U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez and his wife defied property tax law for eight years by claiming two

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez and his wife defied property tax law for eight years by claiming two homestead exemptions

by Patrick Svitek, Texas Tribune


U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, and his wife ran afoul of property tax law for at least eight years as each claimed homestead exemptions on properties they separately owned.

They fixed the issue last year, when his wife, Lorena Saenz Gonzalez, removed the homestead exemption on her property. But from 2014 to 2021, Hidalgo County records show that Vicente Gonzalez was claiming a homestead exemption on a property in McAllen valued this year at $527,054, while his wife was also claiming one on another property in the city valued this year at $287,131. That saved them at least $2,300 in property taxes on the second property, according to a Texas Tribune analysis.

In Texas, married couples generally can claim only one such exemption, which is meant to provide some tax relief on properties considered “principal residences.” Homestead exemptions cannot typically be claimed on commercial properties, second homes or income properties.

Gonzalez said the second property is one that his wife owned prior to their marriage in 2008 and that she forgot to remove the homestead exemption on it until last year.

”It was a simple oversight that was voluntarily corrected as soon as she found out,” Gonzalez said in a statement.

After the Tribune inquired, Gonzalez spokesperson James Rivera said the congressman has spoken with the county appraiser’s office and intends to pay any back taxes that are owed.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/19/vicente-gonzalez-property-tax-homestead-exemption/