Mission Statement:

To provide market value appraisals of all taxable property in Upshur County in a fair and equitable, and cost effective manner, and to provide services and assistance to the public and taxing jurisdictions.

Upshur CAD Responsibilities:

The Appraisal District’s primary responsibility is to develop an annual appraisal roll for use by taxing units in imposing ad valorem taxes on property in the district. Upshur CAD is governed by the Board of Directors, who is primarily responsible for the hiring of the Chief Appraiser as well as approving the annual budget.

A Brief History

Prior to 1979 the Texas Constitution required all property owners to pay property taxes. Exemptions were few and with the exceptions of Government property, along with that belonging to churches, schools and other properties exempted by federal law, most other owners were taxed on property including automobiles, household furniture, stocks, bonds and cash in the bank. Each tax agency in Texas could have its own tax office if desired and tax offices proliferated with most cities, school districts and numerous special districts establishing independent offices. Accordingly, Texas had over 3,000 separate tax offices, each following its own standards and local practices. Properties were often listed on different taxing entities rolls at dramatically different appraised values and assessment ratios were also applied with no uniformity between entities.

In 1979 the 66th Texas Legislature, reacting to a chronic and growing problem of inequitable and unfair taxation, passed new legislation in Senate Bill 621 requiring that a centralized agency be established in each county for the purpose of appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes. These agencies, called “Central Appraisal Districts” consolidated the appraisal function of all taxing units into one office in each county and were organized to ensure that property taxation was fair and equitable as well as accurate. The Central Appraisal District (CAD) appraises each property in the county. Individual taxing units use those values to calculate tax liabilities in their jurisdiction. Each CAD is headed by a chief appraiser who manages staff, prepares budgets, administers applications for exemptions and oversees the day-to-day district operations. The Tax Code prescribes appraisal standards and appeal procedures and ensures regular review of each appraisal district by a state agency.