SB1023

Regular Session

Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.

ModeratePlan for compliance

Low Cost

Effective:2026-01-01

Enforcing Agencies

Comptroller of Public Accounts • County Assessor-Collectors

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: January 1, 2026.
Compliance Deadline: August 2026 (Standard tax rate calculation season). *Note: Software vendors must have systems updated and tested by Q1 2026 to ensure readiness for client use.*
Agency Rulemaking: The Comptroller of Public Accounts must prescribe new electronic forms prior to the 2026 tax year. Expect draft forms and technical specifications in late 2025.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Software Audit (Immediate): Vendors must assess current product capabilities regarding URL field support and document hosting.
2. Data Segmentation: Entities involved in TIFs must begin segregating financial data by individual zone immediately to ensure clean data for the 2026 baseline.
3. Contract Review: Legal counsel should draft addendums for tax calculation engagements to define who is responsible for the "accuracy" and "availability" of the hyperlinked evidence.
4. Monitor Comptroller: Assign a compliance officer to track the Texas Register for the release of the new Comptroller forms in late 2025.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Software Vendors (GovTech): Master Services Agreements (MSAs) must be updated to reflect new storage and hosting capabilities. Indemnification clauses should be reviewed regarding liability for "broken links" or server downtime that could invalidate a client's tax rate.
Tax Consultants & Legal Counsel: Statements of Work (SOW) for tax rate calculation services must be amended. The scope now includes the curation, digitization, and hosting of evidentiary documents, not just mathematical calculation.

Hiring/Training

Data Entry Staff: Personnel must be trained on the new Comptroller forms which will require a URL input for every data field.
IT/Compliance: Technical teams must establish a protocol for creating stable, permanent URLs (permalinks) for source documents (e.g., appraisal rolls, debt schedules) to ensure links remain active for the statutory retention period.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Digital Repository: You must establish a publicly accessible, secure server to host "evidentiary documents."
Granular TIF Accounting: Taxing units participating in Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ) must cease aggregating data. Accounting systems must be configured to generate taxable value and tax imposition reports *separately* for each specific zone.

Fees & Costs

Development Costs: Software vendors will incur one-time development costs to update database schemas and UI to support hyperlink fields and separate TIF calculations.
Service Fees: Consultants should anticipate increasing fees to cover the administrative burden of digitizing and linking source evidence for every line item in the tax calculation.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

The law requires a hyperlink to a document "evidencing the accuracy" of the information, but leaves the specific technical standards to the Comptroller.

Definition of "Evidence": It is currently undefined whether a screenshot of an internal spreadsheet suffices, or if certified PDFs from third parties (e.g., Appraisal Districts) are required.
Hosting Responsibility: It is unclear if the Comptroller's property tax database will host the documents or if the taxing unit/vendor is responsible for maintaining the server and file integrity indefinitely.
Link Rot: The statute does not define the consequence if a hyperlink becomes inactive post-adoption.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsTaxation Taxation--property-assessment & Collection Taxation--property-tax Rate Reinvestment Zones Comptroller of Public Accounts

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1023
89R1795 RDS-D	By: Bettencourt
	Local Government
	3/7/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Current law requires that the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas prescribe tax rate calculation forms to be used by the designated officer of taxing units for purposes of calculating a no-new-revenue tax rate and voter-approval tax rate, as required under Chapter 26, Tax Code.

S.B. 1023 seeks to require that each line item entry on the tax rate calculation forms include a hyperlink to a document that evidences the accuracy of the entry. The inclusion of this information will allow taxpayers to more easily verify the accuracy of the tax rate calculation

forms.

As proposed, S.B. 1023 amends current law relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 5.07(g), Tax Code, as follows:

(g) Requires that the forms described by Subsection (f) (relating to requiring the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas (comptroller) to prescribe the tax rate calculation forms) be in electronic format and meet certain criteria, including being capable of including for each entry, other than an entry making a mathematical calculation, a hyperlink to a document that evidences the accuracy of the entry. Makes nonsubstantive changes.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 26.03, Tax Code, by adding Subsection (e), as follows:

(e) Requires that the adjustments to the value of property taxable by the unit and to the amount of taxes imposed or collected by the unit prescribed by Section 26.03 (Treatment of Captured Appraised Value and Tax Increment), for a taxing unit in which a tax rate calculation for a tax year is affected by this application of this section, be calculated separately for each reinvestment zone in which the taxing unit participates. Requires the comptroller to ensure that the tax rate calculation forms prescribed under Section 5.07 (Property Tax Forms and Records Systems) provide for the calculations to be made in the manner required by this subsection.

