Home address: 517 Montecito Rd

2021 Taxable Value: $166,735  

Recent Sales Price: $123,000 – Overtaxed by 36%

Property tax assessments not carefully reviewed lead to paying more than your share of property taxes. Protesting the appraisal district’s market value will usually reduce your property taxes. An unequal appraisal appeal is easy to prepare.  Just find neighborhood homes with a lower level of assessment (per square foot).  Summarize the data in a table. The Texas Comptroller reports 80% of 2019 property tax appeals by homeowners were successful. 

Property owners are sometimes reluctant to protest their property taxes because they believe the appeal process is difficult.  It is not difficult and 60 to 80% of owners who appeal are successful. It is difficult for appraisal districts to accurately value houses due to limited staff. Appraisal districts are receptive to settling property tax protests for houses at the informal level because it has only a nominal impact on the total tax base. Property taxes are the largest tax most Texans face. But it is a stealth tax hidden in the mortgage payment, disguising the size of property taxes paid.