Home address: 11403 Slash Pine Pl

2021 Taxable Value: $406,870

Recent Sales Price: $295,000 – Over-taxed by 38%

Montgomery County property investors far too often pay excess 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 compare the level of assessment of your house to comparable houses, typically on a per square foot basis. Woody Allen said “80% of success is showing up”. The same is true of property taxes. If you file an appeal and attend the hearing, your chance of reducing your property taxes is excellent.

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. Appraisal districts use the cost approach to value houses. It is generally considered the least reliable method of appraisal. 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.