Home address: 1102 12Th Street

 2021 Taxable Value: $110,780

 Recent Sales Price: $60,220   – Over-taxed by 84%

Property tax assessments not carefully reviewed lead to paying more than your share of property taxes. Appraisal districts are flexible on market value appeals given the large number of houses they value and that are protested. Unequal appraisal appeals are valid when the assessment is below market value. Winning a property tax protest is easy.  Getting property owners to appeal is hard.  Only 10% of Texan home owners appeal their property taxes.

Owners are sometimes reluctant to protest property taxes due to a concern their value might be raised.  This can’t and does not happen.  Since 2019, neither the appraisal district or the appraisal review board can increase a property tax assessment during a protest. One reason it is difficult for appraisal districts to correctly value homes is they are not homogenous.  Some have been remodeled and some haven’t. Appraisal districts are willing to settle property tax appeals because they realize their values are not precise. Property owners who appeal annually rarely pay more than their fair share.