Adding, Changing, or Removing Standard Exemptions

Last Revised: June 27, 2023

The Account Master Summary screen is used to add or remove standard exemptions, such as Homestead, Over 65, Veteran, Disabled, and Exempt.

To do this..	Use this screen..
Adding, Changing, or Removing Standard Exemptions	Account Master Summary
Adding, Changing, or Removing Special Exemptions	Special Exemption
Setting Deferral Dates	Owner Detail
Adding and Removing Total Exemptions	Account Master Summary
Setting the HB 336 Exemption	Property Value Detail
Adding Partial Exemptions	Owner Detail

Client Preferences

ROUND_VALUE_FACTOR: If you want exemption values rounded to the nearest $5.00 or $10.00, set this to 5 or 10. If you do not want any rounding, set it to 1. This client preference is also used for taxable value amounts.

ADJUSTMENT_REFUND_TU, ESCROW_DA_TU: to use refund money to pay off levy increases caused by adjustments, enter the escrow or refund tax units (separated by comma) from which funds will be taken.

ADJ_REFUND_STATUS: To have refunds created by levy adjustments placed on hold automatically, set to OH. On hold refunds can be transferred to pay levy due as a results of an another adjustment. To not have these refunds set on hold, it is best to expire the client preference.

ADJREF_OH_NAMECHANGE_EXISTS, ADJREF_OH_REF_EXISTS_SAMEYEAR, ADJREF_OH_REF_LARGERTHAN_1PAY, ADJREF_OH_REF_FOR_MULTIPAY: Set to Y to put adjustment refunds on hold (OH) at the time of the adjustment. To have these preferences take effect, ADJ_REFUND_STATUS must be expired.

CREATE_ADJUSTMENT_RECORDS: If this is set to N at the time an adjustment was created, any refunds generated by the adjustment will be put in the normal tax units, not the 8000 series of refund units.

ACT8006_SHOW_VETERAN_NULL: Enter Y to leave the V in HOVDFAER blank if the account has no Veteran exemption; enter N to show a 0.

CALCULATE_LEVY_YEAR: If this is set to a prior year, you cannot recalculate levy for the current or future year. You can make the changes on the Account Master screens, but the Save and Calculate button will be disabled. You can use the Save (F10) button but this will not recalculate the levy.

MOVE_ADJUSTMENT_TO_OWNER: Set to Y to allow adjustment refunds to be assigned to the owner even if an alternate payer made the original payment. Set to N to keep the refund recipient and the payer the same.

SMOOTH_DATES: Set to Y to extend due dates for all units on an account even if only one unit had a levy change that required the date to be changed. The account must be fully paid at the time of the change (unless the SMOOTH_UNPAID_UNITS preference is set to Y or unless a new unit is being added to the account). For fully paid split quarter pay accounts, only the due date for Q4 will be extended. If the account is not fully paid, only the paid unit having the levy increase will have the due date changed. Set to N to change the due date only on the single paid unit. This also works for supplement/correction loads. This is valid starting with the 2005 tax year.

SMOOTH_UNPAID_UNITS: Enter Y to allow unpaid units to have due dates extended if a paid unit has a levy increase. Due dates will be extended only for the same rec type (for ex., TL, OS) as the paid unit whose levy was adjusted. Enter N to allow just the unit with the levy increase to have an extended date. The default is N.

REFUND_PI_SWITCH: Set to Y to allow penalty & interest to be refunded; set to N to allow just levy to be refunded.

FRZ_ADJ_REFUND_TU: Enter the tax unit to use to store adjustment refunds on accounts with frozen levy. This can be the same unit as used for ADJUSTMENT_REFUND_TU.

REVISION_CODE_REQUIRED: Set toY to require the Revision Code field to be filled in on the Property Value tab before you press Save and Calculate Levy; set toN to not require this. Whatever is entered in this field is also put on the Revision field of the Receivable screen.

DEPCTL_OPERATOR: Enter a generic name to be put on deposit control records for RF deposits. Expire this preference to use the user's login name.

