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The Special Exemption screen can be used to add, change, or remove any exemption. VCH (veteran charitable exemptions) are applied only to homesite values.

User Entitlements

The following user entitlements must be set for each user who needs to view, add or change exemptions on the Account Master screen. They are part of the Make Value and Levy Account Master Changes and View Only Major Screens tasks.

Users having any job can view this screen. Changes can be made with the CAD Changes Save and Calc AG Rollback job.  See Tasks, Entitlements, and Jobs for more information.

ACT8002: Allow users to view the Account Master screens.

PRIOR_YEAR_BUILD: Allow users to click the Prior Year button.

ACCTM_SAVE_AND_CALC_BUTTON: Allow users to click the Save and Calculate button.

ACCTM_CHNG_DELQ_DATE_BUTTON: Allow users to click the Change Delinquency Date button and make changes to the dates.

ACCTM_ACCOUNT_DETAIL_UPDATE: Make changes on the Account Master Account Detail screen.

ACCTM_OWNER_DETAIL_UPDATE: Allow users to change and insert information on the Owner Detail tab. This includes the owner and exemption flags (HOM, O65, DRH, VET)  on the Summary tab.

ACCTM_JURISDICTIONS_UPDATE: Allow users to change and insert information on the Jurisdictions tab. This includes the jurisdiction fields on the Summary tab.

ACCTM_EXEMPTIONS_UPDATE: Allow users to change and insert information on the Special Exemptions tab. Includes the fields on the Summary tab as well.

Client Preferences

ROUND_VALUE_FACTOR: If you want exemption values rounded to the nearest $5.00 or $10.00, set this to 5 or 10.  If you do not want any rounding, set it to 1. This client preference is also used for taxable value amounts.

ADJUSTMENT_REFUND_TU,  ESCROW_DA_TU: to use refund money to pay off levy increases caused by adjustments, enter the escrow or refund tax units  (separated by comma) from which funds will be taken.

ADJ_REFUND_STATUS: To have refunds created by levy adjustments placed on hold automatically, set to OH. On hold refunds can be transferred to pay levy due as a results of an another adjustment.  To not have these refunds set on hold, it is best to expire the client preference.

ADJREF_OH_NAMECHANGE_EXISTS, ADJREF_OH_REF_EXISTS_SAMEYEAR, ADJREF_OH_REF_LARGERTHAN_1PAY, ADJREF_OH_REF_FOR_MULTIPAY: Set to Y to put adjustment refunds on hold (OH) at the time of the adjustment. To have these preferences take effect, ADJ_REFUND_STATUS must be expired.

CREATE_ADJUSTMENT_RECORDS: If this is set to N at the time an adjustment was created, any refunds generated by the adjustment will be put in the normal tax units, not the 8000 series of refund units.

ACT8006_SHOW_VETERAN_NULL: Enter Y to leave the V in HOVDFAER blank if the account has no Veteran exemption; enter N to show a 0.

CALCULATE_LEVY_YEAR:  If this is set to a prior year, you cannot recalculate levy for the current or future year. You can make the changes on the Account Master screens, but the Save and Calculate button will be disabled. You can use the Save (F10) button but this will not recalculate the levy.

MOVE_ADJUSTMENT_TO_OWNER: Set to Y to allow adjustment refunds to be assigned to the owner even if an alternate payer made the original payment. Set to N to keep the refund recipient and the payer the same.  

SMOOTH_DATES: Set to Y to extend due date for all units even if only one unit had a change that required it; set to N to change the due date on only the single unit. This is valid starting with the 2005 tax year.

REFUND_PI_SWITCH: Set to Y to allow penalty & interest to be refunded; set to N to allow just levy to be refunded.

FRZ_ADJ_REFUND_TU: Enter the tax unit to use to store adjustment refunds on accounts with frozen levy.  This can be the same unit as used for ADJUSTMENT_REFUND_TU.

REVISION_CODE_REQUIRED: Set to Y to require the Revision Code field to be filled in on the Property Value tab before you press Save and Calculate Levy; set to N to not require this.  Whatever is entered in this field is also put on the Revision field of the Receivable screen.

DEPCTL_OPERATOR: Enter the name to be put on deposit control records for RF deposits.  Expire this preference to use the user's login name.

USE_APPORT: Set to Y to force users to use the Jurisdiction screen in the Account Master to make all value changes. The default setting is N, which allows users to make changes in the Property Value or Jurisdiction screens.

EXCLUSION_CODES: Enter the exemption codes that you want to display in the Exclusion column of the Receivable screen. The values for these exclusions will not be included in the appraised values of properties. The default is 'OSP,CAP'.

SHOW_QUAL_YR_ON_SPEC_EXEM_TAB: Set to Y to show the Qualify Year on the Special Exemption tab. Set to N (the default) to not show this column.

If an account has been written off due to a legal situation such as a judgment or bankruptcy, you will get a warning message if you try to make a levy change on the Account Master screen.

If an account had any partially paid rendition penalty prior to running batch menu no. 10993, Convert Rendition Penalty to Individual Units, and a change needs to be made on Account Master that affects levy, a popup message will appear asking that you contact ACT for assistance.

You should check the current account balance for any account before you make changes to its exemptions.

VCH (veteran charitable) exemptions are calculated on homesite values only. MSS (surviving spouse active duty) exemptions are 100% exemptions, similar to VTX exemptions.

DSTR (local disaster) exemptions are pro-rated and last for only a single tax year. Eligible accounts must be in a government-declared disaster area and are given one of four levels depending on the amount of damage incurred. These levels are 15%, 30%, 60%, or 100% of the value. DSTS exemptions are for state disasters.

Note that at Harris County, appraised value is calculated as market value minus CAP exclusion minus special (SPL) or nominal (NOM) exemptions. At other offices, special and nominal exemptions are not part of the appraised value but are treated as normal exemptions.

1. From the Main Menu, click the Account Status () button or select Inquiry, then Account Status, or click the Go To drop-down list and select Account Status.  The Account Status screen will appear.
2. If the account has carried over from a previous screen, the screen will fill with data.  
   
   If the Account Number field is blank, enter the account number, press F8, then go to the next section.
   
   If you need to enter a different account number, press F7, key in the new account number, press F8, then go to the next section.

Note: If you don't know your account number, see Locating an Account.

3. On the Account Status screen, check the current exemptions and levy.
4. From the Go To list, select Account Master.  The Account Master Summary screen will appear.
5. If you need to view the summary of an account for a prior year, use the scroll bar on the right side of the screen. A popup will appear just before you get to the last year available if additional years have been archived (moved to a different part of the database to allow faster querying in the main database).
6. If you want to view a year that is not available on the screen, follow the steps below:

1. Click Prior Year(s).  
2. Click Prior Year Rebuild
3. Click Prior Year(s)
4. Using the drop-down list, select the year to view.  The list contains only those years that have been archived. If you want to see another year, key in that year in the year field.
5. Click OK. The Account Master Summary screen will display.

WARNING: If you want to view data for a paid account in a prior year and your tax office has had its paid account data loaded into ACT's archive tables, the property values and jurisdictions for the rebuilt year will be inserted. Please check them for accuracy. Enter any exemptions into either the Account Master Summary or Special Exemptions tabs.  Remember to return to the Account Master Summary screen and press F10 (Save).

For unpaid prior year accounts and paid accounts that haven't been put into the archive tables, zeroes will show in the value fields for the year you rebuild if the client preference POPULATE_EQUAL_VALUES is set to N.  If the preference is set to Y, the property values will be populated with data from the Receivable and Property Value screens.   If no values exist for that year in those screens, $0.00 values will be inserted. Please check the values for accuracy.  Remember to enter any exemptions, then press F10 (Save).  

A Receivable is not created unless it existed in the archive tables or in the regular production tables before doing this Prior Year rebuild.

7. Click the Special Exemption tab.  The Special Exemption screen will appear.

Note:  If you want to overwrite ACT's standard exemption amounts, enter an 'X' in the Homestead, Over 65, Disabled, and/or Exempt boxes, then click the Summary tab.

8. In the Year field, enter the year for which you are making exemption changes.

9. Click the Star button () next to the Tax Unit field, select the tax unit in the Tax Units Available window, then click OK.
10. Click the Star button () next to the Exemption Code field, select the correct exemption code in the Special Exemptions window, then click OK.
11. Click the Star button () next to the Code Type field, select User in the Type Codes List window, then click OK.

Note:  "System" means that the default ACT amounts will be used to calculate Homestead, Over 65, Disabled, Veteran, and Exempt exemptions. "User" means that the values you enter will be used to calculate exemptions.

12. In the Exemption Amount field, enter the value provided by the Appraisal District. (The Allocation Factor field displays exemption percentages from appraisal district files. For TSG files, the allocation factor is derived by multiplying the undivided interest percentage by the exemption percentages in the apport table--the Account Master Jurisdictions screen.)
13. Click the Star button () next to the Rec Type field, select the correct code in the Record Type window, then click OK.
14. Press Tab.  The Receipt No. will be filled in and the cursor will be in the Begin Date field.
15. Enter the Begin and End Dates for this exemption.  

Note:  There may not be an End Date.  If beginning and ending dates are entered (Ex. if the property owner turns 65 on November 1), then the exemption will be automatically pro-rated according to the dates.

16. To enter another exemption, click in the Tax Unit field to create a new row.

Note:  To copy the first exemption into the current row, click Record on the menu bar, then select Duplicate.

17. Make any changes necessary.  For example, change only the tax unit to add an exemption for that unit.

Note:  To remove an exemption, click somewhere in the line that should be deleted, then press Shift+F6 () .  Blanking out the information in the line will not delete it permanently.

18. When you have added, changed, or deleted all the desired exemptions, click the Summary tab.
19. Click Save and Calculate Levy.
20. Click OK to the confirmation message.

Notes:  The system will recalculate the levy based on the special exemption changes.  

For each year that is affected by the special exemption changes, you will need to click the Save and Calculate Levy button to recalculate the levy.

The system will not allow the exemption value to be more than the taxable value before the exemption was added.

If discounts have been applied to an account that receives an adjustment, the discount amount is adjusted accordingly.  The discount is calculated from the base levy.

For county code 101 (Harris County), the allocation factor defaults to 100% when manually entering an exemption.

21. Return to the Account Status screen to verify that the levy has changed as expected.

Note:  If an exemption change results in an increased levy on a paid account, the delinquency date will change automatically.

If a refund is generated for some jurisdictions as a result of adding an exemption and levy is still due on other jurisdictions, the refund amount will be used to pay off those levies.