Statement - August 2004

Sales Information Sharing to Benefit All

Comptroller's Report

Primarily Charitable Organizations

46th Institute on Property Taxation

Delinquent Penalty and Interest

Attorney General Opinions

Tax Code Section 5.07(c) now requires a county appraisal district (CAD) to maintain property sales information collected by the district as part of its uniform recordkeeping system and requires the CAD to submit the data to the Comptroller’s office annually. The 78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, passed Senate Bill 671, which amended Section 5.07(c), effective June 20, 2003. The first submission date will be October 1, 2004.

The Comptroller’s Property Tax Division (PTD) uses property sales information in conducting the Comptroller’s annual Property Value Study (PVS) for the total property value in school districts across the state. The Comptroller certifies these values to the Texas Education Agency, which uses the information in a series of formulas to set state funding for each school district.

Currently, PTD’s field appraisers collect various sales information on real property from CADs, multiple listing services, real estate professionals, businesses and property owners. Wherever possible, the PVS uses accurate and verified sales information, rather than property appraisals, because sales are considered, in most cases, to better represent market value.

Sales transaction data

Throughout summer and fall 2003, the PTD worked with the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts’ Board of Tax Professional Examiners/PTD Liaison Committee to develop sales information data requirements, submission dates and a submission format. PTD used the group’s proposal to create specifications for a database system to gather and maintain the information.

Once the sales submission system is up and running, all CADs will submit sales data by electronic media twice each year—in June and again in October. The CAD will use the October submission to supplement data it provided in June.

The types of sales transaction information that CADs will submit are listed in the table below.

Sales information CADs will submit to PTD include:

Property’s category code, using the Comptroller’s category codes;

CAD and school district codes;

Parcel or account number;

Parcel address and zip code;

Legal description;

Sale transaction date;

Sale price and whether it was apportioned to separate parcels or accounts, so that the field appraiser can adjust;

Grantee or buyer’s name and address;

Grantor or seller’s name and address;

Deed volume, number and page;

Deed type (general warranty, warranty with vendor’s lien, contract for deed or special warranty);

Map number;

Source of information;

Sales information verification by the CAD to indicate how the sale was verified, including by the local appraiser, owner, seller, real estate agent or other source;

Validity as arm’s length transaction (yes or no);

Confidential information (yes or no);

CAD value on land and improvement(s);

CAD value on any personal property;

Current property characteristics, including square footage of improvements, number of bedrooms, baths, heating and air conditioning, year built, construction class, number of stories, subdivision/neighborhood code and financing;

Property’s characteristics at the time of sale to reflect sale condition;

Land size;

Number of days the property was listed for sale on the open market;

Previous CAD value on land and improvement(s);

Interest rate, number of years financed and down payment; and

Several sales information comment fields to provide any additional data about the property.

Submission procedures

CADs will have several options available to submit the sales and transaction information. Although CD-ROM is preferred, CADs may use any of the following electronic media:

1/4 inch cartridge (1.2 gigabyte maximum),

1/8 inch cartridge 18 track (3480),

8 mm cartridge (5 gigabyte maximum),

4 mm cartridge (5 gigabyte maximum),

CD-ROM or

Diskette.

The Comptroller’s office can accept other media types and will work with the CADs to ensure a successful submission.

The PTD is currently working with the Comptroller’s Information Technology Division (ITD) to develop a system to receive and process the sales information. The Statewide Sales System will be part of the newly rewritten Property Tax System, which the PTD implemented in July 2004. The sales system is scheduled for implementation in the spring of 2005. PTD will use an interim submission process for the October 2004 sales submission.

The first submission deadline is October 1, 2004. For the October submission, each CAD may choose to use the new sales transaction submission format, although it is not required, or CADs can continue to submit sales transaction data as the district has in the past, in either an Excel spreadsheet or a flat file. The CAD may submit the file to either the Comptroller field appraiser assigned to the CAD or directly to the PTD main office.

Starting in June 2005, CADs will be required to submit sales and associated transaction information to the PTD using a standard record format.

The PTD will maintain each year’s sales transaction information in a relational database for five years, with data available to CADs upon request. Sales data that is not confidential or otherwise excluded from release under the Public Information Act will be subject to open records’ rules and regulations.

The initial sales data submission and collection in October 2004 may be used in the 2004 PVS.

More information

The sales submission report format is also available by contacting James Archer, Property Tax Division, at 1-800-252-9121, ext. 5-9808, or by email to james.archer@cpa.state.tx.us.