AUSTIN, Texas — “Oh, this is cool. This is something I built by hand for my wife,” Richard Moore said as he walked to a nearby chicken coop.
Moore said he financed his Travis County property in the early 1990s.
“I made these little spring-loaded things, and I carved a little round thing out of the square peg,” Moore said.
Building projects and training animals, Moore said he and his wife, Virginia, use creativity to make ends meet.
“I went over and leaned on it [the chicken coop] and it lifted up. So I said, ‘Hey, look at there!’" Moore said. “Made her the ultimate chicken wheelbarrow.”
Moore reached out to the KVUE Defenders because he said his property tax payment was never posted to his account.
With proof of money sent, the couple still owed the County the tax amount plus fines totaling more than $800.
“And that frustrates me, too, because I'd much rather be creative than have to deal with red tape wrapped around my neck,” Moore said.
Moore and his wife showed the KVUE Defenders receipts for seven money orders they sent the Travis County tax office. Seven, because of money order amount limits.
He said three were posted to his account, but the other four were not – leaving him with $866 in penalties and interest.
“It's been tough. I feel violated. I feel stole from. I've always done the right thing. I felt like nothing,” Moore said.
Texas law requires the county tax assessor-collector to add a 7% penalty and interest charge to all unpaid property tax accounts starting Feb. 1. The combined charges go up to 9% on March 1, and 2% every month afterwards.
Property owners in other counties, like Williamson County and Hays County, have an additional fee added in July to cover attorney costs.
“Unfortunately, that's state law,” said Bruce Elfant, the Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector.
Elfant wouldn’t talk specifically about Richard and Virginia Moore’s property tax debt but agreed to speak about the process.
“If we can catch it early and get them on a payment plan that's fairly aggressive, they're [Travis County property owners] not going to be hit by as much penalty and interest,” Elfant said.
The Defenders asked Elfant why someone who has proof they paid would not be able to get their penalties waived. As it turns out, it may be against the law.
Elfant said it depends on if and when someone disputes that their tax bill is delinquent.
“If we determine that we made an error and we send out a new property tax bill, the property owner has 21 days to pay that,” Elfant said.
Texas property tax code shows a person has 21 days since they know or should have known about the delinquent notice to prove they’ve paid on time. In those 21 days, someone could have the penalty and interest waived even if they never saw the delinquent notice.
“It is not often, but it does happen. And, you know, I probably field a few dozen calls after we sent out the delinquent notices. Most of them had postmark issues,” Elfant said.
Travis County tax records show outstanding property tax debts totaled more than $116 million this year. Elfant said the tax office mailed most of the delinquent notices at the end of February through mid-March.
He encourages property owners to submit payment through the office's website using an electronic check. That way a property owner will receive a receipt immediately. The County does not mail property tax receipts unless a property owner requests it.
Moore said he never received the delinquent notice and didn’t know most of the money orders he sent were never cashed. He said he found out in June, when a private company offered financing.
By then, it was well beyond the 21-day deadline to dispute the bill.
“It's very frustrating because it's just the principle of the thing,” Moore said. “Forty years, we've paid our taxes on time. Have a clean record for 40 years until this year.”
Richard and Virginia Moore spent $100 to get their uncashed money orders reissued. They paid their bill with penalty and interest and hope others will learn from their experience.
Not all county tax offices collect property taxes. Instead, the county appraisal district may collect either some or all local property taxes.
Here is how to find information from your county tax office online: