01
Is the land in agricultural appraisal now, and what happens when the use changes?
An agricultural rollback tax is an extra tax imposed when an owner changes the use of land from agricultural to any other use. It recoups the tax the owner would have paid had the land been taxed at market value. Land that changes use on or after 15 June 2021 carries a three year rollback with no interest.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the current use and the plan for it. Building a house for a personal homestead is excluded from the rollback. Land also does not change use merely because the owner claims it as part of a residence homestead. So a buyer planning pasture and a homesite should hear both of those points.
Red flag
Watch for a seller who treats the rollback as somebody else's bill. Who is liable for it is typically decided between the buyer and the seller. A contract that never raises the question leaves that decision unmade.
02
Does the ag valuation carry over to the new owner?
A new application must be filed when there is a change of ownership. The agricultural appraisal does not ride along with the deed. A person who fails to file a valid application on time makes the land ineligible for agricultural appraisal for that year. The deadline is the real risk, not the land's qualification.
What a strong answer sounds like
Timely applications are received between January 1 and April 30. A good answer puts that filing on the calendar for the first year of ownership. The Williamson Central Appraisal District takes it, publishes its own forms and deadlines, and keeps an office at 625 FM 1460 in Georgetown.
Red flag
Treat "the exemption is already on it" as an incomplete answer. Agricultural appraisal is tied to the owner and the application. A filing missed in a given year cannot be repaired later in that year.
03
Will the appraisal district say in advance whether a rollback is coming?
The Williamson Central Appraisal District is unable to provide predeterminations about the potential of a future rollback on a property. No letter from the district will clear a parcel ahead of time. A buyer who plans to change the use carries that exposure into closing without a ruling to lean on.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer prices the risk instead of chasing a ruling. Ask the district what use is on file and what the current agricultural appraisal is. Then ask a tax professional what a three year rollback with no interest would look like at market value. Write the estimate down.
Red flag
Be careful with anyone who says the district has already signed off. The district does not issue predeterminations, so no paper backs that claim. The use on file and the statute are what a buyer can actually check.
04
Is there a permitted septic system, and does the paperwork exist?
Williamson County's Department of Infrastructure issues on site sewage facility permits for the county. Areas inside the City of Austin are the exception. Construction cannot begin on a facility until an Authorization to Construct is granted. A property owner has to receive authorization from the department to install a system.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer produces the permit record for the address. Applications are accepted only online through My Government Online, so the file lives in one system. "The Authorization to Construct was granted, and here is the record" is the sentence a buyer wants to hear.
Red flag
A seller who says the system has always worked fine has answered a different question. Performance is not permission. The department's authorization either exists in the file or it does not.
05
Where does the water come from, and has it been tested?
Private well owners do not need to register their wells with the state. The driller files the paperwork instead. A registered water well driller, or a landowner who drills a well themselves, has to submit a State of Texas Water Well Report for a new well. The record sits in that report.
What a strong answer sounds like
Reports from 2003 onward sit in the Submitted Drillers Reports Database. Older paper reports were scanned into the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's Water Well Report Viewer. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation licenses water well drillers and pump installers, so a driller can be checked.
Red flag
The state does not regulate the water quality of private water wells, and the owner is responsible for problems. Testing runs from about $20 for coliform and E. coli up to about $400 for a full drinking water standards analysis. A test result from years ago is history, not a current reading.
06
Does the parcel sit over a TCEQ regulated Edwards Aquifer zone?
Parts of Williamson County sit over Edwards Aquifer zones regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Only portions of the aquifer are regulated. Before building on the recharge, transition or contributing zones, a plan has to be reviewed and approved by the TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Protection Program. Approved sites are then monitored for compliance.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer starts with the map viewer, which shows whether a specific project sits over a regulated zone. Williamson County is served by the TCEQ Austin Regional Office for this work. Administrative review can take up to 30 days. Technical review of an administratively complete application takes 90 days under 30 TAC 213.4(e).
Red flag
"The whole county is in the recharge zone" and "none of it is" are the same mistake. Only portions are regulated, and the parcel decides which. A plan filed late pushes the start date out by the length of those reviews.
