KEEP_FREEZE_CALCTYPE_S If set to N, a U will be entered when
the Save & Calculate Levy is done. If set to Y and Save &
Calculate Levy is clicked, the Calculation Type will be set to S.
ACT recommends that this preference be set to N since once set to
U, changes in value and exemption will cause the freeze to not be
recalculated. 2
Slide 3
CEILING_FRWRD_ON_NAME_CHANGES If set to Y, the Ceiling Owner
name in the Frozen Amount screen does not change even if a
certified owner name change was done during the year, but the
ceiling will still apply for the next year. Many clients set this
to Y at certified since name changes are often styling changes,
like from Dawn Gamache et ux to John and Dawn Gamache. 3
Slide 4
CEILING_FRWRD_ON_NAME_CHANGES If this preference is set to N,
the old freeze no longer applies when a name change occurs. A new
freeze may be set if the new owner qualifies. Name changes are
determined by the comparison of names, NOT by the owner effective
date or any other criteria. 4
Slide 5
OWNER_EXEMPTION_EFFECTIVE_DATE If set to OWNER, and the owner
effective date is set to something other than January 1 of the tax
year; the frozen levy remains the same for the remainder of that
year. The following year a new freeze will be calculated for the
new owner. If set to EXEMPTION, the system will use the begin date
of the qualifying exemption to determine if a new freeze should be
entered. The Start Date for O65 and DRH exemptions is required.
These dates are stored in the Qualifying Exemption Date on the
Owner Detail screen. If Expired, this preference will allow the
program to look for changes in the certified owner name when
setting new freezes without considering these dates. 5
Slide 6
COMPARE_CEILING Set the preference to Y to allow the system to
compare the calculated levy between the first and second years an
account is eligible for a freeze if the first year of eligibility
has no HOM exemption and the second year does have that exemption;
the frozen levy will be set to the lowest of the two levies. Set
the preference to N to always have the freeze year and levy set to
what is on the account the first year of the O65 or DRH regardless
of HOM existing on the account. Set this to D if you always do a
compare between the first and second years of a freeze even if an
HOM exemption is present the first year. 6
Slide 7
CEILING_WITH_HOMESTEAD: Enter Y to allow freezes only if the
account has a homestead exemption. Enter N to allow freezes if the
account has either an O65 or DRH and no homestead. 7
Slide 8
CEILING_FRWRD_ON_EXCODE_CHANGE: Set this preference to Y to
continue the freeze on accounts where a freeze exists in the
current year and the exemptions (O65, DRH) have changed for the new
year. The owner is the same for both years but the qualifying
exemption has changed. Set to N to create a new freeze if the
exemptions have changed for the new year, even if the change is
just from one qualifying exemption to another. (O65 to S65 or DRH)
8
Slide 9
APPR_DIST_SPLIT_NEW_IMPR: Set to N to prevent new improvement
value from being split between qualifying and non- qualifying
values. For Harris County CAD loads, set this to Y to allow this
split when the homestead percentage is less than 100%. 9
Slide 10
SRH_FREEZE_UNIT_TYPE: Enter the unit types from the Tax Unit
Maintenance screen for which freezes can be given on SRH (surviving
disable spouse) exemptions. The default is
SCHOOL,CITY,COUNTY,COLLEGE. (Some tax offices may not want to
include School in this preference listing) If the preference is
expired, the SRH exemption is not applied. 10
Slide 11
COUNTY_CODES_NO_UPDATE_PORT: If expired (the default), allow
ported freezes to be updated for all counties when processing
appraisal district files. Otherwise, enter the county codes
(separated by comma) for counties not wanting ported freezes to be
updated as a result of an appraisal district load. 11
Slide 12
CALCULATE_FREEZE_ONLINE: Set to Y to calculate frozen levy when
pressing Save and Calculate Levy. Set to N to not do this, in which
case frozen levies must be set on the Frozen Amount tab of Account
Master manually. 12
Slide 13
HOMESTEAD_CAP: Homestead exemptions are calculated on and
subtracted from capped value instead of gross value. Set to Y (yes)
or N (no). 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. 13
Slide 14
FREEZE_CALC_METHOD: Set to APPRAISED to use appraised homesite
value when calculating freezes. Set to TAXABLE to use taxable
homesite value (appraised minus exemptions) for freeze
calculations. This affects freezes with new improvement. If the
FREEZE_CALC_METHOD preference is set to APPRAISED, ACT calculates
the new improvement value x the tax rate and adds that to last
year's frozen levy to get the new year's frozen levy (New
Improvement Amount x Rate/100 = New Improvement Levy + Existing
Freeze = New Frozen Amount). If the preference is set to TAXABLE,
ACT takes the difference between the full calculated levy including
the new improvement value and the full calculated levy for the same
year if no new improvement were included. We then add that value to
last year's frozen levy. (Full Calculated Homesite Levy with New
Improvement - Full Calculated Homesite Levy without New Improvement
= New Improvement Levy + Existing Freeze = New Frozen Amount).
14
Slide 15
APPRAISED Example: Account has, for tax unit 1 (a county) in
the new tax year, an appraised homesite value of 187,280 that
includes new improvement of 20,000. Unit 1 has a.20% homestead
local option exemption and an O65 of $100,000. The account has an
existing prior year freeze of 100.00 for that unit. Using the above
calculation, the new frozen amount is 20,000 x.403101/100 = 80.62 +
100.00 = 180.62. 15
Slide 16
TAXABLE Example: Account has, for tax unit 1 in the new tax
year, an appraised homesite value of 187,280 that includes new
improvement of 20,000. The account has an existing prior year
freeze of 100.00 for a county unit. Unit 1 has a 20% homestead
local option exemption and an O65 of $100,000. After the exemption
values have been applied, the taxable value is 48,244. The levy is
48,244 x.403101/100 = 200.84. Now take the 167,280, which is the
appraised amount without the new improvement value. After the
exemption values have been applied, the taxable value is 33,824.
The levy is 33,824 x.403101/100 = 136.34. The difference between
the two levies is 200.84 - 136.34 = 64.50. The new frozen amount is
64.50 + 100.00 = 164.50. 16