(a) The governing body of a taxing unit:
(1) shall waive penalties and may provide for the waiver of interest on a delinquent tax if an act or omission of an officer, employee, or agent of the taxing unit or the appraisal district in which the taxing unit participates caused or resulted in the taxpayer’s failure to pay the tax before delinquency and if the tax is paid not later than the 21st day after the date the taxpayer knows or should know of the delinquency;
(2) may waive penalties and provide for the waiver of interest on a delinquent tax if:
(A) the property for which the tax is owed is acquired by a religious organization; and
(B) before the first anniversary of the date the religious organization acquires the property, the organization pays the tax and qualifies the property for an exemption under § 11.20 as evidenced by the approval of the exemption by the chief appraiser under § 11.45; and
(3) may waive penalties and provide for the waiver of interest on a delinquent tax if the taxpayer submits evidence showing that:
(A) the taxpayer attempted to pay the tax before the delinquency date by mail;
(B) the taxpayer mailed the tax payment to an incorrect address that in a prior tax year was the correct address for payment of the taxpayer’s tax;
(C) the payment was mailed to the incorrect address within one year of the date that the former address ceased to be the correct address for payment of the tax; and
(D) the taxpayer paid the tax not later than the 21st day after the date the taxpayer knew or should have known of the delinquency.
(b) If a tax bill is returned undelivered to the taxing unit by the United States Postal Service, the governing body of the taxing unit shall waive penalties and interest if:
(1) the taxing unit does not send another tax bill on the property in question at least 21 days before the delinquency date to the current mailing address furnished by the property owner and the property owner establishes that a current mailing address was furnished to the appraisal district by the property owner for the tax bill before September 1 of the year in which the tax is assessed; or
(2) the tax bill was returned because of an act or omission of an officer, employee, or agent of the taxing unit or the appraisal district in which the taxing unit participates and the taxing unit or appraisal district did not send another tax bill on the property in question at least 21 days before the delinquency date to the proper mailing address.

Terms Used In Texas Tax Code 33.011

  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Appraised value: means the value determined as provided by Chapter 23 of this code. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
  • Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) Source: OCC
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by writing, printing, or other means. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Tax year: means the calendar year. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
  • Taxing unit: means a county, an incorporated city or town (including a home-rule city), a school district, a special district or authority (including a junior college district, a hospital district, a district created by or pursuant to the Water Code, a mosquito control district, a fire prevention district, or a noxious weed control district), or any other political unit of this state, whether created by or pursuant to the constitution or a local, special, or general law, that is authorized to impose and is imposing ad valorem taxes on property even if the governing body of another political unit determines the tax rate for the unit or otherwise governs its affairs. See Texas Tax Code 1.04
  • United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005

(c) For the purposes of this section, a property owner is considered to have furnished a current mailing address to the taxing unit or to the appraisal district if the current address is expressly communicated to the appraisal district in writing or if the appraisal district received a copy of a recorded instrument transferring ownership of real property and the current mailing address of the new owner is included in the instrument or in accompanying communications or letters of transmittal.
(d) A request for a waiver of penalties and interest under Subsection (a)(1) or (3), (b), (h), (j), or (k) must be made before the 181st day after the delinquency date. A request for a waiver of penalties and interest under Subsection (a)(2) must be made before the first anniversary of the date the religious organization acquires the property. A request for a waiver of penalties and interest under Subsection (i) must be made before the 181st day after the date the property owner making the request receives notice of the delinquent tax that satisfies the requirements of § 33.04(c). To be valid, a waiver of penalties or interest under this section must be requested in writing. If a written request for a waiver is not timely made, the governing body of a taxing unit may not waive any penalties or interest under this section.
(e) Penalties and interest do not accrue during the period that a bill is not sent under § 31.01(f).
(f) A property owner is not entitled to relief under Subsection (b) of this section if the property owner or the owner’s agent furnished an incorrect mailing address to the appraisal district or the taxing unit or to an employee or agent of the district or unit.
(g) Taxes for which penalties and interest have been waived under Subsection (b) of this section must be paid within 21 days of the property owner having received a bill for those taxes at the current mailing address.
(h) The governing body of a taxing unit shall waive penalties and interest on a delinquent tax if:
(1) the tax is payable by electronic funds transfer under an agreement entered into under § 31.06(a); and
(2) the taxpayer submits evidence sufficient to show that:
(A) the taxpayer attempted to pay the tax by electronic funds transfer in the proper manner before the delinquency date;
(B) the taxpayer’s failure to pay the tax before the delinquency date was caused by an error in the transmission of the funds; and
(C) the tax was properly paid by electronic funds transfer or otherwise not later than the 21st day after the date the taxpayer knew or should have known of the delinquency.
(i) The governing body of a taxing unit may waive penalties and interest on a delinquent tax that relates to a date preceding the date on which the property owner acquired the property if:
(1) the property owner or another person liable for the tax pays the tax not later than the 181st day after the date the property owner receives notice of the delinquent tax that satisfies the requirements of § 33.04(c); and
(2) the delinquency is the result of taxes imposed on:
(A) omitted property entered in the appraisal records as provided by § 25.21;
(B) erroneously exempted property or appraised value added to the appraisal roll as provided by § 11.43(i); or
(C) property added to the appraisal roll under a different account number or parcel when the property was owned by a prior owner.
(j) The governing body of a taxing unit may waive penalties and interest on a delinquent tax if the taxpayer submits evidence sufficient to show that the taxpayer delivered payment for the tax before the delinquency date to:
(1) the United States Postal Service for delivery by mail, but an act or omission of the postal service resulted in the taxpayer’s payment being postmarked after the delinquency date; or
(2) a private delivery service for delivery, but an act or omission of the private carrier resulted in the taxpayer’s payment being received by the taxing unit after the delinquency date.
(k) The governing body of a taxing unit may waive penalties and interest on a delinquent tax if:
(1) the property for which the tax is owed is subject to a mortgage that does not require the owner of the property to fund an escrow account for the payment of the taxes on the property;
(2) the tax bill was mailed or delivered by electronic means to the mortgagee of the property, but the mortgagee failed to mail a copy of the bill to the owner of the property as required by § 31.01(j); and
(3) the taxpayer paid the tax not later than the 21st day after the date the taxpayer knew or should have known of the delinquency.