Property taxes overpaid by previous owner; there is a current overage; can I collect?

[Alexander Timberlake]

I purchased a rental property in Nov of 2021 from Auction.com. I just noticed on HCAD that there is a tax overage on my account (overpaid taxes). It appears that the property taxes in 2020 were overpaid by almost $20k. I did not own the house in 2020. I'm not sure what happened to the previous owner... but she never collected this overage.

Since I am now the legal owner of the property, can I collect this property tax overage?

I have a feeling that if the situation was flipped (e.g. there was underpaid taxes on the property) then I would be responsible for paying them. So I am hoping that the system is balanced and they will allow me to collect this tax overpayment on the property that I presently own.

Anyone have any insights? Black and white? Grey?