Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-106 Page: 4 of 6
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The Honorable David Dewhurst - Page 4
your question only as a matter of statutory construction: whether moving a structure from one
location to another is an "improvement" or "repair" within the meaning of section 312.204 of the
Tax Code.
Chapter 312 does not define "improvement" or "repair." Thus, we begin by looking at the
ordinary definitions of the terms. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. 311.011(a) (Vernon 1998). An
"improvement" in the most general sense is "[t]he turning of a thing to profit or good account;
profitable management or use; making the most of a thing for one's own profit; realization of the
profits of anything." VII THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY 750 (2d ed. 1989). When used more
specifically in reference to real property, the term also includes buildings and other permanent
structures attached to land:
Improvement. A valuable addition made to property (usually real
estate) or an amelioration in its condition, amounting to more than
mere repairs or replacement, costing labor or capital, and intended to
enhance its value, beauty or utility or to adapt it for new or further
purposes. Generally has reference to buildings, but may also include
any permanent structure or other development, such as a street,
sidewalks, sewers, utilities, etc. An expenditure to extend the useful
life of an asset or to improve its performance over that of the original
asset.
BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 757 (6th ed. 1990); see also VII THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY 751
(2d ed. 1989) ("A piece of land improved or rendered more profitable by inclosure, cultivation, the
erection of buildings, etc. ... [T]he buildings, fences, etc., themselves.").
As the term "improvement" is understood in the general sense, almost any endeavor that
makes the property or the structures on it better than they were would constitute an improvement.
Moving a structure from one location on a piece of property to another location on the property
might constitute an improvement to the property overall, or to the specific structure itself, by
enhancing its value, extending its useful life, or otherwise making its condition better. A structure
placed on a formerly vacant part of the property certainly is an improvement, in the more narrow
sense, to that part of the property. Whether the relocation of a structure constitutes an improvement
to property must be determined, however, on the facts of the particular case.
A "repair" is "[t]he act of restoring to a sound or unimpaired condition" or the "[r]estoration
of some material thing or structure by the renewal of decayed or worn out parts, by refixing what has
become loose or detached." XIII THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY 627 (2d ed. 1989). "The word
'repair' contemplates an existing structure or thing which has become imperfect, and means to
supply in the original existing structure that which is lost or destroyed, and thereby restore it to the
condition in which it originally existed, or as near as may be." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 1298 (6th
ed. 1990).(JC-0106)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-106, text, September 1, 1999; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274415/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.