How to fight your property taxes in Austin and Central Texas

[Dan Burstain]

Property taxes bills are about to hit the mail and I thought I would help those in the Austin and Central Texas area know how to protest them.  In my opinion, you should protest your taxes every year as it can only save you considerable money and can take as little as 5 minutes.

How to file a protest in your county

Your home value starts Jan. 1

Your home’s appraised value for the year is based on its condition – and what the appraisal district estimates the sale price for your property could be – on Jan.1. Any damage or improvements after this date – say, a tree that falls on your roof in March, or the new bathroom you added in May – won’t affect the taxable value of your home this year.

Appraisals mailed out

In early April, the appraisal district mails a notice to all property owners, telling you the estimated market value and assessed value of your home. The assessed value is the number used for tax purposes. Look over the numbers carefully. If your property is not described correctly or if the value seems incorrect, you can protest it.

Filing a protest

In Travis, Williamson and Hays counties, around May 15 is the deadline for most property owners to file a notice of protest of your appraised value.

What’s the best way to file? You have a couple of options. You can use the form on the back of the “Notice of Appraised Value” that you received from the appraisal district, since it already has your account information printed on it. Or you can file your protest online.

In Travis County, go to www.traviscad.org/efile. Williamson County residents can go to www.wcad.org/online-protest-filing, while Hays County residents can do the same at www.hayscad.com/protest-info. The benefit of online protesting is that appraisal district staffers can review your information and decide whether to offer you a settlement, potentially without you having to attend a hearing at all.

As you’re filling out the form, pay particular attention to the step in which you check off the box or boxes stating the reason for your protest. Your choices here will affect what kind of evidence you can present later on. If the district listed the wrong square footage for your home, for instance, be sure to check “property description is incorrect.” If you think your value is out of step with similar homes, make sure to mark “Value is unequal compared with other properties.”

For typical homeowners challenging their appraisal, the Texas Comptroller’s office suggests checking “Value is over market value” and “Value is unequal compared with other properties.” That will “allow you to present the widest types of evidence and preserve your full appeal rights,” the agency says in its handout on “Property Taxpayer Remedies.”

Meet with the appraiser

If you do not online protest and once you’ve filed your “Notice of Protest,” the Travis Central Appraisal District will send you a letter with two dates: an informal meeting with an appraisal staffer and your formal hearing date with the appraisal review board, a group of independent residents appointed to hear these challenges. During the informal meeting, the staffer will review the numbers with you. Bring all of your documentation: Information on comparable homes (records are available on the appraisal district’s website), perhaps an independent appraisal if you recently refinanced your house, or photos, repair estimates and other records showing damage that may devalue your home. Once you and a staffer have hashed it out, the district may offer to reduce your value by a certain amount. If you’re satisfied, you can accept it.

THERE IS NO DOWNSIDE TO ONLINE AND INFORMAL PROTESTS. YOUR APPRAISED AMOUNT CAN ONLY GO DOWN.

However, if you still don’t agree with the appraised value, you can keep your date with the appraisal review board, or technically, with a three-member panel of appraisal review board members. Before that hearing, you have a right to see all of the information the district appraisers plan to present, so be sure to contact the appraisal district to request those documents. I would be wary of going to the formal review as the board can decide to RAISE your appraised value causing you to pay more, whether you agree with them or not.

Helpful hints

Here are some suggestions from experts on how to conduct yourself during the protest and appeal process, and how to give yourself the best chance at success:

DON’T: Complain about how you can’t afford your taxes. The appraisal district doesn’t set the tax rate; they only decide what your home is worth for tax purposes.

DO: Come armed with a specific value you believe your home is worth, and the documentation to support that figure. Also, if this is a primary home, double check it has the homestead exemption.

DON’T: Give a long, rambling presentation filled with generalizations.

DO: Request in advance the documentation the appraisal district compiled to calculate its appraisal of your property. Examine the comparable homes used to determine your property’s value. See whether differences in property size, home upgrades or proximity to a busy road, for instance, might make those properties a poor comparison for your home.

Finally, if all this sounds too much, even the 5 minute online protest, there are a number of companies who will fight on your behalf and you pay 40-50% of what they save you for that service. Some are now charging a flat upfront fee but there are some still offering 0 cost if they don’t save you money.

Don’t hesitate to contact me for all your real estate questions, in Texas and nationwide.

Dan Burstain

INVESTMENT REALTOR®

Cell: 512.588.3260

[Dan Burstain]

@Vicki X.  Only if it is your primary residence, then it is limited to a maximum of 10% increase of the prior years tax amount.  If it is not a primary residence, they don't look at the following year's assessed value and redo the value each year.