SECTION 3. Amends Section 26.04(d-1), Tax Code, to require the designated officer or employee to include a hyperlink described by Section 5.07(g)(4) (relating to requiring that the forms be in an electronic format and be capable of including for each entry, other than a mathematical calculation, a hyperlink to a document that evidences the accuracy of the entry) for each entry on the form, other than an entry making a mathematical calculation.

SECTION 4. Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 5. Effective date: January 1, 2026.

Senate Authors

Sen. Paul BettencourtRepublican · Primary Author

House Sponsor

Rep. Ellen TroxclairRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 1023

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 5.07(g), Tax Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	(g) The forms described by Subsection (f) must be in an
	electronic format and:
	(1) have blanks that can be filled in electronically;
	(2) be capable of being certified by the designated
	officer or employee after completion as accurately calculating the
	applicable tax rates and using values that are the same as the
	values shown in, as applicable:
	(A) the taxing unit's certified appraisal roll;
	or
	(B) the certified estimate of taxable value of
	property in the taxing unit prepared under Section 26.01(a-1);
	[~~and~~]
	(3) be capable of being electronically incorporated
	into the property tax database maintained by each appraisal
	district under Section 26.17 and submitted electronically to the
	county assessor-collector of each county in which all or part of the
	territory of the taxing unit is located; and
	(4) be capable of including a hyperlink to a document
	that evidences the accuracy of each entry included in the form,
	other than an entry making a mathematical calculation.
	SECTION 2. Section 26.03, Tax Code, is amended by adding
	Subsection (e) to read as follows:
	(e) For a taxing unit in which a tax rate calculation for a
	tax year is affected by the application of this section, the
	adjustments to the value of property taxable by the unit and to the
	amount of taxes imposed or collected by the unit prescribed by this
	section shall be calculated separately for each reinvestment zone
	in which the taxing unit participates. The comptroller shall
	ensure that the tax rate calculation forms prescribed under Section
	5.07 provide for the calculations to be made in the manner required
	by this subsection.
	SECTION 3. Section 26.04(d-1), Tax Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(d-1) The designated officer or employee shall use the tax
	rate calculation forms prescribed by the comptroller under Section
	5.07 in calculating the no-new-revenue tax rate and the
	voter-approval tax rate. The designated officer or employee must
	include a hyperlink described by Section 5.07(g)(4) on the form.
	SECTION 4. This Act applies to the calculation of an ad
	valorem tax rate only for a tax year that begins on or after the
	effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 8, 2025

TO:	Honorable Paul Bettencourt, Chair, Senate Committee on Local Government

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB1023 by Bettencourt (Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would require the tax rate calculation forms prescribed by the Comptroller be capable of including a hyperlink to a document that supports the accuracy of the entry and require the designated officer or employee making the calculations to include a hyperlink to the appropriate documentation supporting the calculations.

The bill would require that a taxing unit calculate taxable property value and the amount of taxes imposed or calculated separately for each reinvestment zone the taxing unit participates in. The bill requires the tax rate calculation forms prescribed by the Comptroller to allow for this requirement.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

304 Comptroller of Public Accounts

LBB Staff:

JMc, SZ, SD, BRI

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB1023

What does Texas SB1023 do?

SB1023 transforms property tax rate calculation from a simple data-entry task into a mandatory digital evidence submission process, requiring hyperlinks for all input values effective Tax Year 2026. This law forces immediate software updates for GovTech vendors and scope-of-work revisions for tax consultants and legal counsel serving local governments to accommodate granular Reinvestment Zone (TIF) accounting and document hosting. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: January 1, 2026.

Who authored SB1023?

SB1023 was authored by Texas Senator Paul Bettencourt during the Regular Session.

When was SB1023 signed into law?

SB1023 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 27, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB1023?

SB1023 is enforced by Comptroller of Public Accounts and County Assessor-Collectors.

How urgent is compliance with SB1023?

The compliance urgency for SB1023 is rated as "moderate". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB1023?

The cost impact of SB1023 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB1023 address?

SB1023 addresses topics including taxation, taxation--property-assessment & collection, taxation--property-tax rate, reinvestment zones and comptroller of public accounts.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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