Property Tax Appeals: Protesting Your Taxes
Did the county tax district overvalue your home?
Sometimes, as a property owner, you get an unwanted surprise in the mail telling you your taxes are going up, and sometimes it may seem as though your assessment is too high. What can you do?
Most of Texas’s appraisal districts determine your property tax burden based on an ad valorem assessment of the property’s value. This is generally done through a process called “mass appraisal”. While this process works to value many thousands of homes within a short timeframe, it can be subject to inaccuracies, as many appraisal districts are unaware of changes to each individual property.
Mass Appraisal: The process of valuing a universe of properties as of a given date using standard methodology, employing common data, and allowing for statistical testing. (USPAP, 2020-2021 ed.) Often associated with real property tax assessment valuation.
– The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal, 7th Edition
Often, matters like this can be resolved with a phone call. Particularly if you have incorrectly listed information on your assessor’s property record for your home. However, if after discussing your assessment with your local taxing authority you still feel as though your property was overvalued, a professional, independent, third-party appraiser is often your best bet in proving your case. That’s where we come in.
There are as many different procedures for appealing assessments as there are property taxing districts, so it’s important to enlist the help of a professional appraisal firm that’s experienced and trained in the ins and outs of your particular jurisdiction.
At Aegis Appraisals, we work with homeowners, Realtors® and tax professionals to provide accurate valuations for property tax disputes.
If you are preparing to protest your county’s appraised value, you should:
1
First, speak with your county’s Central Appraisal District to identify their established tax protest process.
2
Schedule a hearing, if necessary, then hire an appraiser to provide a professional opinion of value.
3
Present your professional, independent appraisal at your hearing.
Sometimes, you will have a hearing on your assessment appeal and will need for the appraiser you’ve hired to testify on your behalf. Be assured that at Aegis Appraisals, we are able to professionally and persuasively testify at appeal hearings. Browse our website to learn more about our qualifications, expertise and services offered.
Please note: It makes sense to do your own research before determining whether to go forward with a property assessment appeal, especially before you make the decision to hire a professional appraiser.
However, according to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), we are not allowed to take “shortcuts” — i.e., your research — and use it on its face as part of our independent valuation. When you hire us for an assessment appeal, you’re commissioning an independent, third-party professional appraisal report.
As such, we do our own valuation, beginning to end. If you’re right that your property has been overvalued, an independent report such as ours will be even more persuasive than any other evidence you can marshal on your own — but it depends on our ability to do the work independently.
