Sugar Land - Missouri City | July Edition

2023 HOME EDITION

Comparing plans The state Senate and House have two dierent plans to address property appraisal reform. Over time, the House’s plan would result in more school district tax bill savings for homeowners, a Galveston County expert said.

bills reducing school district property tax rates and making up the funding dierence with state funds could aect FBISD’s debt service fund. This is the fund the district uses to pay its debt obligations, including bond payments. FBISD voters passed a $1.26 billion bond in November, which came with projections on how the district pre- dicted property tax collections may grow based on its current rate. If legis- lation lowers tax rates, Bassett said the district may need to raise the rate to be able to be able to pay its obligations. Bassett said he believes the state is capable of using its budget surplus to provide property tax relief and needed nancial support to schools. “We’d love to see a property tax decrease, and I think there will be one,” Bassett said. “But I do believe that maybe you don’t need $17 billion to go into property tax relief—maybe $12 billion, and then that other $5 [billion] can … be allocated for school districts.” Resources for residents Residents seeking relief from rising appraisals could utilize a homestead exemption to set a cap on the amount

PLAN

HOUSE

SENATE

Property appraisal increase cap School district tax rate decrease School district homestead exemption

Reduce to 5% Maintain at 10%

Reduce by 16.2 cents Reduce by 10 cents

Increase to $100,000

Maintain at $40,000

SOURCE: GALVESTON COUNTY TAX ASSESSORCOLLECTOR COMMUNITY IMPACT

KEY

ISD tax bill

Average statewide ISD tax rate

Sample home’s taxable value

HOUSE PLAN

SENATE PLAN

, .

$5K $3K $4K $1K $2K $0

$3K $4K $1K $2K $0 $5K

2025 2026 2023 2024 2027 2028 2022

NOTE: THE TAX BILLS SHOW A $300,000 HOME INCREASING TO THE APPRAISAL CAP EACH YEAR. THE ISD TAX RATES ASSUME ONLY TWO YEARS OF REDUCTIONS. *SCHOOL DISTRICT TAX RATE REDUCTIONS WOULD TAKE PLACE ONCE A YEAR OVER TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS.

their primary home increases in tax- able value year over year. Properties with a homestead exemp- tion have a 10% cap on the increase in their taxable value year over year, and homestead exemptions withhold some value from being taxed by certain enti- ties. Homestead exemptions withhold

$40,000 in value from being taxed by school districts. “The homestead exemption remains the easiest way a homeowner can reduce their property taxes by as much as 20%,” FBCAD Chief Appraiser Jordan Wise said in a release. Residents seeking relief can nd

more information on exemptions on the FBCAD online exemptions portal. Dave Manning contributed to this report.

For more information, visit communityimpact.com .

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SUGAR LAND MISSOURI CITY EDITION • JULY 2023