Home address: 1703 Jo Ann Ln

2021 Taxable Value: $194,810

Recent Sales Price: $117,500 – Over-taxed by 66%

Appraisal district errors in setting assessed values cause Fort Bend County owners to pay extra taxes. One option to reduce your property taxes is to protest the market value. Unequal appraisal appeals are valid when the assessment is below market value. Winning a property tax protest is easy. Getting property owners to appeal is hard. Only 10% of Texan home owners appeal their property taxes.

Owners are sometimes reluctant to protest property taxes due to a concern their value might be raised. This can’t and does not happen. Since 2019, neither the appraisal district or the appraisal review board can increase a property tax assessment during a protest. One reason it is difficult for appraisal districts to correctly value homes is they are not homogenous. Some have been remodeled and some haven’t. Appraisal districts settle appeals at the informal level to avoid the time consuming and expensive appraisal review board hearings. Protesting your property taxes annually is analogous to regularly changing the oil in your car. Preventative maintenance avoids serious problems.