RENDITION GENERALLY.

(a) Except as provided by Chapter 24, a person shall render for taxation all tangible personal property used for the production of income that the person owns or that the person manages and controls as a fiduciary on January 1. A rendition statement shall contain:

(1) the name and address of the property owner;

(2) a description of the property by type or category;

(3) if the property is inventory, a description of each type of inventory and a general estimate of the quantity of each type of inventory;

(4) the physical location or taxable situs of the property; and

(5) the property owner's good faith estimate of the market value of the property or, at the option of the property owner, the historical cost when new and the year of acquisition of the property.

(b) When required by the chief appraiser, a person shall render for taxation any other taxable property that he owns or that he manages and controls as a fiduciary on January 1.

(c) A person may render for taxation any property that he owns or that he manages and controls as a fiduciary on January 1, although he is not required to render it by Subsection (a) or (b) of this section.

(c-1) In this section:

(1) "Related business entity" and "unified business enterprise" have the meanings assigned by Section 11.145.

(2) "Secured party" has the meaning assigned by Section 9.102, Business & Commerce Code.

(3) "Security interest" has the meaning assigned by Section 1.201, Business & Commerce Code.

(c-2) With the consent of the property owner, a secured party may render for taxation any property of the property owner in which the secured party has a security interest on January 1, although the secured party is not required to render the property by Subsection (a) or (b). This subsection applies only to property that has a historical cost when new of more than $50,000.

(d) A fiduciary who renders property shall indicate his fiduciary capacity and shall state the name and address of the owner.

(d-1) A secured party who renders property under Subsection (c-2) shall indicate the party's status as a secured party and shall state the name and address of the property owner. A secured party is not liable for inaccurate information included on the rendition statement if the property owner supplied the information or for failure to timely file the rendition statement if the property owner failed to promptly cooperate with the secured party. A secured party may rely on information provided by the property owner with respect to:

(1) the accuracy of information in the rendition statement;

(2) the appraisal district in which the rendition statement must be filed; and

(3) compliance with any provisions of this chapter that require the property owner to supply additional information.

(e) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), a person is not required to render for taxation cotton that:

(1) the person manages and controls as a fiduciary;

(2) is stored in a warehouse for which an exemption for cotton has been granted under Section 11.437; and

(3) the person intends to transport outside of the state within the time permitted by Article VIII, Section 1-j, of the Texas Constitution for cotton to qualify for an exemption under that section.

(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), a rendition statement of a person who owns tangible personal property used for the production of income located in the appraisal district that, in the owner's opinion, has an aggregate value of less than $20,000 is required to contain only:

(1) the name and address of the property owner;

(2) a general description of the property by type or category; and

(3) the physical location or taxable situs of the property.

(g) A person's good faith estimate of the market value of the property under Subsection (a)(5) is solely for the purpose of compliance with the requirement to render tangible personal property and is inadmissible in any subsequent protest, hearing, appeal, suit, or other proceeding under this title involving the property, except for:

(1) a proceeding to determine whether the person complied with this section;

(2) a proceeding under Section 22.29(b); or

(3) a protest under Section 41.41.

(h) If the property that is the subject of the rendition is regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Railroad Commission of Texas, the federal Surface Transportation Board, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the owner of the property is considered to have complied with the requirements of this section if the owner provides to the chief appraiser, on written request of the chief appraiser, a copy of the annual regulatory report covering the property and sufficient information to enable the chief appraiser to allocate the value of the property among the appropriate taxing units for which the appraisal district appraises property.

(i) Subsection (a) does not apply to a property owner whose property is subject to appraisal by a third party retained by the appraisal district if the property owner provides information substantially equivalent to that required by Subsection (a) regarding the property directly to the third party appraiser.

(j) Subsection (a) does not apply to property that is exempt from taxation.

(j-1) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), a person is required to render tangible personal property the person owns that is held or used for the production of income only if, in the person's opinion and as applicable:

(1) the aggregate market value of the property that has taxable situs in the same location in at least one taxing unit that participates in the appraisal district is greater than the amount exempted under Section 11.145(b); or

(2) the aggregate market value of the property in at least one taxing unit that participates in the appraisal district is greater than the amount exempted under Section 11.145(d) or (d-1), as applicable.

(j-2) A person required to render property for taxation under Subsection (j-1) must render all tangible personal property the person owns that is held or used for the production of income and has taxable situs in the appraisal district. This subsection does not apply to property exempt from taxation under a provision of law other than Section 11.145.

(j-3) A person who elects not to render property for taxation as authorized by Subsection (j-1) must file a rendition statement or property report that includes a certification that the person reasonably believes that the value of the property is not more than the amount exempted under Section 11.145(b), (d), or (d-1), as applicable. The election takes effect beginning with the tax year following the tax year in which the rendition statement or property report is filed and continues in effect until the ownership of the person changes. Notwithstanding Subsection (j-1), a person described by that subsection must render property for taxation if required by the chief appraiser.

(k) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), an individual who has been granted or has applied for an exemption from taxation under Section 11.254 for a motor vehicle the individual owns is not required to render the motor vehicle for taxation.

(l) If the information contained in the most recent rendition statement filed by a person in a prior tax year is accurate with respect to the current tax year, the person may comply with the requirements of Subsection (a) by filing a rendition statement on a form prescribed or approved by the comptroller under Section 22.24(c) on which the person has checked the appropriate box to affirm that the information continues to be complete and accurate.

(m) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), a person is not required to render for taxation personal property appraised under Section 23.24.

(n) A rendition statement of a related business entity must contain the information required by Subsection (a) or (f), as applicable, stated for each related business entity that composes the unified business enterprise of which the related business entity that is the subject of the rendition is a part.