From State Senator Dan Patrick
Since I joined the Texas Senate in 2007 I have worked to lower property taxes. Although the State of Texas is a genuine low tax state the property taxes we face are among the highest in the country. My proposals have included pushing to lower the appraisal cap on homesteads (which died as an amendment in the Senate by a vote of 20-8) lowering the revenue cap on local government and reforming the appraisal process.
In 2007 I cosponsored a bill that protected homeowners from appraisal increases of more than ten percent. In 2009 I passed a bill that lowers the fee on arbitration for landowners of contiguous properties. I also passed a bill that requires appraisals to consider relevant foreclosures and distressed properties. In 2011 I was happy to pass legislation that maintains the disabled veterans property tax exemption for their spouse after their death. I will keep fighting this fight in Austin but we can all do something to lower our property taxes at home.
Thursday May 31 is the last day you can submit a protest of your property appraisal. There are many reasons why you may think your appraisal is inaccurate. Here are a few reasons you should consider:
- The appraisal districts proposed value of your home is too high as compared to similar homes in your neighborhood.
- There are foreclosures or distressed properties in your neighborhood.
- The value of your home is being compared to the value of homes that are not similar to yours.
- There are defects with the house not considered by the appraisal district.
- The appraisal is based upon inaccurate information (square footage is wrong exemptions are inaccurate etc.)
- You have any other information about your home that is not known by the appraisal district that could be used to assess the value of your home.
Potential Game-Changer After the Protest Deadline
Protesting your appraisal is particularly important this year because of legislation that I passed in 2009. Although the law has been in effect for a while the implementation is currently disputed. By working with Representative Ken Paxton to pass House Bill 1038 in 2009 we sought to require appraisers to take relevant foreclosed or distressed properties into account. This legislation is not being implemented this way so I have joined some colleagues in asking the Attorney General clear this up. The Attorney Generals Opinion will come out after the protest deadline and could affect your situation.
How to Protest Your Appraisal
The Harris County Appraisal District has a great electronic protest filing system that Harris County residents can use at this webpage:
http://www.hcad.org/ifile/ .
If you live outside of Harris County you can find contact information for the appraisal districts in Texas at this webpage:
http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/apprdir11/index.html .
You may also choose to file your protest by mailing in the form that was included with your notice of appraised value. Please mail or electronically file your protest by May 31st in order to resist the continued growth of property taxes across the state.
If you feel intimidated by the process you may decide to appoint a property tax agent to represent you instead. There are a number of them online and in the phone book.
