Home address: 2101 Bailey Forest

2021 Taxable Value: $397,140

Recent Sales Price: $209,000 – Over-taxed by 90%

Most home owners who do not appeal annually pay excess property taxes. One option to reduce you property taxes is to protest the market value. Unequal appraisal appeals compare the level of assessment of your house to comparable houses, typically on a per square foot basis. The Texas Comptroller reports 80% of 2019 property tax appeals by home owners were successful.

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 are willing to settle property tax appeals because they realize their values are not precise. It is difficult for appraisal districts to accurately value homes since they rarely or never see the houses. 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.