Vicente Gonzalez defied property tax law by claiming 2 homestead exemptions

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U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, and his spouse ran afoul of property tax law for a minimum of eight years as every claimed homestead exemptions on properties they individually owned.

They mounted the problem final 12 months, when his spouse, Lorena Saenz Gonzalez, eliminated the homestead exemption on her property. But from 2014 to 2021, Hidalgo County information present that Vicente Gonzalez was claiming a homestead exemption on a property in McAllen valued this 12 months at $527,054, whereas his spouse was additionally claiming one on one other property within the metropolis valued this 12 months at $287,131. That saved them a minimum of $2,300 in property taxes on the second property, in keeping with a Texas Tribune evaluation.

In Texas, married {couples} typically can declare just one such exemption, which is supposed to supply some tax reduction on properties thought of “principal residences.” Homestead exemptions can not sometimes be claimed on industrial properties, second houses or earnings properties.

Gonzalez stated the second property is one which his spouse owned previous to their marriage in 2008 and that she forgot to take away the homestead exemption on it till final 12 months.

”It was a easy oversight that was voluntarily corrected as quickly as she came upon,” Gonzalez stated in an announcement.

After the Tribune inquired, Gonzalez spokesperson James Rivera stated the congressman has spoken with the county appraiser’s workplace and intends to pay any again taxes which can be owed.

Gonzalez’ spouse eliminated the homestead exemption from her property in October 2021, a county appraiser stated.

“We are currently reviewing this case further and we will be doing what is statutorily required within the law,” Jorge Gonzalez, the assistant chief appraiser for Hidalgo County Appraisal District, stated in an e mail.

Gonzalez is going through his best race but in November as he seeks one other time period within the nationally focused thirty fourth District, the place U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Los Indios, is the incumbent.

A homestead exemption shields a portion of a property’s appraised worth from being taxed.

All Texas owners take pleasure in a homestead exemption on their main residence that may be utilized towards their college property tax burden — which generally makes up the most important a part of a neighborhood property tax invoice. This 12 months, that homestead exemption was set at $40,000, after voters in May accepted a constitutional modification elevating the quantity. Previously, the exemption was $25,000 for college property taxes courting again to 2015. Before that, it was $15,000.

Some Texans, like those that are aged or disabled, are eligible for extra homestead exemptions.

The application for a homestead exemption in Hidalgo County tells candidates they’re eligible provided that “you and your spouse do not claim a residence homestead exemption on any other property.” The software warns that anybody who makes a false assertion on the appliance “could be found guilty of a Class A misdemeanor or a state jail felony.”

Generally, taxpayers would not have to reapply for a homestead exemption after they initially obtain it. But they have to let the appraisal district know in the event that they transfer or if their eligibility modifications.

Gonzalez is a lawyer along with his personal agency, whereas his spouse is a former trainer and faculty administrator in McAllen and Edinburg.

Gonzalez, who at present represents the fifteenth Congressional District, is in a hotly contested battle for reelection after redistricting prompted him to hunt reelection within the neighboring thirty fourth District. Flores grew to become the incumbent there earlier this summer season after flipping the seat in a particular election that attracted nationwide consideration, most notably from Republicans seeking to make new inroads in South Texas.

The redrawn model of the thirty fourth District that’s on the November poll is extra favorable to Democrats than it was within the particular election, however the GOP hopes Flores can beat the percentages.

Property-tax consultants agreed that the Gonzalezes’ state of affairs was problematic, however not extraordinary.

“Typically one family, one homestead,” stated Dale Craymer, president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, talking typically in regards to the law.

“Married couples may only claim one homestead exemption, which must be on their principal residence,” stated James Quintero of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative suppose tank primarily based in Austin. “To do otherwise likely violates the spirit of the law, if not the letter of the law.”

Craymer stated the law is “very difficult to enforce,” noting appraisal is finished on the native degree in Texas’ 254 counties and “there’s no sort of central composite database where appraisers can double check.”

Homestead exemptions have tripped up Texas politicians earlier than. In 2009, then-Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, stated he would repay $183 in property taxes after media reported that he acquired a homestead exemption on a house close to Texas A&M University the place his daughter was dwelling whereas attending the college.

The situation has additionally cropped up up to now for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a vocal GOP crusader towards property taxes. When he was a radio host in 2005, the Houston Chronicle reported he needed to pay $595 in again taxes after he acquired homestead breaks on two separate properties within the metropolis’s suburbs.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University, Texas Public Policy Foundation and Texas Taxpayers and Research Association have been monetary supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news group that’s funded partially by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Financial supporters play no function within the Tribune’s journalism. Find a whole list of them here.

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