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Property tax appraisals come through the mail in April every year in Texas, and the valuation of your home always comes with a bit of sticker shock. In the past two years, especially, many communities have seen soaring housing prices and county tax appraisals.
Sometimes, it can feel like it’s too expensive to stay in your town, even if you own your own home. But you don’t have to just accept the home value appraisal and final tax bill your County Appraisal District (CAD) sends you each spring. Instead, you can challenge the decision through a lengthy appeals process that lets you present evidence about your home’s true value and why your property tax bill doesn’t reflect reality.
However, even that solution can be frustratingly, overly complex, and too much of a roadblock when you’re busy with your day-to-day life. When you want to appeal your property taxes but you don’t have the time to manage all the detailed proceedings, don’t give up and accept the tax bill. See if a Texas property tax protest company is right for you and your needs. In this article, we’ll look at:
- What a Texas property tax protest company is
- How one of these services can handle the appeals process on your behalf without exorbitant fees
- The benefits of shielding your property taxes by challenging and appealing the tax bill from your Texas CAD
What Is a Texas Property Tax Protest Company?
Texas property tax protest companies can act on a homeowner’s behalf to appeal initial property tax bills, provide documentation and evidence to challenge the property tax amount, and present an argument at a scheduled hearing with the homeowner’s County Appraisal District (CAD).
These services can advise either individual homeowners or property investors on the current tax situation for their county and state, create a strategy for appealing taxes, or handle the entire process so the property owner can enjoy “hands-off” property tax appeals.
While this prolonged process can be handled by individual homeowners, it’s a lengthy and involved process that involves strict deadlines. A company can manage all the details and represent you so you don’t have to take on any of the tasks yourself.
Different property tax protest companies have different billing options. Some charge an upfront price that is due regardless of the results or your home’s initial or adjusted property valuation. Other companies may charge a percentage of your property tax bill, and still others will only charge you a portion of the property tax savings you receive through their services.
Why It’s More Important Than Ever Before to Have a Texas Property Tax Protest Company on Your Side
According to a recent article in The Texas Tribune, “The growth rate of home values in the state’s major metropolitan areas has surged by double digits. In Harris County, the state’s most populous county, residential values have risen between 15% and 30%, according to Roland Altinger, the county’s chief appraiser.”
This surge isn’t restricted to the Houston area. Dallas, El Paso, Austin, and other major metroplexes have seen housing prices rise even more, and those new selling prices are having a catastrophic effect on the appraised property values — and the subsequent tax rates — for people who simply want to keep living in their Texas homes.
The same Texas Tribune article further reports, “Property tax collections have risen more than 20% since 2017, according to data from the Texas comptroller’s office.”
While individual homeowners and property investors can’t stop the rising tide of property tax bills, you can stem the flow by appealing your property tax. Consider these three key impacts (and we’ll explore them in greater detail below):
- You can immediately reduce your tax bill.
- Your county appraisal office uses the prior year’s valuation (along with comparables and recent data from your neighborhood and community) to calculate each current tax year’s bill. By fighting this year, next year starts from a smaller base value rate.
- You help your neighbors. By arguing down your tax bill, your neighbors can use your reduced property appraisal as evidence in their own appeal. You, in turn, benefit from other neighbors arguing down their property tax rate.
The Process of Appealing or Protesting Your Texas Property Taxes
Appealing your property taxes is a multi-step process. Whether you want to gain more insight or you’re considering taking on the appeals process yourself, each of these steps is a required part of the process:
1. Send in your notice of protest
Once you receive your tax bill and decide that you want to challenge the rate, you must file a Notice of Protest (Form 50-132 for counties with a population greater than 120,000 people). You or an agent designated on your behalf can fill out this form with your personal details, property description, reason for protest, and hearing details. In the majority of circumstances, this form must be filed by midnight on May 15, though there are some exceptions. Depending on your county’s system, this form can be completed online, emailed or fax in, or mailed to your County Appraisal District office.
