Sec. 403.302. DETERMINATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPERTY VALUES. (a) The comptroller shall conduct a study using comparable sales and generally accepted auditing and sampling techniques to determine the total taxable value of all property in each school district. The study shall determine the taxable value of all property and of each category of property in the district and the productivity value of all land that qualifies for appraisal on the basis of its productive capacity and for which the owner has applied for and received a productivity appraisal. The comptroller shall make appropriate adjustments in the study to account for actions taken under Chapter 49, Education Code.

(a-1) The comptroller shall conduct a study:

(1) at least every two years in each school district for which the most recent study resulted in a determination by the comptroller that the school district's local value was valid; and

(2) each year in a school district for which the most recent study resulted in a determination by the comptroller that the school district's local value was not valid.

(a-2) If in any year the comptroller does not conduct a study, the school district's local value for that year is considered to be valid.

(b) In conducting the study, the comptroller shall determine the taxable value of property in each school district:

(1) using, if appropriate, samples selected through generally accepted sampling techniques;

(2) according to generally accepted standard valuation, statistical compilation, and analysis techniques;

(3) ensuring that different levels of appraisal on sold and unsold property do not adversely affect the accuracy of the study; and

(4) ensuring that different levels of appraisal resulting from protests determined under Section 41.43, Tax Code, are appropriately adjusted in the study.

(c) If after conducting the study the comptroller determines that the local value for a school district is valid, the local value is presumed to represent taxable value for the school district. In the absence of that presumption, taxable value for a school district is the state value for the school district determined by the comptroller under Subsections (a) and (b) unless the local value exceeds the state value, in which case the taxable value for the school district is the district's local value. In determining whether the local value for a school district is valid, the comptroller shall use a margin of error that does not exceed five percent unless the comptroller determines that the size of the sample of properties necessary to make the determination makes the use of such a margin of error not feasible, in which case the comptroller may use a larger margin of error.

(c-1) This subsection applies only to a school district whose central administrative office is located in a county with a population of 10,000 or less and a total area of more than 6,000 square miles. If after conducting the study for a tax year the comptroller determines that the local value for a school district is not valid, the comptroller shall adjust the taxable value determined under Subsections (a) and (b) as follows:

(1) for each category of property sampled and tested by the comptroller in the school district, the comptroller shall use the weighted mean appraisal ratio determined by the study, unless the ratio is more than four percentage points lower than the weighted mean appraisal ratio determined by the comptroller for that category of property in the immediately preceding study, in which case the comptroller shall use the weighted mean appraisal ratio determined in the immediately preceding study minus four percentage points;

(2) the comptroller shall use the category weighted mean appraisal ratios as adjusted under Subdivision (1) to establish a value estimate for each category of property sampled and tested by the comptroller in the school district; and

(3) the value estimates established under Subdivision (2), together with the local tax roll value for any categories not sampled and tested by the comptroller, less total deductions determined by the comptroller, determine the taxable value for the school district.

Text of subsection effective until January 01, 2027

(d) For the purposes of this section, "taxable value" means the market value of all taxable property less:

(1) the total dollar amount of any residence homestead exemptions lawfully granted under Section 11.13(b) or (c), Tax Code, in the year that is the subject of the study for each school district;

(2) one-half of the total dollar amount of any residence homestead exemptions granted under Section 11.13(n), Tax Code, in the year that is the subject of the study for each school district;

(3) the total dollar amount of any exemptions granted before May 31, 1993, within a reinvestment zone under agreements authorized by Chapter 312, Tax Code;

(4) subject to Subsection (e), the total dollar amount of any captured appraised value of property that:

(A) is within a reinvestment zone created on or before May 31, 1999, or is proposed to be included within the boundaries of a reinvestment zone as the boundaries of the zone and the proposed portion of tax increment paid into the tax increment fund by a school district are described in a written notification provided by the municipality or the board of directors of the zone to the governing bodies of the other taxing units in the manner provided by former Section 311.003(e), Tax Code, before May 31, 1999, and within the boundaries of the zone as those boundaries existed on September 1, 1999, including subsequent improvements to the property regardless of when made;

(B) generates taxes paid into a tax increment fund created under Chapter 311, Tax Code, under a reinvestment zone financing plan approved under Section 311.011(d), Tax Code, on or before September 1, 1999; and

(C) is eligible for tax increment financing under Chapter 311, Tax Code;

(5) the total dollar amount of any captured appraised value of property that:

(A) is within a reinvestment zone:

(i) created on or before December 31, 2008, by a municipality with a population of less than 18,000; and

(ii) the project plan for which includes the alteration, remodeling, repair, or reconstruction of a structure that is included on the National Register of Historic Places and requires that a portion of the tax increment of the zone be used for the improvement or construction of related facilities or for affordable housing;

(B) generates school district taxes that are paid into a tax increment fund created under Chapter 311, Tax Code; and

(C) is eligible for tax increment financing under Chapter 311, Tax Code;

(6) the total dollar amount of any exemptions granted under Section 11.251 or 11.253, Tax Code;

(7) the difference between the comptroller's estimate of the market value and the productivity value of land that qualifies for appraisal on the basis of its productive capacity, except that the productivity value estimated by the comptroller may not exceed the fair market value of the land;

(8) the portion of the appraised value of residence homesteads of individuals who receive a tax limitation under Section 11.26, Tax Code, on which school district taxes are not imposed in the year that is the subject of the study, calculated as if the residence homesteads were appraised at the full value required by law;

(9) a portion of the market value of property not otherwise fully taxable by the district at market value because of action required by statute or the constitution of this state, other than Section 11.311, Tax Code, that, if the tax rate adopted by the district is applied to it, produces an amount equal to the difference between the tax that the district would have imposed on the property if the property were fully taxable at market value and the tax that the district is actually authorized to impose on the property, if this subsection does not otherwise require that portion to be deducted;

(10) the market value of all tangible personal property, other than manufactured homes, owned by a family or individual and not held or used for the production of income;

(11) the appraised value of property the collection of delinquent taxes on which is deferred under Section 33.06, Tax Code;

(12) the portion of the appraised value of property the collection of delinquent taxes on which is deferred under Section 33.065, Tax Code;

(13) the amount by which the market value of property to which Section 23.23 or 23.231, Tax Code, applies exceeds the appraised value of that property as calculated under Section 23.23 or 23.231, Tax Code, as applicable; and

(14) the total dollar amount of any exemptions granted under Section 11.35, Tax Code.

Text of subsection effective on January 01, 2027