Date: 3/13/2024
Lower Home Values and Your Texas Property Taxes
When the housing market cools and home prices drop, your property tax bill should follow. But it often does not. Appraisal districts use mass appraisal methods that can be slow to reflect downturns, which means you could be paying taxes on a value your home no longer supports.
The Direct Relationship Between Home Values and Property Taxes
Your property tax bill is based on your home's assessed value. When that value goes down, your taxes should too. But appraisal districts do not always adjust quickly, which is why filing a protest matters.
The Impact on Property Taxes
A drop in home values does not automatically lower your tax bill. Appraisal districts assess properties annually, and the new value only takes effect once it is reflected in their records. If your district has not caught up to the market, you need to file a protest with comparable sales data showing the decline.
There is another factor to keep in mind: when property values drop across a jurisdiction, local governments sometimes raise tax rates to make up for lost revenue. That means your assessed value could go down while your tax rate goes up, reducing or eliminating the savings you expected.
Seeking Professional Guidance
If you are not sure whether your assessed value reflects the current market, a property tax protest company can pull comparable sales, identify overvaluations, and handle the protest on your behalf.
At Ballard Property Tax Protest, we review your assessed value against actual market data and file a protest if there is a case for a reduction. You only pay if we lower your taxes.
What to Do if Your Home Value Has Dropped
If comparable sales in your area show lower values than what the appraisal district has on file, you have a strong case for a protest. Gather 3-5 recent sales of similar homes, document any condition issues, and file before the May 15 deadline.
Sign up with Ballard Property Tax Protest and we will handle the entire process for you - no upfront fees, and you only pay if we save you money.
