Hi Alshesa. This may be a case of Supplemental Taxes.

A law was enacted to require the assessor to appraise property on the date a change in ownership occurs or new construction is completed. Taxes are computed from the 1st of the month following the change to the end of the fiscal year. In most cases, this assessment results in one or possibly two supplemental tax bills being sent to the property owner in addition to the regular secured property tax bill that is mailed annually.
The Assessor appraises the property to determine the new base year value as of the date of the change of ownership or completion of new construction. The Assessor then calculates the difference between the new base year value and the existing roll value. The result is the new Supplemental Assessment. The Assessor will send you a "NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND IMPENDING TAX BILL".

This reassessment usually results in an increase in property value, in which case your supplemental taxes will be calculated by the Auditor-Controller based on the change in value, and one or possibly two supplemental tax bills will be created and mailed to you by the Tax Collector. However, in some instances the reassessment results in a reduction in value, in which case a refund will be prepared by the Auditor-Controller and mailed to you. A reduction in value WILL NOT reduce the amount due on the annual tax bill. The annual tax bill must be paid in the amount originally billed.

Hope this helps.

-Nato Ruiz

You will have to look at the HUD and see. You should contact the title where you closed. Usually in Oct. the title co takes care of paying the taxes on behalf of you and the builder. If not then on the HUD there should be a credit from the builder to the buyer. Then it is the buyers responsiblity to pay the taxes for the whole year. I would have to see the HUD to be sure. You should contact your agent for a better response.

Yes....the bill comes to the owner in December normally and is payable Jan 31 before it becomes late. Normally the builder would give the buyer a credit when they close for the time they owned the lot/home and then your friend is responsible for the taxes when they get the bill. You can verify this on the closing statement they got from the title company.

Perhaps it is correct if the taxes are paid in arrears in Texas like they are in Florida. However, if they are paid after the year, then the seller should also have pre-paid taxes on a pro-rated ration for the half year they owned the property. If they did not pay, you may or may not be able to collect the portion that was rightfully their responsibility. Check with your local taxing authority because it is also possible that there is an error on the bill.