HCC Board of Trustees approves local option exemptions for Tax Year 2015

Jun 24, 2015

The Board of Trustees at Houston Community College (HCC) has approved an increased local property tax exemption for 2015 designed to provide tax relief to those over 65 and disabled homeowners in the HCC taxing district.

“This move will make an appreciable difference for many in our community,” said Zeph Capo, board chair.

HCC administration considered several options and chose to raise the over 65/disabled homeowner exemption from $90,000 to $120,000. This, along with the homestead exemption of $5,000 or 10 percent of the appraised value (whichever is greater) will allow many homeowners on fixed or lower incomes a more substantial savings on their taxes.

This exemption change should impact over 87,000 homeowners in the College’s taxing district. Approximately 45,000 homeowners in this group will now be completely exempt from payment of taxes to HCC, and the remaining households will save an additional amount of $32 per year, on average.

“Our board members have voiced the concerns of our community about the tax rates and we wanted to find a way to help provide some relief,” said Dr. Cesar Maldonado, chancellor at HCC. “Administration and the Board believe this is a great start.”

Robert Glaser, board vice chair who was among several to bring this issue to the board’s attention said, “In the past few years, we have seen a large appreciation in the home values in Harris County, so focusing on helping those who need a break the most is certainly moving in the right direction. I’d like to thank the Board of Trustees at HCC for taking this action.”

Annually in June, HCC is prompted to review the tax rate. Knowing that this date was coming, the HCC financial operations departments worked to define a rate that would help tax payers and still allow the college to meet its budgetary commitments.

“This is an efficient way to help those who need the tax relief,” said Teri Zamora, vice chancellor of Finance and Administration.