Real Property Tax Management

When you utilize Adams & Polunsky's property tax services, you will quickly realize how it is like having an in-house property tax department. You will be able to rely on our professionalism and history of success. From the outset, we will make sure that we clearly understand your expectations and tailor our services to meet your needs.

We provide a turn-key property tax management service that can include:

Personal on-site inspection of your property, noting any impairment on the property
Review of appraisal district methods to be sure you are receiving maximum depreciation advantages
Evaluation of your property for economic, physical and functional obsolescence that effect value
Reviewing assessments of comparable properties to evaluate the taxing authority has used equal and fair standards
Preparation of needed real property renditions and appeals according to the local requirements.
Analysis of your property's financial records and any recent appraisals.
Recommendations for the purpose of presenting a case to the taxing authorities based upon accepted appraisal techniques (i.e., income, market or cost approaches to value).
Conducting active and aggressive negotiations of your property's value with the local taxing authority at an informal administrative hearing.
Appeal unfair valuations and conduct a professional presentation to the appraisal review authorities at a formal administrative hearing.
Respond to all assessor inquiries, requests for information or other demands.
Preparing annual property tax summary reports, to include a comparison of prior and current years' assessed valuations, tax rates, estimated taxes for the current year, a summary of tax savings and current taxes due.

Personal Property Tax Management

Texas law requires that all business personal property be timely rendered to the appropriate appraisal district by the owner each year. While many people are familiar with IRS rules for depreciating fixed assets for income tax purposes, few are aware of the rules and allowances for depreciation of business personal property for property tax purposes. Adams & Polunsky maintains a team of specialists who focus on business personal property and ensure that you are paying no more than your fair share of property taxes on that property.

Our business personal property services include:

Ensuring compliance with Texas state law by timely rendering business personal property values.
Careful evaluation of your fixed asset register to ensure that value is only rendered for business personal property that is required to be rendered.
Applying the correct allowable depreciation to each piece of business personal property.
Defending the rendered value through the administrative appeal process, if necessary.

Agricultural and Wildlife Designations

Texas law requires property to be taxed at full market value with only a few exceptions. Adams & Polunsky has played a vital role in assisting our clients to qualify for and maintain exemptions for two of those designations:

Agricultural Property – property currently used for qualifying agricultural operations, and having a history of 5 or more years of continuous qualifying agricultural operation.
Wildlife Property – property currently used for wildlife operation, and having a history of 5 or more years of continuous qualifying agricultural operation or wildlife operation.

Adams & Polunsky will file the required documents and inspect your current operation to ensure you are in compliance with the legal requirements for claiming one of these designations. We also maintain the expertise to write required wildlife management plans, as well as implement those plans.

Litigation Support

Adams & Polunsky provides a vital ongoing role in a property tax appeal that has completed its administrative appeal options and continues into litigation.

Some of our litigation support services include:

Evaluate the facts supporting a claim for a reduced taxable value to determine if they are strong enough to justify further appeal in litigation.
Recommending qualified and experienced attorneys for this niche area of legal practice.
Continue to work with the appropriate appraisal district to negotiate a potential property value agreement.
Consulting with you throughout the process to evaluate and provide advise on potential property value agreements.
Advise on potential expert witnesses, should one need to be designated.

Other Services

In addition to those services we provide to ensure you pay no more than your fair share of property taxes, we also provide the following services:

Conducting administrative activities such as tax proration, tax projections, tax estimates, current tax status, back tax information or research upon request, including agricultural rollback tax estimates and verification.
Conducting reviews of the tax value of your potential acquisition as part of your normal due diligence process.
Consulting in the creation of enterprise zones, re-investment zones, abatement requests, and management of the above.

For over 20 years, owners of commercial real estate and business personal property have relied on Adams & Polunsky Ad Valorem Tax Advisors to reduce their property tax values by aggressively protesting them at appeal hearings throughout Texas. In addition, our clients rely on us to secure appropriate property tax exemptions, property tax abatements, and to create tax increment financing structures. Our intimate knowledge of both the assessment process and the individual appraisal districts, combined with our solid understanding of local real estate fundamentals, is what has created our legacy success.