If you’re a homeowner and opened up that tax appraisal notice from the local appraisal district, or if you couldn’t wait and searched for it online, chances are your fears came true.
If the taxable value of your primary home increased, your property tax bill went up. Chances are your mortgage payment should subsequently increase.
To feel like you had company, you checked to whether fellow neighbors were in the same boat. The chatter on NextDoor and Facebook no doubt heated up. You searched Zillow to verify the damage.
Hopefully, you had the chance to cool off and remembered that you can do something about it. Like every year, you have the right of appeal. But make it a priority and check your appraisal district’s deadlines.
Dave Lieber, the Watchdog at The Dallas Morning News, keeps an eye on consumer rights and has made it a mission to persuade property owners to challenge the system.
“I launched my campaign in favor of educating Texans about protests 10 years ago after, on a quiet Saturday night at home in 2011, I went online and challenged my home value,” Lieber says. “In a matter of minutes and without any human contact, my property value dropped thousands of dollars.”
Others have their methods. In 2020, a University of Texas at Dallas study of almost 80,000 Dallas County homeowners found that a typical protester, if they win, saves $600 in taxes. The study also found that 1 out of every 2 protesters won.
“Those are good odds for gamblers,” Lieber says.
To share this knowledge, Lieber has a few how-to’s on addressing a protest that he’s listed on Dallasnews.com.
- Unless you’re a recent homebuyer, the increase is capped at 10 percent annually. (If you just bought, the cap might not apply the first year, so brace yourself.)
- If you don’t get a notice, that means your value didn’t go up much, stayed the same, or dropped a little. Check your appraisal district’s website because you can still protest.
- Two best ways to build your case? First, ask any real estate agent to run the comps (comparable sales) on similar properties in your neighborhood. It’s free.
- Explore your appraisal district website for information the appraisers plan to use. If comps for recent home sales are low, you’re good. If they’re high, consider the second method.
- Appraisers don’t get the chance to look at the inside of your home. Your job in a protest is to prove to them all the repairs and upgrades required to put your home on the market to justify the high taxable value they’ve assigned.
- Foundation issues? Worn flooring? Storm-battered roof? Leaking old windows? Kitchen and bathrooms out of date? Take photos to give examples. Get estimates from repair companies about how much it would cost to make those repairs and use those numbers to lower the value.
- It’s possible you won’t have to attend a protest hearing at the tax district offices. The district might accept your offer to lower the value and avoid a hearing.
- Some people hire a property tax consultant. Find one that takes a percentage if she or he wins you savings. Don’t bother with those who charge a flat fee, win or lose.
Also remember to check to see whether in-person protests are allowed this year.
Lieber says he’s done the protest himself and he’s also hired a consultant.
“Even if your value hasn’t gone up, if you have flaws to show or comps to beat, it’s still worth a protest, which costs only your time, no money,” Lieber says.
Your Appraisal District
- Dallas Central Appraisal District | Protest Process
- Collin Central Appraisal District | Appraisal Review Board
- Tarrant Appraisal District | Appraisal Review Board
- Rockwall Central Appraisal District | How To Protest (Video)
- Denton Central Appraisal District | How To Protest
