On March 13, 2020, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared the entire state of Texas a federal disaster area, due to COVID-19. Understanding a temporary exemption existed for properties damaged by a federal disaster, we sought legal advice on how best to represent our clients.

The Texas Tax Code requires that all property, with exceptions embedded in Section 23 of the tax code, is appraised at its Market Value as of January 1 of the tax year. The Appraisal District uses a mass appraisal technique that complies with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). While the District is bound to comply with USPAP Standards, it says nothing about complying to the USPAP methodology for appraising property. The USPAP standards, in fact, only provide a minimum set of quality control standards for conduct of appraisals in the United States.