Article 8, Taxation and Revenue

(Repealed Nov. 2, 1999.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISIONS for Sec. 1-b-1: See Appendix, Note 1.)

(Repealed Nov. 2, 1999.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISIONS for Sec. 1-c: See Appendix, Note 1.)

(a) All land owned by natural persons which is designated for agricultural use in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall be assessed for all tax purposes on the consideration of only those factors relative to such agricultural use. "Agricultural use" means the raisi…

(a) To promote the preservation of open-space land, the legislature shall provide by general law for taxation of open-space land devoted to farm, ranch, or wildlife management purposes on the basis of its productive capacity and may provide by general law for taxation of open-spa…

No State ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon any property within this State. (Added Nov. 5, 1968; amended Nov. 2, 1982, and Nov. 6, 2001.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISION for Sec. 1-e: See Appendix, Note 3.)

The legislature by law may provide for the preservation of cultural, historical, or natural history resources by: (1) granting exemptions or other relief from state ad valorem taxes on appropriate property so designated in the manner prescribed by law; and (2) authorizing politic…

(a) The legislature by general law may authorize cities, towns, and other taxing units to grant exemptions or other relief from ad valorem taxes on property located in a reinvestment zone for the purpose of encouraging development or redevelopment and improvement of the property.…

Section 26.03, Tax Code, is validated as of January 1, 1980. (Added Nov. 2, 1982.)

The legislature by general law may provide ad valorem tax relief for mobile marine drilling equipment designed for offshore drilling of oil or gas wells that is being stored while not in use in a county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico or on a bay or other body of water immediatel…

(a) To promote economic development in the State, goods, wares, merchandise, other tangible personal property, and ores, other than oil, natural gas, and other petroleum products, are exempt from ad valorem taxation if: (1) the property is acquired in or imported into this State …

The legislature by general law may exempt from ad valorem taxation property owned by a nonprofit corporation organized to supply water or provide wastewater service that provides in the bylaws of the corporation that on dissolution of the corporation, the assets of the corporatio…

(a) The legislature by general law may exempt from ad valorem taxation all or part of real and personal property used, constructed, acquired, or installed wholly or partly to meet or exceed rules or regulations adopted by any environmental protection agency of the United States, …

The legislature by general law may authorize a taxing unit to grant an exemption or other relief from ad valorem taxes on property on which a water conservation initiative has been implemented. (Added Nov. 4, 1997.)

(Text of section as added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., R.S., S.J.R. 6.) (a) To promote economic development in this state, the legislature by general law may exempt from ad valorem taxation goods, wares, merchandise, other tangible personal property, and ores, other than oil, natural…

(a) All occupation taxes shall be equal and uniform upon the same class of subjects within the limits of the authority levying the tax; but the legislature may, by general laws, exempt from taxation public property used for public purposes; actual places of religious worship, als…

Taxes shall be levied and collected by general laws and for public purposes only.

The power to tax corporations and corporate property shall not be surrendered or suspended by act of the Legislature, by any contract or grant to which the State shall be a party.

(Repealed Nov. 2, 1999.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISIONS for Sec. 5: See Appendix, Note 1.)

No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in pursuance of specific appropriations made by law; nor shall any appropriation of money be made for a longer term than two years. (Amended Nov. 2, 1999.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISIONS for Sec. 6: See Appendix, Note 1.)

Subject to legislative appropriation, allocation and direction, all net revenues remaining after payment of all refunds allowed by law and expenses of collection derived from motor vehicle registration fees, and all taxes, except gross production and ad valorem taxes, on motor fu…

The Legislature shall not have power to borrow, or in any manner divert from its purpose, any special fund that may, or ought to, come into the Treasury; and shall make it penal for any person or persons to borrow, withhold or in any manner to divert from its purpose any special …

All revenues received from the federal government as reimbursement for state expenditures of funds that are themselves dedicated for acquiring rights-of-way and constructing, maintaining, and policing public roadways are also constitutionally dedicated and shall be used only for …

All property of railroad companies shall be assessed, and the taxes collected in the several counties in which said property is situated, including so much of the roadbed and fixtures as shall be in each county. The rolling stock may be assessed in gross in the county where the p…

(a) No county, city or town shall levy a tax rate in excess of Eighty Cents ($ .80) on the One Hundred Dollars ($100) valuation in any one (1) year for general fund, permanent improvement fund, road and bridge fund and jury fund purposes. (b) At the time the Commissioners Court m…

The Legislature shall have no power to release the inhabitants of, or property in, any county, city or town from the payment of taxes levied for State or county purposes, unless in case of great public calamity in any such county, city or town, when such release may be made by a …

All property, whether owned by persons or corporations shall be assessed for taxation, and the taxes paid in the county where situated, but the Legislature may, by a two-thirds vote, authorize the payment of taxes of non-residents of counties to be made at the office of the Compt…

(Repealed Aug. 5, 1969.)

(a) Provision shall be made by the Legislature for the sale of a sufficient portion of all lands and other property for the taxes due thereon that have not been paid. (b) The deed of conveyance to the purchaser for all lands and other property thus sold shall be held to vest a go…

(a) The qualified voters of each county shall elect an assessor-collector of taxes for the county, except as otherwise provided by this section. (b) In any county having a population of less than 10,000 inhabitants, as determined by the most recent decennial census of the United …

The annual assessment made upon landed property shall be a special lien thereon; and all property, both real and personal, belonging to any delinquent taxpayer shall be liable to seizure and sale for the payment of all the taxes and penalties due by such delinquent; and such prop…

(Repealed Nov. 6, 2001.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISION for Sec. 16: See Appendix, Note 3.)

(Repealed Nov. 6, 2001.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISIONS for Sec. 16a: See Appendix, Notes 1 and 3.)

The specification of the objects and subjects of taxation shall not deprive the Legislature of the power to require other subjects or objects to be taxed in such manner as may be consistent with the principles of taxation fixed in this Constitution.

(a) The Legislature shall provide for equalizing, as near as may be, the valuation of all property subject to or rendered for taxation, and may also provide for the classification of all lands with reference to their value in the several counties. (b) A single appraisal within ea…

Farm products, livestock, and poultry in the hands of the producer, and family supplies for home and farm use, are exempt from all taxation until otherwise directed by a two-thirds vote of all the members elect to both houses of the Legislature. (Added Sep. 2, 1879; amended Nov. …

Implements of husbandry that are used in the production of farm or ranch products are exempt from ad valorem taxation. (Added Nov. 2, 1982.)

No property of any kind in this State shall ever be assessed for ad valorem taxes at a greater value than its fair cash market value nor shall any Board of Equalization of any governmental or political subdivision or taxing district within this State fix the value of any property…

(a) Subject to any exceptions prescribed by general law, the total amount of property taxes imposed by a political subdivision in any year may not exceed the total amount of property taxes imposed by that subdivision in the preceding year unless the governing body of the subdivis…

(a) In no biennium shall the rate of growth of appropriations from state tax revenues not dedicated by this constitution exceed the estimated rate of growth of the state's economy. The legislature shall provide by general law procedures to implement this subsection. (b) If the le…

(a) There shall be no statewide appraisal of real property for ad valorem tax purposes; however, this shall not preclude formula distribution of tax revenues to political subdivisions of the state. (b) Administrative and judicial enforcement of uniform standards and procedures fo…

(a) A general law enacted by the legislature that imposes a tax on the net incomes of natural persons, including a person's share of partnership and unincorporated association income, must provide that the portion of the law imposing the tax not take effect until approved by a ma…