

#HARRIS COUNTY CAD HOW TO#
There was no mention in the letters or on HCAD’s website of how to obtain a remote hearing at the time. As of early June, letters from HCAD to property owners said homeowners could accept an iSettle offer or protest a hearing in person.

ISettle is the process where a homeowner can protest their appraisal online and accept a settlement offer without a hearing.īut Houston Public Media confirmed it took HCAD roughly three months into the pandemic to offer the option of a remote hearing. We also encouraged them to use iSettle to be able to resolve their protest." "Even early on, we encouraged them by postings on our website and through social media to consider using iFile to file their protest, rather than using a paper copy or trying to bring something into the appraisal district. "We certainly are encouraging people to do things remotely and use the different options that we have provided," Barnett said. HCAD spokesman Jack Barnett said the district has been doing what it can to make the appraisal process easier during the pandemic. "After I requested a hearing, I got an e-mail of a settlement offer, even though I didn't ask for one, and they lowered what they were originally proposing, and so I accepted their new, lower offer," Tanton said. “At a time when local governments are facing rising costs and shrinking tax bases, new analytics technologies are helping local officials keep tax rates in check by stemming the tax fraud that has cost some communities millions of dollars in lost revenues annually,” said Matthew Donahue, Director, Tax and Regulatory Markets, LexisNexis Risk Solutions.” Our Homestead Exemption Fraud Detection technology serves honest taxpayers by helping local governments identify, locate and collect from those individuals in their jurisdictions who are erroneously, unfairly or illegally claiming false exemptions.”įor more information, please visit this page."This year, it's been easier, because the past two years I actually went to the hearing with HCAD in person," Tanton said.īy the time she requested a hearing this year, COVID-19 had already hit Harris County. The LexisNexis Risk Solutions technology was used to examine Harris County’s homestead exemption filings by combining them with the company’s public records data, identity analytics and advanced linking technology to help investigators detect erroneous and fraudulent filings, collect taxes resulting from these filings, and identify new sources of revenue. Fort Bend County initially recaptured more than $2.3 million in lost revenue due to homestead exemption erroneous and fraudulent filings in 2016, and several other counties saved millions more in tax revenue using the LexisNexis Homestead Exemption Fraud Detection Solution.
#HARRIS COUNTY CAD SERIES#
The Harris County Appraisal District is the latest – and largest – in a series of success stories of Texas Appraisal Districts using the technology to recoup potential lost tax revenue. It is the largest appraisal district in Texas and one of the largest in the U.S., with approximately 1.8 million parcels of property assessed each year with a market value of approximately $575 billion. The Harris County Appraisal District is responsible for discovering and appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes for each property in the district. The technology has been an integral component of Harris County Appraisal District’s ongoing efforts to improve the auditing process and ensure the integrity of its homestead exemption program, which can lower qualifying homeowners’ property taxes. In just the first 18 months of use, the LexisNexis® Homestead Exemption Fraud Detection Solution found $21,076,592 in erroneous homestead exemption filings across Houston and other locales in the county. Homestead exemption fraud detection technology from LexisNexis® Risk Solutions has helped the Harris County Appraisal District in Texas save more than $20 million in tax revenue, returning would-be lost money to the jurisdictions’ tax roll. Fall Board of Directors Meeting & LUCC Symposium.Committees, State Associations & Affiliates.
