Houston — The Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) has begun the process of mailing personal property rendition forms to businesses known to have been operating in Harris County during 2024.
The appraisal district will continue offering its free rendition assistance to help business owners complete the required personal property rendition forms before the April 15 filing deadline.
The district will conduct eight rendition assistance sessions between March 5 and April 15 – four online virtual sessions and four in-person sessions at the appraisal district office. Registration is now open at www.hcad.org > Online Services > Rendition Assistance, with virtual and in-person dates listed.
Participants can sign up for an available 30-minute time slot to meet individually with appraisal district staff who will answer questions and provide one-on-one help completing the form. There is no charge to attend.
If you own tangible personal property used to produce income, you must file a rendition with the Harris Central Appraisal District by April 15. A rendition is a report that lists all the taxable personal property you owned or controlled on Jan. 1 of this year.
Business personal property includes inventory and equipment used by a business such as furniture and fixtures, supplies, raw materials, and business vehicles, vessels and aircraft.
“Those who attend these rendition assistance sessions will consult individually with appraisal district staff who will explain personal property taxation and rendition
requirements, as well as answer questions about completing the rendition forms,” said Roland Altinger, chief appraiser. “These sessions have been very successful in the past and have helped business owners complete their renditions on the spot.”
All business owners are required to file renditions whether or not they have received notification. Businesses that fail to render or that render late are subject to a 10 percent tax penalty. Filing a fraudulent rendition carries a 50 percent penalty if found guilty.
State law permits business owners to obtain an automatic extension of the filing requirement by submitting a request in writing by the April 15 filing deadline. The extended deadline for such businesses would then be May 15.
For new businesses, or those that have not received a rendition, a rendition form is available on the appraisal district’s website at www.hcad.org under FORMS > RENDITION FORMS along with information on the rules of the process or on the rendition assistance signup page mentioned above.
Business owners with questions about the rendition requirements are encouraged to attend any of the assistance sessions, call the appraisal district’s Information Center at 713.957.7800 or by a web form available at www.hcad.org > ABOUT > CONTACT US > ACCOUNT QUESTIONS/INFORMATION.
About HCAD
The Harris Central Appraisal District is a political subdivision of the State of Texas established in 1980 for the purpose of discovering and appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes for each taxing unit within the boundaries of the district. The district has approximately 1.9 million parcels of property to assess each year with a total market value of approximately $902 billion. The appraisal district in Harris County is the largest in Texas, serving more than 500 taxing units, and one of the largest appraisal districts in the United States. For further information, visit www.hcad.org.
