Property Tax Alert: Texas

September 2006

A convenience store's fuel dispensers were real property rather than personal property for Texas property tax purposes and therefore not subject to seizure and sale for delinquent taxes under a tax warrant obtained by the taxing authorities. The taxing unit argued that the Texas appraisal manual indicated that fuel dispensers were considered personal property for tax purposes. However, the fuel dispensers showed many characteristics of permanency, such as being anchored to the property by concrete and being wired into the property's electrical system and the appraisal manual did not constitute sufficient evidence to support the trial court's finding that the fuel dispensers were personal property. The appeals court held that, as a matter of law, the fuel dispensers attached to real property were "fixtures" and therefore "improvements" as defined by the Texas Tax Code.

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