Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Time for New Home Owners to File for Homestead Exemption

Your Homestead Exemption Forms are due now!
Link to Burnet County Forms: http://www.burnet-cad.org/forms.htm
Link to Llano County Forms: http://www.llanocad.com/index.pl?iid=2171
For any qualified new owner, it's time to file for your Homestead Exemption!
Rigorous disclosure standards are set for property owners who apply for any one of several kinds of homestead exemptions. Applicants must provide a copy of their Texas driver’s license or Texas state-issued identification card and a copy of their vehicle registration receipt with their application for a homestead exemption. The addresses on each of the documents must be the same as the address for which the homestead exemption is sought.
Anyone not owning a vehicle is required to submit a notarized affidavit certifying that fact and must be able to provide a copy of a current bill received from a utility company. The address on the utility bill must be the same as the address on the application for a homestead exemption. This was done to close loopholes that allowed some citizens to obtain homestead exemptions on more than one property.
Property owners can qualify for a residential property homestead several ways, include the following:
  • General residential exemption
  • Over-65 exemption
  • Disability exemption
  • 100% disabled veterans exemption
  • Extension of exemption for a surviving spouse
  • Exemption for manufactured (mobile) home
Each of the program
s cited above have additional requirements for qualification. However, the common standard is that all such applications must provide the additional documentation as noted before regarding driver’s license, Texas identification card, motor vehicle registration, and utility bill receipt.
For property owners seeking homestead exemption status on a manufactured home, the application must also provide the following documentation:
  • Statement of ownership and location issued by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
  • A copy of the purchase contract or payment receipt that the applicant is the purchaser of the manufactured home, OR, a sworn affidavit that:
A. The applicant is the owner of the manufactured home
B. The seller of the manufactured home did not provide the applicant with a purchase contract, and
C. The applicant could not locate the seller after making a good faith effort.

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