We owe roughly $20,000 in delinquent property taxes on mineral rights in Texas going back 10 years. We have been trying to get caught up, but every time I turn around we are receiving another notice from a law firm that we are about to be sued.
Inherited the mineral rights from my mother when she passed away over 20 years ago. i was a child then, and my family was unable to keep up with the taxes.
We don’t receive that much income from these minerals, it’s maybe roughly $4k a year. I’m fed up with bleeding money to pay delinquent taxes that I don’t even understand. How do I know if the value assessed is accurate? This seems like a huge scam in the state of Texas and small royalty owners like myself are being pursued and bled dry with penalties and interest accruing.
My question is at what point does it make sense to just sell it all and get out. I’ve lived the about boom and bust in oil and gas in Texas and I don’t think it makes sense if you are a small guy to stay in the game. The administrative and tax costs just don’t support it.
Property taxes in Texas are the same as owing money to the IRS. If the taxes go back 10 years as you say, most likely the majority of the monies owed are Attorney fees, Interest and penalties. At this point in time the assessed value is not a concern as you are past the time to protest these values.
The best thoughts I could give you are to be sure and keep the current taxes paid so that you will not get slapped with any penalties on them. Then work on the past dues.
If you sell this interest, the sale would be subject to those back taxes. Even if you sold them,you would probably receive little if any money for your interest.
Thank you Charles. I appreciate your insight. What you are saying makes sense. Probably just need to do out best to get caught up and keep them current. It’s a real struggle, because while I have been able to keep mine current, the rest of my family hasn’t had the ability to do so, so I am trying to help them out. Just when I think I am caught up in a county, I get a notice from 1 to 2 school districts within the county letting me know we are behind. It just feels endless.
The income should have been more than enough to pay the taxes unless you are not getting royalty checks for some reason. Also, call the law firm and work out a payment plan on the past dues.
Thank you Wade. You are correct, the income should have been enough, but it’s the penalties, interest and legal fees that have accrued over 10 years that is killing us. Good idea to see if I can structure a payment plan that hopefully stops the clock on penalties and interest.
There is the possibility that the mineral interest is valuable relative to potential as opposed to current production. Many examples exist and would be determined by exactly what you have and where it is. I would suggest that you tell us what you have and it might be familiar to someone reading this who could be of more substantive help.
Thank you Charles. I appreciate your insight. What you are saying makes sense. Probably just need to do out best to get caught up and keep them current. It's a real struggle, because while I have been able to keep mine current, the rest of my family hasn't had the ability to do so, so I am trying to help them out. Just when I think I am caught up in a county, I get a notice from 1 to 2 school districts within the county letting me know we are behind. It just feels endless.
If I understood your reply correcly, you owe no back taxes on your part of your grandmother's estate
Melody Davis said:
Thank you Charles. I appreciate your insight. What you are saying makes sense. Probably just need to do out best to get caught up and keep them current. It's a real struggle, because while I have been able to keep mine current, the rest of my family hasn't had the ability to do so, so I am trying to help them out. Just when I think I am caught up in a county, I get a notice from 1 to 2 school districts within the county letting me know we are behind. It just feels endless.
You mentioned multiple school districts. Do the back taxes cover multiple parcels that lie in different ISD’s? Or do the minerals lie in a pool that encompasses two or more ISD’s? Just checking to make sure you are not being double-assessed.