2. Schedule your informal meeting
Now that you have protested your taxes, you’ll receive instructions for scheduling a settlement meeting. Meetings may be in person, over the phone, or via video conference. During this meeting, you or your representative will discuss your reasons for appealing your property taxes and what you believe a more fair rate to be based on the evidence provided.
During this meeting or shortly after, your county will send you a new tax bill, which may have (i) a reduced rate that matches your counter, (ii) a partially reduced rate, or (iii) the same rate if they disagree with your challenge.
Some counties may send a revised tax bill simply based on your notice of protest.
3. Schedule a formal hearing
If you disagree with the outcome of your informal meeting, you can schedule a formal hearing in which you and a representative of your County Appraisal District — typically a chief appraiser — will present evidence to a panel of local individuals. Each side will present its case, and the panel will make a final decision. Some of the evidence that you or the chief appraiser can use in presenting your arguments include:
- Comps or comparables (which include the details of recently sold or appraised properties in your area that are comparable to your own home)
- Photos
- Estimates for repairs
- Survey and deed records
- Adjusted calculations
You don’t have to go through this process alone. A Texas property tax protest company can handle the appeals process, the hearing, collecting documentation, and creating a strategy, all on your behalf.
Benefits of Protesting Your Property Taxes
Some of the key benefits of protesting your property taxes include:
Reduce Your Tax Obligations in the Current Year
Challenging your property’s appraised value can dramatically reduce your taxes. While there is no state-level property tax, your county bases your tax bill on 100% of your home’s appraised value, unless you have exemptions. By lowering that value, you proportionately lower your tax bill. This can result in hundreds of dollars of savings if your home was overvalued or there was an error.
Ensure Subsequent Property Tax Years Have Lower Tax Bills
Suppose your home is currently appraised as having a value of $450,000 by the county. If you have a general residence homestead exemption that caps subsequent increases by 10%, next year’s tax bill could show your home having an appraised value of $495,000 (a $45,000 increase). But if you challenge your county this year and lower that number to $425,000, next year’s capped value would be $467,500.
Every year you challenge your property taxes could have positive effects in subsequent years, while neglecting to appeal or challenge the county could result in exorbitant increases. The difference can be even more severe if you don’t have a general residence homestead exemption.
Stop Overpaying in Escrow
If you use an escrow account to prepare for property tax payments, that money is being held throughout the course of the year. Your mortgage company estimates your property taxes to make a best-effort attempt at ensuring you aren’t drastically over-saving or faced with a large bill. By challenging your property taxes, you could lower your expected payments and, subsequently, your monthly payments to your escrow account.
Benefits of Hiring a Texas Property Tax Protest Company to Handle the Process for You
Even with these financial benefits, managing the property tax protest process can feel next to impossible. Between your job, participating in a hearing at the CAD office, and collecting all the evidence you need, it can feel like there’s just not enough time, especially when a reduction isn’t a sure thing.
But experienced Texas property tax protest professionals can handle the process entirely on your behalf.
With a professional service, you:
- Save time: Get back those hours in filing forms, collecting evidence, and meeting with county officials.
- Won’t miss important dates: Experienced services know the deadlines for every step in the process so you don’t miss your chance at a lower tax bill.
- Get results without managing the process yourself: Because tax protestors can act entirely on your behalf, you can realize all the potential savings for this year and subsequent years.
- Access professional resources: A Texas property tax protest company can access the comps and county records that your CAD is using. This makes it a fair fight.
Get Started: Find the Right Texas Property Tax Protest Company for You and Your Schedule
Fighting your property bill is an important part of protecting your finances, now and in the future. But it’s hard to manage on your own. By hiring a service, you can have experienced professionals fight for you, manage the entire filing, meeting, and hearing process, and give you the best chance at a fair, reduced bill.
At Home Tax Shield, we specialize in helping Texan homeowners challenge their local counties and reduce their property tax bills. Our one-step process needs just three minutes, and you can see real savings without the high prices other services charge. Contact us today to learn more or take three minutes to start challenging your taxes.