HOMESTEAD_CAP:Homestead exemptions are calculated on and subtracted from capped value instead of gross value. Set to yes (Y) or no (N). Also, if set to Y, local option homestead exemption calculations are based on and subtracted from the capped amount (assuming that CAP_AMOUNT is set to WHOLE). If HOMESTEAD_CAP is set to N, local option homesite exemption calculations are based on and subtracted from the gross homesite value of the account. Note that increases in value during a year will increase the appraisal cap value by the amount of the increase (the cap exclusion amount does not change, in other words).Note: Currently (December 2011), for Harris County Appraisal District files, the Resolve Fixed Local Option flag must be set to Y if you want local option percentage calculations for capped accounts to use the capped value instead of the full appraised value.

CAP_WITHOUT_HOMESTEAD: Set to Y to allow a capped exclusion to be calculated even if the account has no homestead exemption. Set to N to require the homestead exemption. If set to N, a CAP exemption will still appear as a special exemption, but the amount will not be considered when calculating levy. This is needed to balance to the appraisal district.

USE_APPORT: Set toY to force users to use the Jurisdiction screen in the Account Master to make all value changes. The default setting isN, which allows users to make changes in the Property Value or Jurisdiction screens. Exemptions are calculated based on the value in the Property Value screen. If the value of the prim_juris is lower than values for other units in the Jurisdiction screen, the exemptions are calculated as if the apport percentage is 100%. If the value of the prim_juris is higher than values for other units, exemptions are calculated using the apport percentage of the prim_juris.

PROCESS_WRITEOFF: This controls whether uncollectible levy amounts are considered when re-calculating after a levy adjustment. Most tax offices will set this to N (the default), which means that the fully calculated levy as it was before the write off will be used as the 'base levy' for adjustments ('base levy' +/- levy change amount = new levy after adjustment). Set to Y to include uncollectible amounts when recalculating levy (levy after write off +/- levy change amount = new levy after adjustment. This new levy +/- uncollectible levy = fully calculated levy as it would be without the write off). Regardless of the preference setting, the amount in the uncollectible levy field does not change.

WRITEOFF_ADJ_REFUND_TU: Enter the 8xxx unit in which to store refunds generated from written off accounts. The default is 8005.

EXCLUSION_CODES: Enter the exemption codes that you want to display in the Exclusion column of the Receivable screen. The values for these exclusions will not be included in the appraised values of properties. The default is 'OSP, CAP'.

COUNTY_CODES_FOR_MULTI_O65_EXM: Enter the county codes (separated by comma) for which accounts can be given multiple O65 exemptions (for ex., O65, S65). Expire this preference to permit only one such exemption to be granted per account and year. For batch processing, all exemptions will be granted; a 'Multi_over65_rpt' report is created that lists any accounts with multiple over 65 exemptions. When doing a Save and Calculate Levy on the Account Master screen, a warning message appears if this preference is expired or does not exist and the levy calculation is not completed. You must either remove one of the O65-type exemptions or enter the county code of the account in the client preference, then un-expire it.

COUNTY_CODES_PRORATE_COUNT_365: Enter 3-digit county codes for counties that calculate pro-rated exemptions using 365 days even in leap years. If it is a leap year and the preference is either expired or does not contain the county code for the account, the program will use a 366 day calculation. This is used for pro-rating over 65 exemptions, also.

USE_EXEMPTION_ORDER: Set to N to use the system defaults for calculating exemptions. To use a different order of exemptions than what the default order is, then set this preference to Y and make sure that the correct Exemption Priorities are set in the Exemptions tab of the Tax Unit Maintenance screen. However, if the Code Type field is set to U (user-changed) on that tab, exemptions will not be updated.

If set to Y, the program will use the earliest End Date in the Special Exemptions screen, change the exemption code to the prorated equivalent, and calculate the allocation factor % based on the earliest date entered (this is the number of days of the exemption/365). The same date will be entered as the Exemption End Date for each tax unit having the same exemption type for that year. If set to N, the exemption amount will change only for the unit(s) that were changed on the Special Exemption screen. The Exemption code does not change.

