Its that time of the year, again. The time of year I dread going to my mailbox because I know any day now lurking inside I will find the bills for my Spring Texas Property Taxes.
In Spring Texas, we have three taxing entities the MUD (Muncipal Utility District), the school district which can either be Conroe, Klein, or Spring, and the County which can either be Harris or Montgomery.
In my case, my MUD is MUD #104, the school district is Klein school district, and the county is Harris County. Each taxing authority sends out its own property tax bill. Receiving three separate bills instead of one combined property tax bill makes me feel like my property taxes are a just a wee bit smaller.
So far I have received my 2008 property tax bill from MUD #104 and the Klein school district. The Harris County property tax bill has not found its way to my mailbox yet.
Since I was an Accountant before I was ever a Realtor, I am a stickler for the details. So when my Spring Texas property tax bills arrive, I carefully review each bill for the following:
- Does the taxable amount/appraised value equal the amount the HCAD (Harris County Appraisal District) assessor and I agreed was the taxable value of my home.
- Do the bills reflect the homestead exemption that I qualified for and applied for? My MUD does not offer a homestead exemption. But the Klein school district offers a homestead exemption of $15,000 off the assessed value. The value of the homestead exemption for Klein school district increased to $25,000 on Nov. 3, 2015 with the passing of State Proposition 1. While Harris County offers a homestead exemption of 20% off the assessed value of my home.
- What is the tax rate for the year? Did it go up or down? How is it trending? The Klein School District tax rate went up $0.05 per $100 of assessed value for 2008. I was expecting the increase because the Klein school distrct bond was passed. Over the last five years the rate went down approximately 23% which was due to the school property tax reform. The MUD #104 tax decreased by $0.07 per $100 of assessed value. Over the last five years the rate has decreased 21%.
- How will the tax rate increases or decreases affect my escrow balances? Whether you set up an escrow account or not is a matter of personal choice. I personally like the comfort of knowing that each month included in my payment is an estimated amount for my property taxes. Based upon the increases and decreases in my property tax rates and the appraised value of my home, I will not need to set an additional amount aside to cover a shortage in my escrow account.
If you have any questions about Spring Texas property taxes or homestead exemptions, give me a call at 281.804.8626. I am more than happy to answer your questions because I know our Spring Texas real estate taxes are frequently misunderstood.
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