TOP 10

Property Tax Tips For

HOMEOWNERS

www.cutmytaxes.com
Ta x R e d u c t i o n E x p e r t s
 The joy of owning a house is a manifold. Homeownership
can be fun but property taxes seem to be a nightmare?

Here are top 10 property tax tips for homeowners!

TIP 01
Homestead exemption is available to anyone.
The requirements are:

1. you must own the house on January 1 and

2. it must be your primary residence.

There are even better exemptions for those over 65

and the disabled.

Veterans who have a 100% disability based on a

service-related incident receive a 100% exemption
and pay no property taxes for their homestead.

www.cutmytaxes.com
Ta x R e d u c t i o n E x p e r t s
TIP 02
You do not have to be taxed out of your home of you are over 65
and can’t afford the property taxes. You can defer the property
taxes as long as you live in the house, and even longer in special
circumstances.

TIP 03
Check the appraisal districts information for your home. Many
appraisal districts use aerial photography to “inspect” property.
Appraisal districts are required to inspect properties every three
years but in practice they inspect property much less frequently.
This means the appraisal district’s information on your house is
likely not accurate.

www.cutmytaxes.com
Ta x R e d u c t i o n E x p e r t s
 TIP 04
Five critical factors to check on the appraisal district’s records for
your property are: 1) grade (quality of construction), 2) condition,
3) effective year built, 4) level of remodel and 5) building area.
Appraisal districts tend to double count the atrium area by measuring
the perimeter and multiplying by the number of stories. Be extra
vigilant regarding the size of your home if you have an atrium.

TIP 05
Appraisal district’s use the cost approach to value for houses.
Professional appraisers generally do not consider this the best
method to value houses. It is more prone to error. Appraisal district
values for land tend to be low, so they overstate the value of
improvements to hit market value. This convoluted valuation model
is accurate within 10% of actual value only about half the time.

www.cutmytaxes.com
Ta x R e d u c t i o n E x p e r t s
TIP 06
Texas law requires you file a protest to get the appraisal district’s evidence
regarding your house. You cannot get the sales data that will be considered
at a hearing unless you file a protest. At least half the time the appraisal
district’s sales data supports a reduction in value.

TIP 07
You can protest your property taxes based on excessive value and unequal
appraisal. Excessive value is when the tax value exceeds market value.
Unequal appraisal is when your home is assessed higher for property taxes
than similar homes.

www.cutmytaxes.com
Ta x R e d u c t i o n E x p e r t s
TIP 08
The tax appeal process includes an informal hearing
(one-on-one with an appraiser), appraisal review board
hearing (panel of three citizens who hear the appeal)
and either binding arbitration or litigation.

TIP 09
Most property tax appeals are successful. Most of the
appeals result in a reduction at the informal hearing.
In 2015, 69% of appraisal review board appeals (second
step after informal hearing) generated lower property
taxes for the property owner.

TIP 10
Protest every year

www.cutmytaxes.com
Ta x R e d u c t i o n E x p e r t s
 Ta x R e d u c t i o n E x p e r t s

If you would like to find out if your property

is over-assessed,
visit the Free Fairness Checker
@
www.cutmytaxes.com