- Monday, January 31 is the hard deadline to pay your 2021 property taxes.
- If you do not pay them by January 31, you will be subject to a penalty equal to six percent of the total tax bill.
- Once you pay your 2021 taxes, the next property tax deadline is not until May 15 when your Notice of Appeal is due.
Do you know what a Texan’s favorite past-time is? Complaining about property taxes. You cannot talk to a Texan about their house, real estate, changes to the city … almost anything without property taxes coming up. And, as real estate investors, developers, etc. – you know that nothing can derail a great investment quicker than runaway property taxes.
Well believe it or not, we are already at the first property tax deadline of 2022. So it’s time to start complaining about property taxes all over again. And to make sure you do not miss this week’s important deadline, read more below.
When are 2021 Property Taxes Due?
Enough with the suspense, eh? Most of you reading probably already know what the deadline is anyway. Â But in Texas, property taxes payments are due on January 31 every year. So 2021 taxes are due next Monday, January 31.
Obviously that means that we pay our taxes in arrears. Last summer when someone (hopefully Bukowski Law Firm) protested your property taxes, what they were really doing is protesting the appraised values set by the local appraisal districts.
Once all of the appraised values are set throughout the county, the county taxing authorities release the tax rates. This was done last fall. Then the appraised value multiplied by the different tax rates sets the total amount of property taxes owed. And that total amount is what is due next Monday.
Two important points to remember –
- First, if you have a mortgage, there is a good chance that your lender has escrowed the amount of your property taxes. Thus, you have been paying your property taxes a little each month. And the lender either has already paid your annual bill or will do so by next Monday.
- Second, if you miss the January 31 deadline, you will be subject to an immediate six percent penalty on the total amount of the tax bill. You will also then be charged a one percent interest rate for each month you are late. I am sure you can see how quickly that could add up.
So the bottom line is you need to make sure that you or your lender is paying your tax bill by next Monday.
What are the Other Important Dates on the Texas Property Tax Calendar?
Assuming you do not have an active lawsuit against the appraisal district, once you pay your property tax bill, we can close the door on 2021 and look forward to 2022.
But before you take too much of a deep breath, know that the 2022 calendar is right around the corner. The first step is your local appraisal district will send out the Notice of Appraised Value for your property. This usually happens in March or early April but (almost) always by April 15.
You then have until May 15 to file your protest of the appraised value.* This is an extremely strict deadline. You absolutely do not want to miss it and file your Notice of Appeal late. If you do, the odds are you will not be able to protest your property taxes that year.
But do not worry about that yet. I’m sure we will write about that deadline again come May.
*In the rare circumstance where the appraisal district does not get the Notice of Appraised Value to you by April 15, then you may have later than May 15 to file your Notice of Appeal.
