Attorney General Opinions

AG-0148 - No Retroactive Application of Homestead Absence Time Limits

Section 11.13 was amended in the last legislative session to impose specific time restrictions for temporary absences from a homestead before the homestead exemption is lost. Essentially, a homeowner may be absent for up to two years from the homestead if they intend to return to the home. If the homeowner is absent due to military service or because he or she is in a nursing facility, then there is no time limitation.

Prior law imposed no specific time limits on a person's temporary absence from a homestead. With the change in law, at least one appraisal district wanted to apply the restrictions to the 2003 tax year. The attorney general stated that this would result in a retroactive application of the statute, and no such retroactive application was allowed.

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AG-0139 - Dedicated Roads Not Exempt Until Government Accepts

Roads and streets dedicated by a developer to a governmental unit remain taxable to the developer until the governmental units actually accepts the dedication.

Until the dedicated streets are accepted by the governmental unit, the streets are not publicly owned. Therefore, the streets do not qualify for the tax exemption for public property used for a public purpose.

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Upcoming deadlines

March 31
Second of four installments due for senior or disabled homestead taxpayers

April 15
Deadline to file business personal property rendition forms

April 30
Deadline to file exemption and special valuation (such as agricultural) applications