OWNER_EXEMPTION_EFFECTIVE DATE: If this is set to EXEMPTION, the Start Date for HOM, O65, DRH, and VTX exemptions is required. If the date is after 1/1/yyyy, partial exemption codes will be used (PRH instead of DRH, P65 instead of O65, and PAH instead of HOM). The allocation factor on the Special Exemptions screen also will be adjusted. The Owner Effective Date will change when a Save and Calculate Levy is done. If this is set to OWNER or is expired, the owner effective date is not changed when a Save and Calculate Levy is done.

SHOW_QUAL_YR_ON_SPEC_EXEM_TAB: Set to Y to show the Qualify Year on the Special Exemption tab. Set to N (the default) to not show this column.

If an account has been written off you will get a warning message if you try to make a levy change on the Account Master screen.

The Save and Calculate button on the Account Master Summary screen apportions the exemption values according to the values of the individual tax units. Local option percentage exemptions are calculated by multiplying the percentage times the unit's apported value. State mandated and other fixed value exemptions are calculated by multiplying the percentage of the unit's value times the full exemption amount (the actual calculation divides the apported value by the full 100% value, then multiplies this amount times the flat exemption amount). This is important for those offices servicing jurisdictions that are not located 100% within the county. Apported values and percentages can be seen on the Account Master Jurisdiction screen.

If an account had any partially paid rendition penalty prior to running batch menu no. 10993, Convert Rendition Penalty to Individual Units, and a change needs to be made on Account Master that affects levy, a popup message will appear asking that you contact ACT for assistance.

Note: ACT is implementing code changes to link levy changes to the exemptions listed in the Tax Unit Maintenance Exemptions screen. Make sure the correct exemptions for each unit are listed in this screen.

From the Main Menu, click the Account Master () button or select Inquiry, then Account Master, or click the Go To drop-down list and select Account Master. The Account Master Summary screen will appear.
If the account has carried over from a previous screen, the screen will fill with data.

If the Account Number field is blank, enter the account number, press F8, then go to the next section.

If you need to enter a different account number, press F7, key in the new account number, press F8, then go to the next section.

Note: If you don't know your account number, see Locating an Account.

Click Prior Year(s).
Using the drop-down list, select the year to view. The list contains only those years that have been archived. If you want to see another year, key in that year in the year field.
Click OK. The Account Master Summary screen will display.

WARNING: If you want to view data for a paid account in a prior year and your tax office has had its paid account data loaded into ACT's archive tables, the property values and jurisdictions for the rebuilt year will be inserted. Please check them for accuracy. Enter any exemptions into either the Account Master Summary or Special Exemptions tabs. Remember to return to the Account Master Summary screen and press F10 (Save).

For unpaid prior year accounts and paid accounts that haven't been put into the archive tables, zeroes will show in the value fields for the year you rebuild if the client preference POPULATE_EQUAL_VALUES is set to N. If the preference is set to Y, the property values will be populated with data from the Receivable and Property Value screens. If no values exist for that year in those screens, $0.00 values will be inserted. Please check the values for accuracy. Remember to enter any exemptions, then press F10 (Save).

A receivable is not created unless it existed in the archive tables or in the regular production tables before doing this Prior Year rebuild.

To add a Homestead, Over 65, Disabled, and/or Exempt this owner exemption, enter either a "Y' or an 'X' in the appropriate box:

