and other matters that are unclear in the law.

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