07
Is the land inside the city limits, in Georgetown's ETJ, or unincorporated?
Georgetown's extraterritorial jurisdiction is a buffer area just outside the city limits. There is no zoning in the ETJ. The City still regulates and reviews the subdivision of land, stormwater, utility evaluations, driveway permits and sign permits. So no zoning does not mean no review.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the jurisdiction and the service providers with it. In the ETJ, services come from the County Sheriff and law enforcement, from fire and emergency services through the applicable districts, and from county road maintenance. The Texas Local Government Code affords each city an ETJ to define growth and future service boundaries.
Red flag
Watch for the idea that nothing applies outside the city. Driveway permits, stormwater and sign permits still get reviewed by the City in the ETJ. A buyer planning a new entrance should confirm the permit path before closing.
08
Can the land be split later, and does it need a plat?
A plat is required for the division or development of land in the city limits or the ETJ. Parcels being subdivided that remain over 5 acres do not need a plat under Chapter 3.08.020 of the Unified Development Code. Property in unincorporated areas has to comply with all Williamson County regulations, including its subdivision regulations.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer states the lot size after the split and the rule that goes with it. Chapter 3.08.020 of the Unified Development Code is the citation to ask for. In Georgetown, Round Rock and Liberty Hill, where T. Kerr Property Group works, acreage homesites are a regular part of the market, and Tanya Kerr has been named an expert source on the Central Texas market.
Red flag
Be careful with "it can be split later" offered without a lot size. The 5 acre line in the Unified Development Code decides whether a plat is needed. Unincorporated land still has to meet the county's subdivision regulations.
09
What does the survey show about boundaries, access and easements?
Paragraph 6C of TREC Form 20-19 handles the survey, and the parties check one box only. Box 1 has the seller furnish an existing survey with a T-47 affidavit or T-47.1 declaration. Box 2 has the buyer pay for a new survey. Box 3 has the seller pay for one. The surveyor must be acceptable to the title company and the buyer's lender.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the box checked and produces the document. The T-47 is sworn before a notary and signed by an owner. The T-47.1 is an unsworn declaration and needs no notary. The affiant swears to no new structures, no moved boundary fences or walls, no construction on adjoining land, and no new easements since the survey date.
Red flag
Do not read the affidavit as a guarantee. It is not made for the benefit of any other parties and does not constitute a warranty or guarantee of the location of improvements. If the title company or the lender will not accept the existing survey, a new one gets ordered.
10
Is the parcel in a public improvement district?
A public improvement district assessment is a yearly assessment that can appear on a property tax statement. It is not an ad valorem property tax. Exemptions do not reduce it, and the 100 percent disabled veteran exemption neither applies to it nor changes the amount. A line on the statement is not always a tax an exemption touches.
What a strong answer sounds like
Since 1 September 2021 a seller of residential or commercial property in a PID has to give the buyer an Addendum Containing Notice of Obligation to Pay Improvement Districts. A good answer hands that addendum over early. Payoff information comes from the municipality that created the district.
Red flag
Watch for a payoff figure quoted from the county tax office. For most Williamson County districts the county does not hold that information. The number has to come from the municipality that created the district.
11
Who has been using the land, and does paying taxes on it give anyone a claim?
Paying the property tax on land somebody else owns does not transfer ownership in Texas. The collector's duty on payment is to issue a tax receipt and certify a transfer of the tax lien. It is not to convey title. Title passes only through a tax sale conducted by an officer after a judgment foreclosing the lien.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer walks the fence line and names who has been on the land. Adverse possession under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.025(a) requires peaceable and adverse possession. It also requires all three of cultivating, using or enjoying the property, paying applicable taxes on it, and claiming it under a duly registered deed.
Red flag
Be careful with the claim that a neighbor who paid the taxes now owns the strip. Paying taxes alone is not enough to acquire title by adverse possession. A third party can pay another owner's taxes only where the owner first files a sworn authorization.
This article is general information about the Central Texas market and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Statutes, rates, deadlines and district rules change. Confirm anything that affects a decision with a licensed attorney, a tax professional, the Williamson County Tax Assessor Collector or the Williamson Central Appraisal District before acting on it.
