1. (a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

   1. (1) Disaster--The occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made cause, including fire, flood, earthquake, wind, storm, wave action, oil spill, or other water contamination, volcanic activity, epidemic, air contamination, blight, drought, infestation, explosion, riot, hostile military or paramilitary action, other public calamity requiring emergency action, or energy emergency.
   2. (2) Disaster area--An area declared to be a disaster area by the governor of the state of Texas, or an area declared a disaster area by the president of the United States under 42 United States Code, §5141.
2. (b) Qualifications for installment payments. A person who owns any real property that consists of fewer than five living units; is the owner's residence homestead or is used for residential purposes; is both located in a disaster area and was damaged as a direct result of the disaster; and had taxes imposed on that property by a taxing unit before the first anniversary of the disaster area declaration, may pay the taxes so imposed in installments.
3. (c) Written notice of installment payments. If, before the delinquency date, a person pays at least one-fourth of the taxes so imposed and gives a written notice to the taxing unit that they will pay the remaining taxes in installments, the person may pay the remaining taxes without penalty or interest in three equal installments. The first of these installments must be paid before April 1, the second before June 1, and the third before August 1. If the delinquency date for taxes to which this subsection applies is postponed to May 1 or a later date, the tax assessor-collector shall extend each installment deadline provided by this subsection by the number of months that the delinquency date was postponed.
4. (d) Failure to timely pay. Should the person fail to timely make an installment payment before the applicable date provided by subsection (c) of this section, the unpaid amount is delinquent. A penalty of 12% and interest assessments as provided by Tax Code, §33.01(c), shall thereafter be due and owing.
5. (e) Prepayment of taxes due. A person may pay more than the amount due for each installment and any amount paid in excess of the amount due shall be credited to the next, pending installment. A person may not pay less than the total amount due for each installment unless the tax assessor-collector provides for the acceptance of partial payments as authorized by the Tax Code, §31.032. If the collector accepts a partial payment, penalty and interest assessments will be incurred only on the unpaid amount due on the applicable date provided by subsection (c) of this section.

Source Note:The provisions of this §9.3060 adopted to be effective March 18, 1996, 21 TexReg 1890.