Navigating the complex land of property taxes in North Texas is a daunting task that impacts numerous homeowners across our area. Recent legislative changes have introduced significant tax relief measures, which are having a positive impact on tax bills. But those tax bills are still one of the biggest financial obligations homeowners deal with every year.
On Fair Share: Navigating Property Taxes in North Texas, KRLD's John Liddle got advice from experts in property taxes.
1. File your homestead exemption.
The most impactful move you can make to lower your property tax bill, and ensure that your value never jumps more than 10% in a year, is to file your homestead exemption.
"The exemptions are gonna get you the biggest savings, biggest bang for your buck, especially with a lot of the new legislation that was recently passed on the school district value. When they go to calculate your tax bill, they're gonna knock a $100,000 off of your property value before they multiply it against the tax rate to figure out what how much money you're gonna actually pay"
— Chandler Crouch, broker at Chandler Crouch Realtors
"Remember, if it's your homestead, then there's a cap that the taxable value cannot go up more than 10% a year. That at least provides a slow climb versus just all of a sudden exploding to the upside."
— Dr. Blake Bennett, associate professor and extension economist at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas.
2. Protest your property value assessment.
"Everybody should file a protest. It doesn't matter if your value stayed the same or went down, or if it just went up a little bit."
— Chandler Crouch
"Ask the appraisal district for the evidence that they're gonna use to support the value that they're proposing."
— Chandler Crouch
"If you've got foundation problems, then that needs to be brought to the appraisal district's attention because that will cost a lot of money to fix."
— Dr. Blake Bennett
"I think going in and saying it doesn't make sense, and here's why. And I wanna work with you. Let me let me work with you to try and get this right."
— Dr. Blake Bennett
If you are planning on protesting your property value assessment, be aware of your county's deadline for filing a protest.
Collin County - May 31, 2024
Dallas County - May 15, 2024
Denton County - May 15, 2024
Ellis County - May 15, 2024
Johnson County - May 15, 2024
Kaufman County - May, 15, 2024
Parker County - May 15, 2024
Rockwall County - May 15, 2024
Tarrant County - May 24, 2024
Wise County - May, 15 2024
3. Remember Senior tax benefits in Texas.
"It is mandatory that school districts across the state of Texas in the year that you turn 65 years of age, they're required to freeze the value of your home for school tax purposes. You also can be awarded a $10,000 extra exemption for your homestead."
— Dr. Blake Bennett
"There are so many reasons I hear people use why they won't file a protest, and none of them are valid except for one. And that one reason is people that have an over 65 exemption that plan on moving within the next two years. That is the only small population of people I recommend not file a protest.
— Chandler Crouch
After you turn 65, your value freezes, but the market keeps going up. So you've got a percentage savings. So the higher the percentage is, the more savings you're getting. When you move, you can apply to transfer that percentage to your new home. Tell them I'm over 65. I'm moving. I have a homestead here. You're wanting your transfer certificate. You move, update your driver license, and give the new appraisal district that transfer certificate, and it's done.
— Dr. Blake Bennett
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