What are Colocation HCAD Property tax statements?

As a company located within the boundaries of the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD), OPLINK.NET  Internet Services is required to comply with Section 22.04(a) of the Texas Property Tax Code.   We receive instructions from the Chief Appraiser each January to file a report listing the name and address of each owner of property located in our facility as of January 1.   These same instructions are sent to every datacenter and colocation service provider in Texas and service providers are legally obliged to comply within 30 days of HCADs request.

OPLINK.NET will comply with a reasonable and legal request from HCAD.  Taken directly from HCADs instructions, the following information is requested:

1. The physical address of the facility where the equipment is stored
2. Owner’s name and mailing address
3. Description of equipment (i.e. switching equipment, routers, fiber optic cabling, etc.)
4. Length of time stored or in use at (the) facility

The information that OPLINK.NET provides to HCAD includes:

1. Company name & contact person from the customer account record
2. Mailing address from the customer account record.
3. General description of installation (see below for more information)
4. Length of time the customer has colocated with us.

The information that we provide with regard to a description of a customer’s installation is very general in nature.   For instance, if a customer has 2 servers, that is all the information we report.   If the customer has a 1/2 rack or a full rack installation, we report only the rack allocation, and not the equipment that is stored within that space.  We do not provide a detailed inventory of the equipment.  In addition, our facilities have never been toured or inspected by HCAD staff members.   We make no attempt to estimate value or provide any information as to an asset list.  Therefore, the information that HCAD receives is very general in nature.

Please note that the Business Personal Property tax is separate from and unrelated to a sales tax that we are required to levy on Texas residents for services that are provided.

We are not tax professionals and therefore cannot offer specific advice to customers who are in receipt of HCAD notices.  However, we are able to offer general information based upon our experience and feedback that we have received from our customers.

• Your initial “Notice of Appraised Value” for your business personal property is likely to be unreasonably high.   We understand that HCAD will often use a value at the top of the range for their initial assessment.  This seems to be a strategy so that recipients of the notice will respond and arrive at a more reasonable figure.  For example, we have been told that one customer received a tax assessment for a single server in excess of $10k.
• If you feel the value that HCAD has arrived at is unreasonable, we encourage you to make contact with HCAD staff.  Our experience indicates HCAD staff is pleasant and reasonable to work with, and most issues can be resolved with a phone call.   The HCAD Business Personal Property Division can be reached at 713-957-7800 or hcad.org.

Please keep in mind that OPLINK.NET does not make up the rules regarding the state Tax Code. We are merely required to follow the rules, as are all other legitimate colocation service providers in Texas.  We will make every effort to assist our customers if they have special requests from us, but bear in mind that we are unable to intercede directly with HCAD on your account.  If you have specific questions regarding a notice you have received from HCAD we encourage you to contact them directly for assistance.