Home address:  130 Oak Bend Dr

2021 Taxable Value: $215,452

Recent Sales Price: $120,000 – Over-taxed by 80%

Williamson County home owners are often unaware of the factors that cause them to pay extra taxes. Either comparable sales or condition issues at your home are useful for a market value appeal of property taxes. Unequal appraisal appeals compare the level of assessment of your house to comparable houses, typically on a per square foot basis. Winning a property tax protest is easy.  Getting property owners to appeal is hard.  Only 10% of Texan home owners appeal their property taxes.

Property owners are sometimes reluctant to protest their property taxes because the believe the appeal process is difficult.  It is not difficult and 60 to 80% of owners who appeal are successful. Appraisal districts use the cost approach to value houses.  It is generally considered the least reliable method of appraisal. Tax protests are resolved at the informal hearing since the result is within a “reasonable range of value”.  Appraisal is not an exact science and valuations are only an educated opinion of value, not a fact. Property taxes are the largest tax most Texans face.  But it is a stealth tax hidden in the mortgage payment, disguising the size of property taxes paid.