Home address: 5425 Blue Haven Dr

2021 Taxable Value: $222,600

Recent Sales Price: $140,000 – Over-taxed by 59%

Property tax assessments not carefully reviewed lead to paying more than your share of 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. Appraisal districts are generally very receptive to settling tax appeals at the informal hearing.

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. One reason it is difficult for appraisal districts to correctly value homes is they are not homogenous. Some have been remodeled and some haven’t. Most tax protests are settled at the informal level so appraisers can return to measuring and valuing new construction. 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.