How to protest property taxes (West: foreclosure, neighborhood, property tax)

[John Blsutta]

I need to protest my property taxes because they are the highest in the neighborhood.

[ATXA4C]

You can also go to goo.gl/5PPea for step-by-step instructions on how to protest your property taxes in Austin.

[badhornet]

Good luck.,..this is the price you pay for living in a state with no income tax. You can protest, and if they do make an adjustement it will be minimal, and you will not see much of a decrease. Been there, done that, and still have the bill

[ATXA4C]

If you don't think you will be satisfied doing it yourself (see my blog - goo.gl/5PPea - for a guide), you can also hire Texas ProTax Austin. (Austin property tax records experts and property tax reduction specialists | Texas Protax) Our real estate attorney even uses them rather than doing it himself. Texas ProTax will charge you up to 40% of the amount they save you in taxes. Good luck!

doug (at) myagentsforchange (dot) com

[terraoutwest]

So basically, are you saying that you need to drive around and look at places that are similar to yours, then go online (TCAD) and check the addresses to see if they really are (sq.ft., etc). Or is there a better way? Sorry i was kind of late in the reading of these posts and at work doing a quick scan...

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

We protested our appraisal one year (a year when EVERYBODY was doing it, one of those years when the appraisal district just went insane). We took photos of the things that were wrong with the house (this was our former home, but a rental house at the time of the appraisal and had been a bit abused by tenants), got comps from our property management company, I did up a nice binder with the photos and the information, made an extra copy for the person we'd be meeting with. We were nice, and professional, when we went in - he was, after all, just doing his job. It took us all of 5 minutes to get him to drop the appraisal. He asked if he could have the photos to show to the committee to justify his actions, and I pulled out his copy for him. (I still have the originals.) It as very easy, really. You don't need to hire someone to do it for you.

Former broker, this is the way to do it, case closed, enough said.

[balor123]

I don't really understand how but ProTax managed to reduce my property tax value by $130k or about $2700 in tax savings. I owe them a large chunk of money now for the service but I simply wouldn't have filed the paperwork otherwise. Just way too busy for that kind of stuff. I wish I'd done it a few years ago when they first mailed me! Would have saved a few thousand dollars more.

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by FalconheadWest

You should not fight your value with other TAX values. You need to fight your value with true values that have sold similar to your property.

Since this post was brought back to life, I need to update the advice I gave because it's no longer all about the "sales" of similar properties around you. As of 2014, you can now argue "unequal" valuation which means you CAN compare your tax assessed value to other property's tax assessed value, however you still have to adjust those properties for anything not like yours.

You can also now Arbitrate rental properties, not just your Homestead.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by FalconheadWest

Since this post was brought back to life, I need to update the advice I gave because it's no longer all about the "sales" of similar properties around you. As of 2014, you can now argue "unequal" valuation which means you CAN compare your tax assessed value to other property's tax assessed value, however you still have to adjust those properties for anything not like yours.

You can also now Arbitrate rental properties, not just your Homestead.

We have been able to protest property values on our rental property all the way through the process all along, since at least 1999. I know, because I've done it - it's only in the last couple/three years that it wasn't an automatic protest and that only because the comps actually supported the tax appraisal price and then some. (The joys of owning property in Barton Hills.)

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

We have been able to protest property values on our rental property all the way through the process all along, since at least 1999. I know, because I've done it - it's only in the last couple/three years that it wasn't an automatic protest and that only because the comps actually supported the tax appraisal price and then some. (The joys of owning property in Barton Hills.)

I don't understand what you're saying about 1999 except you've always fought your values at the CAD level.

Comparing TAX ASSESSED VALUE TO OTHER TAX ASSESSED VALUES just became legal in 2014. Were some CADs looking at assessed values prior to that? Possibly, but they weren't supposed to. They were only supposed to look at sales data.

I'm a Property Tax Arbitrator for the Texas Comptroller's office since 2005. Arbitration only started in 2005 as I was in the first group of certifying classes. No Arbitration back to 1999. In all years prior to 2014, we were not allowed to listen to any evidence about other property's assessed values, only sales prices. Since 2014, we can now allow evidence on tax assessed values of someone's neighbors, but it has to be a "reasonable sampling" and they must be adjusted like for like. Basically, you can't just present 1 or 2 properties and say you want their value because they're lower than yours. "Reasonable sampling" means a generous amount of properties in your immediate neighborhood.