Bexar Property Tax Protests - by Value, Property Type, and Number

Bexar Appraisal District (BCAD) has been pushing some astounding numbers for property values and taxes in the past decade, and taxpayers are finally fighting back. Bexar residents set a record for the most tax protests ever in 2023, with 200,170 challenging unfair bills. 2024 saw a slight drop to 185,670, though this was the second-most ever seen. 125,140 single family homeowners alone stood up to BCAD, disputing $47.54 billion in assessed value. Join the fight today when you sign up with O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™. Get the best chance at a tax cut you can, all while paying no upfront costs or hidden fees. In fact, you only pay if you save. Enroll, relax, and save.

Total Parcels and Total Protests BCADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Thousands
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total Parcels	641.60	663.03	671.22	679.09	686.40	695.35	706.12	721.06	737.94	758.02	774.07
Total Protests Filed	63.40	90.19	95.72	103.27	108.12	117.66	131.03	136.65	179.50	200.17	185.67

Texas property owners should protest annually since Mass appraisal used by appraisal districts includes many errors based on limited resources. About 500 appraisers value all 20 million Texas tax parcels; about 40,000 per appraiser. Another 1,500 appraisers measure new construction.

Bexar County Property Tax Protests

Bexar Appraisal District (BCAD) complies all properties into units known as parcels. When calculated, parcels are used as a basic unit of value to be taxed. It is from these parcels that entities like MUDs, school districts, and county governments pull revenue, so that all governmental functions can be carried out. Bexar County was made up of 774,070 parcels as of 2024, with the average parcel being .202 acres in size.

Every Texan has a constitutionally protected right to protest their unfair and inflated property taxes, yet few actively use this to their advantage. Join-up with O’Conner and don’t let BCAD exploit you with outdated estimates of value any longer. One of the biggest property tax consulting companies in the nation, O’Conner was founded on the ideal of protecting Texans from predatory taxes. For over 50 years, O’Connor has achieved this noble goal and is ready to help the people of Bexar County.

Total Parcels in Bexar Appraisal District

As of 2024, San Antonio area property had a total appraised value of $314.35 billion. This equals out to every parcel being worth $406,100. Bexar thankfully does not have the hideously inflated costs of Travis or Collin Counties, but it is a major feather in the cap of Texas’ economy. The appraised value of the county increased 151.17% in the past decade, taking property taxes up with it. As these metrics have climbed, so have tax protests

Total Protests Bexar CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Thousands
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total Protests	63.40	90.19	95.72	103.27	108.12	117.66	131.03	136.65	179.50	200.17	185.67
Single Family Home Protests	32.26	52.64	56.22	63.51	68.08	76.68	84.93	91.57	126.70	139.31	125.14
Commercial / Other Protests	31.15	37.56	39.51	39.76	40.04	40.97	46.10	45.08	52.80	60.86	60.53

Texas property owners should protest annually since It is their right.

Total Protests

Bexar County taxable values may have doubled in the past decade, but tax protests have more than tripled. 200,170 taxpayers protested in 2023, a new record for the county. 185,670 protested in 2024, a step down from the record. This is an incredible show of strength by the people of Bexar, who will no longer put up with tyrannical valuations from BCAD.

Single family homes were firmly in the driver’s seat, with 125,140 of the total protests to their credit. Business owners and those with related real estate added the remaining 60,530 protests. Homeowners have become increasingly important to the appeal process in the past decade and have routinely been responsible for more protests than commercial real estate owners. 2024 was the first year in a decade that home protests dropped instead of increasing.

% of Parcels Protested Bexar CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Percent
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Percent Protested	9.88%	13.6%	14.26%	15.21%	15.75%	16.92%	18.56%	18.95%	24.32%	26.41%	23.99%

Texas property owners should protest annually since About 60% of appeals are successful.

BCAD – Percent of Parcels Protested

26.41% of all Bexar County properties were protested in 2023, a new high-water mark in a rising tide throughout the past decade. Since 2014, the percentage protested grew annually around 1-2%, until a jump of 5.37% in 2022. 2024 saw 23.99% of parcels be protested. While a slightly lower, this still puts the county ahead of most. These numbers are set to go higher every year, as aggressive taxation and inaccurate valuations push more people to practice their right to challenge taxes.

Protests by Property Type Bexar CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Thousands
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total Number	63.40	90.19	95.72	103.27	108.12	117.66	131.03	136.65	179.50	200.17	185.67
Single Family	32.26	52.64	56.22	63.51	68.08	76.68	84.93	91.57	126.70	139.31	125.14
Multi-Family Res	2.42	3.34	3.61	3.83	3.98	4.24	4.61	4.47	5.02	5.52	5.44
Commercial	13.87	16.31	16.75	16.69	17.11	17.39	19.55	16.94	18.45	19.72	20.48
All Other	14.87	17.91	19.15	19.24	18.95	19.35	21.95	23.67	29.34	35.63	34.61

Texas property owners should protest annually since Correcting an error in the appraisal district’s description of your property can reap savings in future years.

Bexar County Protests by Property Type

As stated above, single family homeowners have been the catalyst for the protest movement in Bexar County. The 2022 large jump in contested property taxes was almost exclusively caused by homeowners, who went from 91,571 protests in 2021 to 126,695 in 2022. In 2024, 125,140 protests were launched for single family homes, as people rushed to protect their family property and legacy homes.

20,476 commercial properties were disputed, along with 5,443 multi family homes. This was the largest number of commercial protests in Bexar’s history. While smaller on a balance sheet, these two combined elements represent significant dollar values. A collection of industrial, utilities, and oil/gas properties produced 34,610 protests in 2024.

Value of Property Protested by TypeSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Billions of $
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Value Protested Total	47.27	63.40	70.23	75.76	81.76	89.22	107.00	95.82	124.99	148.10	148.00
Single Family	8.33	12.82	14.27	15.90	17.39	20.07	23.26	26.26	42.37	51.16	47.54
Multi-Family Res	9.01	10.94	12.47	14.01	15.46	17.10	18.23	18.97	22.59	26.15	26.00
Commercial	24.45	31.90	35.15	37.21	39.43	41.20	50.99	41.76	48.71	56.64	58.63
All Other	5.48	7.74	8.34	8.64	9.48	10.85	14.51	8.83	11.32	14.15	15.83

Bexar County Value of Property Protested by Type

The influence of single family homeowners can be felt again when the total value of property protested is examined. Of the $148 billion protested in 2024, $47.54 billion of it was for single family homes. The traditional winner, commercial properties, was still on top with $58.63 billion, slightly widening a gap that was tighter in 2023. If trends continue, residential properties could overtake commercial ones as the protest kings of value. The total value of real estate protested has tripled since 2014. Despite there being fewer protests in 2024, the amount of value protested was identical to that of 2023, showing how valuable real estate is becoming.