Reducing Your Property Taxes by Protesting Its Assessed Value
In addition to filing for the appropriate tax exemptions as a new homeowner, homeowners can also protest the assessed value of their property as a way to reduce their tax burdens. In most states, there are annual increase limits. These caps can vary from as low as 2% in California to as high as 10% in Texas.
If you’re not happy with the assessed value determined by your County Appraisal District or County Tax Assessor, you can potentially reduce the amount by requesting a comparative market analysis from your Real Estate Agent or a Professional Real Estate Appraiser.
However, if the information comes back showing your house’s market value is lower than you expected, it’s best not to pursue a protest.
If the analysis shows that your property is evaluated too high, you can take this information to your County Appraiser’s Office and request that the assessed value be lowered to reflect the true market value.
Another method includes finding another house in your subdivision with a similar floor plan and checking its assessed value on the property appraiser’s website. If the evaluation is lower, document this as part of your protest. You can print or save this public information like photos of each property, drawings of floor plans, and tax records you find on the appraiser’s website.
Additionally, if your property has sustained damage from a natural disaster, get estimates to demonstrate that your home’s value should be lower.
Once you have all this information documented, you can usually file the protest online or write or call your County Appraisal District to learn how to file a protest. Do it as soon as possible since many have deadlines for filing a protest.