Renditions should be filed by next Monday

By Melinda L. Lucas

Local business owners need to file renditions by April 17, according to Shackelford CAD County chief appraiser Clayton Snyder.

Normally business taxpayers are required to render by April 15, but since that date falls on a Saturday, the deadline is extended to the following Monday.

Snyder also explained that he is allowed to grant a 30-day extension to May 17 if those requests are received in writing by April 17, with a possible second 15-day extension.

Email is considered a written request, he added.

Anyone who in the past has paid taxes on personal property in Shackelford County should have received a rendition form and reminder letter earlier this year.

Anyone who didn’t receive a 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.

Until about 10 years ago, there were no consequences if business owners didn’t fill out rendition forms, said Snyder. Once the Texas Legislature amended the Texas Property Tax Code to include serious penalties, several local taxpayers have found themselves owing more than expected.

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.”

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.

“Otherwise, we have no way of knowing that equipment doesn’t belong to your business and you could be assessed taxes on it,” he said.

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

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

Snyder noted that the non-taxable theshold was changed last year from less than $500 to less than $2,500.

Texas law does not require a property owner to render a home or other real property, but Snyder pointed out that 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 property’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 property 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.

For more information, contact the Shackelford County Appraisal District office at 325-762-2207.