You will not be free and clear of this for up to three years. The improvements as they existed on January 1, 2023 are "Omitted Property" since some improvements were there but do not appear on the tax roll.
The following two sections of the property tax code deal with this situation.
Quote:
Sec. 25.21. OMITTED PROPERTY. (a) If the chief appraiser discovers that real property was omitted from an appraisal roll in any one of the three preceding tax years or that personal property was omitted from an appraisal roll in one of the two preceding tax years, the chief appraiser shall appraise the property as of January 1 of each tax year that it was omitted and enter the property and its appraised value in the appraisal records.
(b) The entry shall show that the appraisal is for property that was omitted from an appraisal roll in a prior year and shall indicate the year and the appraised value for each year.
This says that if the Chief Appraiser realizes the error sometime in the next three years. They can correct it and supplement the property to the tax roll and this will generate a new tax bill for 2023.
Quote:
Sec. 26.09. CALCULATION OF TAX. (a) On receipt of notice of the tax rate for the current tax year, the assessor for a taxing unit other than a county shall calculate the tax imposed on each property included on the appraisal roll for the unit.
(b) The county assessor-collector shall add the properties and their values certified to him as provided by Chapter 24 of this code to the appraisal roll for county tax purposes. The county assessor-collector shall use the appraisal roll certified to him as provided by Section 26.01 with the added properties and values to calculate county taxes.
(c) The tax is calculated by:
(1) subtracting from the appraised value of a property as shown on the appraisal roll for the unit the amount of any partial exemption allowed the property owner that applies to appraised value to determine net appraised value;
(2) multiplying the net appraised value by the assessment ratio to determine assessed value;
(3) subtracting from the assessed value the amount of any partial exemption allowed the property owner to determine taxable value; and
(4) multiplying the taxable value by the tax rate.
(c-1) The assessor for a taxing unit shall calculate the amount of tax imposed by the taxing unit on property for the 2023 tax year as if the changes in law made by S.B. 2, Acts of the 88th Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 2023, were in effect for that tax year and also as if the changes in law made by that Act were not in effect for that tax year. This subsection expires December 31, 2024.
(d) If a property is subject to taxation for a prior year in which it escaped taxation, the assessor shall calculate the tax for each year separately. In calculating the tax, the assessor shall use the assessment ratio and tax rate in effect in the unit for the year for which back taxes are being imposed. Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), the amount of back taxes due incurs interest calculated at the rate provided by Section 33.01(c) from the date the tax would have become delinquent had the tax been imposed in the proper tax year.
(d-1) For purposes of this subsection, an appraisal district has constructive notice of the presence of an improvement if a building permit for the improvement has been issued by an appropriate governmental entity. Back taxes assessed under Subsection (d) on an improvement to real property do not incur interest if:
(1) the land on which the improvement is located did not escape taxation in the year in which the improvement escaped taxation;
(2) the appraisal district had actual or constructive notice of the presence of the improvement in the year in which the improvement escaped taxation; and
(3) the property owner pays all back taxes due on the improvement not later than the 120th day after the date the tax bill for the back taxes on the improvement is sent.
(d-2) For purposes of Subsection (d-1)(3), if an appeal under Chapter 41A or 42 relating to the taxes imposed on the omitted improvement is pending on the date prescribed by that subdivision, the property owner is considered to have paid the back taxes due by that date if the property owner pays the amount of taxes required by Section 41A.10 or 42.08, as applicable.
(e) The assessor shall enter the amount of tax determined as provided by this section in the appraisal roll and submit it to the governing body of the unit for approval. The appraisal roll with amounts of tax entered as approved by the governing body constitutes the unit's tax roll.
This one says that they can also charge you interest on property tax from the date that would have been the delinquency date (after January 31, 2024) on the property that escaped taxation if they find it in the next three years.
However, I don't think the interest should apply for you as long as the following three things are all true:
1) the land did not escape taxation (sounds like you're good), and
2) the CAD should have had constructive notice of an improvement (sounds like you're good if you had permits with the appropriate governmental entities, which counts) , and
3) you pay the bill immediately (within 120 days) when(if) it is sent.
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