Over the past three years, homes on the market around Austin appreciated by 20.8%, or roughly $80,400. Even homeowners who didn’t put their properties on the market felt the deep ripple effects of this market trend.
Property taxes are based on a home’s market value (the price they would likely sell for on the market) as of January 1st every tax year. When demand in an area increases, property values go up—whether that valuation is for a potential sale or calculating property tax bills.
However, there’s a chance that homes are initially valued incorrectly, so Texan homeowners have a short window of time to correct errors through a Hays County property tax protest. Homeowners have a few different avenues for keeping their property taxes as low as possible.
- Filing for homestead exemptions and supplemental exemptions
- Protesting property taxes in the spring
- Voting for local measures that may increase or decrease property tax obligations
Filing for a homestead exemption is a one-time task, and it automatically stays on the property record until the home or owner no longer qualifies. While voting on local measures can have some effects, it’s not an effective, directly controllable strategy. Therefore, one of the most important actions a homeowner can take to keep their property tax bills fair is to protest their appraised value every year.
Before you start, take the time to understand how Hays County property tax protests work, the value they can provide, and the steps homeowners can take to protect themselves.
Getting Started on Your Hays County Property Tax Protest: How Property Taxes Work
Based on its name alone, a Hays County property tax protest sounds like you’re directly protesting your property taxes. But that name is actually an informal moniker for filing your notice of intent to protest your home’s appraised market value. Because of that misconception, it’s important to start your protest process by having a clear understanding of property tax basics.
Texas property taxes are calculated on the local level—your tax jurisdiction and total tax rate are determined by your city, county, school district, and potential MUD your property is in. Homeowners in Wimberly pay a different total tax rate than homeowners in Kyle, who in turn pay a different tax amount than a homeowner in San Marcos, even if all the homes are appraised at the same value.
Local appraisers and tax officials also control the processes of appraising, assessing, and billing your property. Your local central appraisal district (CAD) office has a team of appraisers who calculate the market value of each property as of January 1st of a given year. Those new appraisal values are made public in the spring. If your property value goes up, you’ll receive a notice of appraised value around April.
Taking an Active Role in Your Property Taxes
In most cases, homeowners have the opportunity to protest their appraisal value until May 15th or 30 days after the notice is delivered to the homeowner. Whether homeowners choose to protest or not, the final property values are entered into the official district roll in early summer, at which point the district roll is sent to the local tax assessor’s office.
Tax officials apply the property’s exemptions, calculate the property tax levies, and send out the finalized property tax bills. Homeowners typically receive their bills in early November, and the total payment is due by January 31st of the following year.
Related: 2024 Preliminary Values for Texas
Why Homeowners Should Always Conduct a Property Tax Protest
The property tax protest period—during May and June after property appraisals come out—can seemingly come out of nowhere, especially if you’re busy with income taxes in April and too preoccupied to think about a tax bill you won’t receive until November. However, every homeowner in Hays County (and across the entire state of Texas) should protest their property taxes every year.
- Property appraisers can make mistakes. While local appraisers do their best to perform fair valuations based on the market, there will be human error. They might compare your property to homes that look similar enough on paper but have significant differences on the market (such as upgrades, improvements, and features that your home doesn’t have). They may accidentally weigh different factors too much, compare your home to properties that don’t make sense, or miss unique easements and disadvantages that affect your property.
- Your home might not be individually appraised every year. Central appraisal districts are only required to appraise homes once every three years, and they often use algorithms and software to make adjustments during those in-between years. However, those values can also have errors, and the only way to correct them is to protest on time.
- Protesting your property taxes is the only mechanism to reduce your home’s appraisal value. Two main property values affect your property tax bill every year: your market (appraisal) value and your assessed (taxable) value. Filing your homestead exemption will impact the taxable value and lower it for different levies. However, only a property tax protest can lower the appraised value.
- A lower appraisal value keeps your property taxes low in the long term. Property tax protests are more effective when you consistently complete the process. If you lower your home’s annual value increase, even if it’s just by a couple of thousand dollars every year, that adds up to a significant reduction over time. Since Texas property taxes tend to hover above 2%, you can save $200 for every $10,000 you reduce your home’s value by. There are also advantages to keeping your appraised value low and as close to the taxable value as possible.
How to Complete a Hays County Property Tax Protest
Property tax protests are a multi-step process. However, you don’t have to conduct this process alone, and if you hire a service, you won’t have to be involved at all. It’s still useful to understand the steps and what’s involved during every phase of a Hays County property tax protest.
- File your protest notice. You can complete this step online or via a paper form. On your protest notice, you’ll provide details about your property, a counter-valuation, and evidence supporting your valuation.
- Weigh the automatic response. In some cases, Hays County will automatically adjust your property’s appraisal value if you submit a protest notice. Generally, the new valuation will be slightly less than the initial amount or a compromise between the two numbers. You can accept the change or continue with the more involved protest steps.
- Have an informal meeting. Schedule a meeting or walk into the Hays County CAD office to meet with an appraiser. There, you can discuss the evidence supporting your argument (such as estimates for the cost of work to make your home comparable to others in your neighborhood). The appraiser may reduce the value of your home or offer a compromise. Alternatively, they may stick with their original number. You can either agree to any changes or move to the final stage.
- Attend a formal hearing in front of an ARB. You and the chief appraiser for Hays County will present arguments and evidence in front of an appraisal review board (ARB). These members will consider both arguments, the evidence, and current trends in the local real estate market. They can’t make adjustments based on financial need or income. At the end of the hearing, they’ll make a final ruling on your home’s value. You can appeal the decision if you don’t like the outcome, but the ARB’s number will likely be the amount passed onto the tax assessors.
4 Advantages of Hiring a Property Tax Protest Service to Represent You
Conducting a full property tax protest can be time-consuming and overwhelming, especially if you follow through to the very end. But it has a significant potential to reduce your property taxes now and keep them fair and predictable across the long term. If you recognize the benefits but are worried about handling the process alone, you can hire a property tax protest service to do it all for you.
Related: Proposition 4: A Guide to Recent Property Tax Relief in Texas
This approach offers several advantages to residents conducting Hays County property tax protests, including:
- Your case is handled by property tax experts who are familiar with appraisals, local market trends, and the entire protest process. They know how to make strong, factual arguments and present evidence to appraisers and a hearing board.
- Professional services can more easily access information regarding trends in your area, fair market values of homes near yours, and third-party appraisals to ascertain a fair valuation.
- You don’t have to worry about preparing for the hearing or taking time off work. Hearings take place during the workday, and tax experts will represent you during both informal meetings and formal hearings.
- Deadlines don’t have to weigh on your mind. Once you sign up for a professional service, they take on the responsibility of managing paperwork and deadlines. Some services also manage your protest every year, so you don’t have to remember the spring deadlines.
Take Property Tax Protests Off Your To-Do List With the Help of Tax Experts
Protesting your property taxes every year is one of the top strategies for getting a fair property tax bill. At Home Tax Shield, we specialize in helping homeowners fight for fair, low taxes. Our team of experts can handle the protest on your behalf, from filing the paperwork to meeting with appraisers and review boards. Sign up today for the 2024 property tax protest season.