| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the eligibility of the surviving spouse of an elderly |
|
|
person who qualified for a local option exemption from ad valorem |
|
|
taxation by a taxing unit of a portion of the appraised value of the |
|
|
deceased person's residence homestead to continue to receive an |
|
|
exemption for the same property from the same taxing unit in an |
|
|
amount equal to that of the exemption for which the deceased person |
|
|
qualified without applying for the exemption. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 11.43, Tax Code, is amended by amending |
|
|
Subsection (l) and adding Subsections (m-2) and (m-3) to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(l) The form for an application under Section 11.13 must |
|
|
include a space for the applicant to state the applicant's date of |
|
|
birth and, if applicable, the date of birth of the applicant's |
|
|
spouse. Failure to provide the applicant's date of birth does not |
|
|
affect the applicant's eligibility for an exemption under that |
|
|
section, other than an exemption under Section 11.13(c) or (d) for |
|
|
an individual 65 years of age or older. Failure to provide the date |
|
|
of birth of the applicant's spouse does not affect the applicant's |
|
|
eligibility for an exemption under Section 11.13 or the applicant's |
|
|
spouse's eligibility for an exemption under that section, other |
|
|
than an exemption under Section 11.13(q) for the surviving spouse |
|
|
of an individual 65 years of age or older. |
|
|
(m-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if a person who |
|
|
receives an exemption under Section 11.13(d) for an individual 65 |
|
|
years of age or older dies in a tax year, that person's surviving |
|
|
spouse is entitled to receive an exemption under Section 11.13(q) |
|
|
in the next tax year on the same property without applying for the |
|
|
exemption if: |
|
|
(1) the appraisal district learns of the person's |
|
|
death from any source, including the death records maintained by |
|
|
the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health |
|
|
Services or a local registration official; and |
|
|
(2) the surviving spouse is otherwise eligible to |
|
|
receive the exemption as shown by: |
|
|
(A) information in the records of the appraisal |
|
|
district that was provided to the appraisal district in an |
|
|
application for an exemption under Section 11.13 on the property or |
|
|
in correspondence relating to the property; or |
|
|
(B) information provided by the Texas Department |
|
|
of Public Safety to the appraisal district under Section 521.049, |
|
|
Transportation Code. |
|
|
(m-3) Subsection (m-2) does not apply if the chief appraiser |
|
|
determines that the surviving spouse is no longer entitled to any |
|
|
exemption under Section 11.13 on the property. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed |
|
|
for an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the effective |
|
|
date of this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024. |