Use Y to accept the standard exemption amounts or percentages built into the ACT system. These amounts/percentages can be seen on the Tax Unit Maintenance screen. IRE (pro-rated homestead) exemptions are also marked with a Y. The percentage can be entered in the PAH % field if the client preference SHOW_PAH_PCT_ACCTM is set to Y.
Use X to overwrite ACT's standard exemption amounts. For further instructions on changing these amounts/percentages, see Adding, Changing or Removing Special Exemptions.
- For a Surviving Spouse Over 65 exemption, enter F in the Over 65 field; for a Surviving Spouse Over 55 exemption enter S.
- For a disabled surviving spouse exemption, enter S in the Disabled field. These exemptions are for $0. Any frozen levy existing at the time of the disabled person's death is maintained starting with the 2020 tax year.
You can have both an Over 65 and a Disabled exemption, although not for the same jurisdiction. The Appraisal District should send in a correction stating which exemption is correct for each unit. The ACT 7 system calculates exemptions amounts for both exemptions.
Homestead exemptions are not required for Over 65 or Disabled exemptions.
An S is put in the Disabled field for surviving spouse disabled exemptions.
You may need to enter a Start Date.
FRSS (First responder surviving spouse) exemptions are 100% exemptions and are treated as VTX exemptions.
VTX exemptions are for 100% disabled veterans and apply to homesite and non-homesite values. If an account has both VTX and VET exemptions and both homesite and non-homesite values, the VET will be applied to the non-homesite values.
IRE exemptions can be granted if the tax year is 2022 or later, the exemption start date is after 1/1/2022, and the tax year is the same year as the year in the exemption start date. If these conditions are not met, a HOM exemption is granted.

To add or change a veteran or a 100% disabled veteran exemption, click the Veteran Exemption Details button.
In the Veteran Exemption Details popup window, select one of the following options for 100% veteran exemptions: 100% disable veteran (VTX), 100% Surviving Spouse (STX), both 100% veteran and 100% surviving spouse, surviving spouse active duty (MSS), both MSS and VTX, both MSS and STX, or FRSS (first responders surviving spouse). You may need to enter a Start Date and an End Date for prorated these exemptions. If the start date is after January 1 of the tax year, you must enter that date in the appropriate Start Date field (VTX, STX or MSS start dates). These exemptions are calculated against homesite value only. If a 100% surviving spouse veteran or active duty exemption exists on an account, the exemption row will be highlighted in orange.

Technical notes: These 100% veteran codes are put in the database: X for 100% disable veteran (VTX), S for 100% Surviving Spouse (STX), or B for both 100% veteran and 100% surviving spouse, M - surviving spouse active duty (MSS), C - both MSS and VTX, D - both MSS and STX, or F - FRSS.

In the Veteran Exemption Details popup window, select the amount of the exemption. Veteran exemptions are applied to homesite values first, then to ag and/or non-qualifying values. The amounts and percentages are as follows:

$5,000 - 10% but not greater than 30%
$7,500 - 31% but not greater than 50%
$10,000 - 51% but not greater than 70%
$12,000 - 71% and over
Accounts may have more than one VET exemption if there is more than one owner. The VET exemption shown will be sum of the exemptions granted to each owner.
If an owner has an O65 and a VET exemption between $5,000 and $12,000, the VET exemption will be set to $12,000. If, however, for Software Group files, a non-standard VET exemption amount is given and an O65 exemption also exists, the VET exemption may be set to the closest officially granted value.

For surviving spouse veteran exemptions, click the Surv. Vet drop-down list in the Veteran Exemption Details popup window and select the appropriate amount. These amounts are the same as for regular veteran exemption (see the step above).

Surviving spouse veteran exemption amounts are shown separately from 'regular' veteran amounts in the Veteran Exemption Detail popup window, but if an account has both surviving spouse and regular veteran exemptions, they are summed together in the VET exemption on the Special Exemption screen. If a surviving spouse veteran exemption exists on an account, the VET row will be highlighted in orange.

To remove an exemption, blank out the Y, X, S, or F For 100% disabled veteran or surviving spouse active duty exemptions, click the Veteran Exemption Details button and select the None option. For veteran or surviving spouse veteran exemptions, click theVeteran Exemption Details button and select None from the appropriate drop-down list.
Click Save and Calculate Levy.

Warning! If the Homestead, Over 65 or Disabled fields have an X instead of a Y, you must check the Exemption Amount and the Code Type in the Special Exemptions tab. The Code Type must be U if the X is also present. You will receive a warning message about this.

Click OK to the confirmation message.

Notes: The system will recalculate the levy based on the standard exemption changes.

Repeat the steps above for each year that is affected by the addition, change, or removal of a standard exemption.

The system will not allow the exemption value to be more than the taxable value before the exemption was added.

If discounts have been applied to an account that receives an adjustment, the discount amount is adjusted accordingly. The discount is calculated from the base levy.

