Homestead Exemptions

Homestead Exemptions Rife With Abuse

Honor system applications and inadequate scrutiny
for hundreds of homeowners not billed for full taxes

Investigative Report by Ken Martin
Part 1 of a series
Data Research by Brandon Roberts
© The Austin Bulldog 2013
Posted Friday, December 20, 20135:48am

Pablo Ornelas Jr. is being hit this month with a sudden increase in property taxes totaling more than $18,000 that he must pay by January 31 or face stiff penalties and steep interest charges.

Still, it’s hard to complain when he enjoyed an improper tax break for 15 years on one of the homes he owns.

For Ornelas, it’s actually good news that the law restricts the collection of back taxes to just five of those 15 years (2008-2012).

While that adds up to a lot of money, he will not have to repay the additional $21,000 in taxes he was under-billed for in tax years 1998 through 2007, according to calculations provided by Renea Deckard, associate deputy for collections in the Travis County Tax Office.

The bottom line is that a single oversight by the Appraisal District has so far cost taxing entities some $39,000 in revenue that was due on a single house. As stated above, Ornelas is being billed for only $18,000 (46 percent) of that amount.

If not for this investigation—which triggered the Appraisal District’s action to initiate collection of back taxes from Ornelas, and upped the taxes for 2013 as well—this hemorrhage would have continued for the foreseeable future.

Not an isolated case