Business owners need to render by May 30

By Melinda L. Lucas

With renditions due in a little over a week, the staff at the Shackelford County Appraisal District (CAD) is also busy getting ready to send appraisal notices for real property and business personal property.

According to chief appraiser Clayton Snyder, about 2,000 notices will be sent to property owners by the end of the month.

Snyder has provided local taxing jurisdictions with their certified preliminary valuations for 2020, with mineral properties estimated to decrease by at least 17 percent and residential properties expected to “remain flat for 2020.”

More detailed information about valuations will be published next week.

Rendition Deadline

A rendition is a report filed by a business personal property owner, listing taxable property he owns or manages as of Jan. 1.

Renditions are normally due by April 15 each year, but with COVID-19 affecting most local businesses, Snyder pushed the deadline back, first to May 15 and then to May 30.

Business owners usually have to submit a written request for an extension, but that requirement was lifted for this year only.

Agriculture evaluation applications have been extended to June 29. 

Applications received after this date will result in a late filing penalty, and ag valuation cannot be granted after certification July 20-25.

Rendition Forms

Anyone who didn’t receive a rendition form or who has misplaced theirs can contact the local tax office or download a form by clicking on the forms tab on the CAD website, shackelfordcad.com. There are separate forms for real property and business personal property.

Local business owners may have to come up with more money if they don’t file renditions or an extension by the May 30 deadline.

Anyone who in the past has paid taxes on personal property in Shackelford County should have received a form and reminder letter several months ago.

Consequences

The Texas Legislature amended the Texas Property Tax Code to include serious penalties if business properties aren’t rendered.

The penalty on a property that is rendered late or not rendered at all is 10 percent of the annual taxes on that specific property.

Snyder commented that completing a rendition has several benefits.

“If a taxpayer renders, the burden of proof is on the tax office,” he said. “If you don’t render, the burden of proof is on you.”

The chief appraiser must send a written notice by first class mail informing a property owner when a penalty has been imposed for failure to file a timely rendition. Protest procedures will be outlined in the notification letter.

At the urging of the local tax appraisal office personnel, most business owners have filed renditions the last several years, but a number of penalties have been applied in spite of the reminders, said Snyder.

“And we don’t have any choice about the 10 percent penalty,” Snyder continued. “The tax code requires that the penalty be enforced.”

He added that his office has copies of last year’s renditions if business owners need them.

Snyder stated that leased equipment or consigned equipment needs to be listed on the reverse side of the form. 

There is a 50 percent penalty if a court determines that a false statement is made on the rendition with the intention of evading taxes.

Snyder noted that taxpayers can be granted an exemption on one business vehicle by filling out a special form.

Texas law does not require a property owner to render a home or other real property, but home-owners who do render are in a better position to exercise their rights as taxpayers.

By filing a rendition, property owners ensure that the correct address will be on their value notices, tax bills, and notices or hearings, which may be scheduled if property owners protest the appraisal of their property.

A rendition is also an opportunity for a property owner to record an opinion of the prop-erty’s value.

If a property owner sends in an opinion of the property’s worth, the central appraisal office is required by law to send the owner a notice before placing a higher value on the property, thus giving the owner additional time to back his claim that the proposed value is too high.

Otherwise, the tax office normally doesn’t send a notice of appraised value unless the market value on a specific property is raised $1,000 or more, or unless ownership has changed.

Lobby Open

As of May 18, the CAD lobby has been reopened to the public after restricted access for several weeks because of COVID-19.

In order to comply with social distancing requirements, the lobby is limited to two persons at a time. 

“For the safety of our employees and general public, we ask that you do not visit if you are not feeling well or have been around someone that is not feeling well,” said Snyder. “Please call instead.”

Rendition forms and other paperwork can also be placed in the dropbox to the left of the main office doors or mailed to Shackelford County CAD, PO Box 2247, Albany TX 76430.

For more information, call 325-762-2207.