Commissioner Lesley Briones and the Harris Central Appraisal District are reminding property owners who have experienced physical damage to their property during the recent windstorms to apply for a temporary disaster exemption, the commissioner’s office said in a June 9 press release.

“State law lets the individual owner apply for the temporary disaster exemption for physical damage to improvements (structures) on their property, and to business personal property used for the production of income,” said Roland Altinger, chief appraiser. “While damage to a house or other structure from a falling tree is eligible for exemption under this particular law, damage that occurred only to trees or shrubbery caused by the disaster isn’t eligible.”

The Texas Tax Code allows a qualified property that is at least 15 percent damaged by a disaster in a governor-declared disaster area to receive a temporary exemption of a portion of the appraised value of the property. Qualified property includes real property such as homes and buildings, certain manufactured homes and tangible personal property used for the production of income for a business.

The property owner must apply for the temporary exemption no later than September 3, 2024.

The application form may be found online at hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/forms/2021/Temporary_Exemption_Property_Damaged_by_DisasterForm_50312.pdf The form should be mailed to the address in the top left of the form, which is Harris Central Appraisal District, Information and Assistance Division, P.O. Box 922012, Houston, Texas 77292-2012. For further information, contact the HCAD’s information center at 713.957.780