Williamson Property Tax Appeals Save $77+ Million Per Year

Williamson County property tax appeals are becoming more common every year by necessity, as the greed and mismanagement of the Williamson Central Appraisal District(WCAD) forces taxpayers to take matters into their own hands. Slicing off $2.91 billion in value in 2023, appeals of all stripes cut taxes by $77.21 million. These both set records, as more people than ever before practice their constitutional right to protest taxes. Join the fight for fair taxation when you enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™. Enrollment is free, and O’Connor will automatically protest your taxes for you annually, ensuring you keep compounding victories every year. Enroll, relax, and save.

Total Value Reduction, Informal HearingsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Millions of $
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	763.35	901.65	1,019.56	1,323.05	1,203.36	1,518.53	1,386.56	1,254.59	2,084.51	2,914.44	2,008.46
Single Family Residential Reduction	147.54	247.38	301.91	352.12	346.01	442.09	344.45	246.82	361.33	475.85	413.76
Commercial / Other	615.81	654.27	717.65	970.92	857.35	1,076.44	1,042.11	1,007.77	1,723.18	2,438.59	1,594.70

Texas property owners should protest annually since The value cannot be raised during the protest, based on 2019 legislation.

Williamson County Property Tax Savings from Administrative Appeals

Administrative appeals represent the first two steps in the property tax protest chain and, along with exemptions, are the only way to reduce taxable value. The first is informal appeals, which see taxpayers meet with a representative of the Williamson Central Appraisal District(WCAD) and attempt to get a reduction. If this fails, then formal hearings with the appraisal review board (ARB) are necessary. If these formal protests fail as well, then the taxpayer may pursue post-administrative appeals, which are lawsuits against WCAD.

Williamson County is one of the nation’s fastest-growing areas, and WCAD has not grown to keep up. This means they are understaffed and must use half-measures to attempt to make up the shortfall, which typically leads to errors that property tax appeals can exploit. Let O’Conner lead the way in your protest quest. As one of the largest property tax firms in the United States, O’Connor has the resources needed to take on WCAD. Based in Texas, O’Connor also has plenty of local insight into just how appraisal districts function and know the best way to get an excellent reduction.

Williamson CAD Informal Hearings

Informal appeals may be the most basic of all protests, but that should not belay their effectiveness. These have long been the weapon of choice for the average homeowner, as they require the least amount of effort, time, or expertise. These can usually land some form of reduction, making them worth the time to pursue. Even if they fail, the ARB can still be used at a later date. Informal appeals are favored as the No. 1 option in Williamson, unlike the ARB-centric Travis County. $2.91 billion in value was reduced thanks to informal appeals in 2023. $2.44 billion came from commercial properties, while $475.85 million came from single family homes.

Total Value Reduction, Formal ARB HearingsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Billions of $
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	0.063	0.109	0.185	0.214	0.243	0.312	0.123	0.160	0.461	0.763	1.457
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.017	0.025	0.027	0.028	0.029	0.026	0.026	0.023	0.080	0.137	0.316
Commercial / Other	0.046	0.084	0.158	0.186	0.213	0.286	0.096	0.137	0.381	0.626	1.140

Texas property owners should protest annually since You can’t evaluate the strength of your appeal until you obtain the hearing evidence file. You have to protest to obtain the hearing evidence file (available free upon request via U.S. mail).

Williamson CAD Formal ARB Hearings

While they have traditionally been a minority in Williamson County, ARB hearings are growing at a record clip, contesting more value than ever before. ARB hearings tend to get more action as a community transitions into a high-dollar one, so this change is following a well-established trend. $763 million in value was reduced thanks to formal hearings in 2023, up from $461 million in 2022. This was mainly thanks to commercial properties, which protested $626 million in value in 2023. Single family homes are also following suit, albeit in a much smaller total. $137 million in residential value was reduced formally in 2023.

Tax Savings, Informal HearingsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Millions of $
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	16.03	18.93	21.41	27.78	25.27	31.89	29.12	26.35	43.77	61.20	42.18
Single Family Residential Reduction	3.10	5.20	6.34	7.39	7.27	9.28	7.23	5.18	7.59	9.99	8.69
Commercial / Other	12.93	13.74	15.07	20.39	18.00	22.61	21.88	21.16	36.19	51.21	33.49

Texas property owners should protest annually since Not appealing is used against property owners in the subsequent years since “you agreed to the value” (by not protesting).

Estimated Total Property Tax Informal Savings

Reducing taxable value means nothing if it does not bring home hard savings. Informal appeals certainly delivered in 2023, with a combined savings of $61.20 million in taxes being cut for businesses and homeowners. This was easily the record in the county and easily surpassed the previous high-water mark of $43.77 million set in 2022. The stark increase indicated on the graph in the last few years shows that more people than ever are taking the fight to WCAD and most of them are average people. This is certainly due to rising property values, but the influence of Travis County cannot be overlooked. Over one third of Travis County protests their taxes every year, something Williamson County could be embracing as well.

Since it led in contested value, it is only natural for commercial property to be the leader when it comes to tax cuts. Businesses of all shapes and sizes managed to see a cut of $51.21 million, a giant leap from the $35.19 million of 2022. Single family homes also reached an all-time high of $9.99 million in tax reductions, which was the highest since the pandemic. To put some content on how far the tax cuts have come, the total a decade previous was only $16.03 million.

Tax Savings, Formal ARB HearingsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Millions of $
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	1.32	2.29	3.89	4.49	5.10	6.55	2.58	3.36	9.69	16.01	30.59
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.36	0.53	0.57	0.59	0.62	0.55	0.55	0.49	1.68	2.87	6.64
Commercial / Other	0.96	1.76	3.33	3.90	4.48	6.00	2.02	2.88	8.01	13.14	23.95

Tax Savings from Formal ARB Hearings

While they take a backseat to informal protests, ARB hearings are quickly closing the gap. After reducing taxes by only $1.32 million in 2014, these protests managed to cut $16.01 million in 2023. The growth rate is impressive even when compared to 2022, where $9.69 million was reduced. Both homes and businesses saw large spikes in the past few years. Single family homes saved $2.87 million, while commercial properties netted $13.14 million in reductions. This large shift in embracing formal protests is certainly due to the rising costs of properties that cannot be lowered informally.

Total Tax Savings (Informal & Formal)Source: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.

	Millions of $
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	17.35	21.22	25.30	32.27	30.37	38.44	31.70	29.71	53.46	77.21	72.77
Single Family Residential Reduction	3.46	5.73	6.91	7.98	7.89	9.83	7.78	5.67	9.27	12.86	15.33
Commercial / Other	13.89	15.50	18.40	24.29	22.48	28.61	23.90	24.04	44.20	64.35	57.44

Total Tax Savings

When administrative appeals are combined, they totaled an astounding $77.21 million in tax reductions. This number is one that was a long time in the making, as the total for all tax cuts a decade ago was only $17.35. This is certainly a combination of good and bad news. These tax savings are good news for property owners, but the fact that the number is so high indicates just how astronomical property values and taxes have gotten across Williamson County. Hopefully, the embracing of appeals will spell more reductions in the future, maybe even forcing WCAD to reexamine how it operates.