The Veteran Exemptions field will display the exemptions chosen in the Veteran Exemption Details popup window.

For county code 101 (Harris County), the allocation factor defaults to 100% when manually entering an exemption.

If any IRE (pro-rated homestead) exemptions were created, the Special Exemptions screen will display a Details button. Click on that to view the Exemption Details popup, which shows the exemption amounts, start and end date, and allocation factors for each unit on the account. Begin and End Dates for the IRE exemptions can be added or changed by clicking the Add or Change buttons, making the desired changes, then clicking Update on a second popup, then clicking Save and Exit.
Return to the Account Status screen to verify that the levy has changed as expected and that the correct exemptions are displayed in the HOVDFAER fields.

Notes: If an exemption change results in an increased levy on a paid account, the delinquency date will change automatically.

If a refund is generated for some jurisdictions as a result of adding an exemption and levy is still due on other jurisdictions, the refund amount will be used to pay off those levies.

Notes about calculations:

The mandatory homestead exemption for a school district is $15,000. The mandatory O65 or DRH exemption for a school district is an additional $10,000.

All tax units may offer a local option homestead percentage, which is calculated against the appraised homestead value of the property. The local option homestead exemption value is $5,000 or 20% of the appraised homestead value, whichever is greater.

If the Resolve Fixed Local Option setting for any unit having that county code is checked in the Jurisdiction CAD Relation tab of the Tax Unit Maintenance screens, then for units having less than 100%, then the local option exemption calculation will also consider the Exempt % when calculating the minimum exemption amount.

The calculation in this case is as follows:

(1) value x local option % = calculated local option amount.

(2) full minimum exemption amount (usually $5000 or $3000) x the exempt % = minimum local option exemption amount.

(3) Compare these two calculated values (calculated local option amount and minimum local option exemption amount) and take the greater of the two values. This becomes the local option exemption amount.

If the Resolve Fixed Local Option setting is not checked, the exempt % is not considered when calculating the minimum local option amount.

State-mandated exemptions are not affected by the Resolve Fixed Local Option setting and always consider the Exempt %.

For Software Group files, the value given is already the apported appraised homestead value, not the 100% value.

All units may also offer a local option O65 or DRH exemption. The value for this is $3,000 or 20% of the appraised homestead value, whichever is greater.

If there is a local homestead option on a school district, the homestead exemption is the sum of the local homestead option calculated amount and the mandated amount.

A mandatory homestead exemption for certain other units (e.g., Road & Bridge, Farm to Market, Flood Control)) is $3,000. For these units, if an O65 or DRH local option exemption is added to a homestead, then the local option applies, but the mandated state homestead value does not.

Remaining units do not have to have mandatory exemption amounts. They normally do not have both mandated and local option exemptions.

The following order is used when calculating multiple exemptions on the same account: XMP, CAP, PRG, HOM, O65 (all varieties), DRH, VTX, VET, all others (including OSP and TIM), PRO. For the Harris County Tax Office only, capped exclusion amounts are applied to accounts after the homestead, over 65 and disabled exemptions have been deducted from the appraised value. Capped exclusions for Harris County can also be applied to non-qualifying amounts. For other tax offices, capped exemptions can be applied only to homesite values. For Fort Bend County, exemptions are calculated in the order in which they are listed in a database table.

Veteran and surviving spouse veteran exemptions must be applied to homesite values first, then to agricultural and non-qualifying values. VTX exemptions are for 100% of the homesite value for disabled or surviving spouse of disabled persons. If an account has both VET and VTX (100% disabled) exemptions and both homesite and non-homesite value, the VTX should go against the homesite portion and the VET against the non-homesite values. MSS exemptions are for 100% of the homesite value for surviving spouses of active duty military.

LDS exemptions occur on split accounts. The LDS portion is the local option only for disabled persons. These accounts will not have an HOM exemption because that exemption is on the other 'split' account. True Automation loads have a flag to indicate a frozen account (which need a qualifying exemption). At this time, True Automation is the only appraisal district to include LDS exemptions.