Fort Bend Property Tax Appeals Save $174+ Million Per Year
Fort Bend County is a little slice of heaven near Houston, filled with both affluent suburbs and tight-knit rural communities. However, this picture of pure Americana has been under siege by outrageous property taxes since 2000. Currently No.3 in Texas for the highest property tax rates, taxpayers are fighting back with record tax protests. Informal and formal hearings combined to save taxpayers $174.59 million in 2024, and that trend is set to continue as more residents practice their right to protest. Enroll in O’Conner’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today and get the perfect partner to help you win every administrative appeal possible. You will only pay if you lower your property taxes. 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 | 1,252.77 | 1,799.66 | 2,346.56 | 1,459.79 | 1,479.31 | 2,165.60 | 2,255.77 | 1,228.01 | 1,341.86 | 1,849.51 | 1,914.66 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 78.71 | 244.98 | 411.25 | 521.24 | 397.78 | 405.90 | 524.57 | 570.63 | 727.56 | 954.09 | 1,107.14 |
| Commercial / Other | 1,174.07 | 1,554.69 | 1,935.31 | 938.55 | 1,081.54 | 1,759.70 | 1,731.20 | 657.38 | 614.30 | 895.42 | 807.52 |
Texas property owners should protest annually since The value cannot be raised during the protest, based on 2019 legislation.
FBCAD Property Tax Savings from Administrative Appeals
The people of Fort Bend have been using administrative appeals to great effect for decades. With some of the highest property taxes in America since 2000, few understand the value of using their right to protest like them. Formal and informal hearings save the taxpayers of Fort Bend County millions of dollars a year and help keep the aggressive Fort Bend Central Appraisal District (FBCAD) in check.
From informal protests to formal hearings, administrative appeals are the key to protecting your land from overzealous taxes in Fort Bend County. Join forces with O’Connor and maximize the savings with every protest. One of the largest property tax firms in America, O’Connor, has been facing down appraisal districts across Texas for over 50 years.
FBCAD Informal Hearings
Informal protests are the starting line in the tax protest race. These free hearings allow taxpayers to plead their case to FBCAD about unfair valuations or other variables to try and get a tax reduction. While the simplest step, informal protests can be quite effective and are certainly the bare minimum that a taxpayer should do in Fort Bend. 2024 saw informal settlements reduce taxable value by $1.91 billion, the best since 2020. The settlements were almost evenly split between homes and business properties, with homes eking out the win. Single family homes reduced $1.11 billion in value, while commercial and related properties took $807.52 million. Home saw their largest value reduction in history in 2024.
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 | 0.245 | 0.406 | 0.566 | 0.391 | 0.775 | 1.292 | 1.809 | 3.221 | 3.630 | 4.572 | 6.394 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 0.091 | 0.084 | 0.076 | 0.082 | 0.144 | 0.207 | 0.269 | 0.205 | 0.377 | 0.612 | 0.758 |
| Commercial / Other | 0.154 | 0.322 | 0.490 | 0.309 | 0.632 | 1.086 | 1.539 | 3.017 | 3.253 | 3.960 | 5.636 |
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).
FBCAD Formal ARB Hearings
Due to the longtime nature of high taxes in the county, both FBCAD and taxpayers often refuse to budge in the informal appeals, leading to more trips to formal hearings. These hearings are in front of the appraisal review board (ARB), a neutral group that decides between the two parties. ARB hearings are usually more effective than informal protests in high-dollar areas and Fort Bend is no exception. Taxpayers reduced a total of $6.39 billion thanks to formal hearings. $5.64 billion was reduced by commercial and related properties. Meanwhile, single family homes were able to reduce $612 million in value. The total, commercial, and residential reduction numbers were both records.
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 | 26.31 | 37.79 | 49.28 | 30.66 | 31.07 | 45.48 | 47.37 | 25.79 | 28.18 | 38.84 | 40.21 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 1.65 | 5.14 | 8.64 | 10.95 | 8.35 | 8.52 | 11.02 | 11.98 | 15.28 | 20.04 | 23.25 |
| Commercial / Other | 24.66 | 32.65 | 40.64 | 19.71 | 22.71 | 36.95 | 36.36 | 13.81 | 12.90 | 18.80 | 16.96 |
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
While they may not have the value they do in other counties, informal appeals and their settlements are great for the ordinary property owner. Being the easiest appeal to file, these appeals can bring solid relief and help get the tax valuation back to a fairer degree. Taxes can never be raised due to a property tax dispute, so every initial appeal is a no-risk challenge to FBCAD. Informal appeals experienced something of a renaissance in 2024, bringing home a total savings of $40.21 million.
Where informal appeals shine is getting reductions for family homes. While commercial and other properties have the people and resources to pursue bigger appeals, most homeowners do not have that luxury. This can be easily illustrated in Fort Bend, where initial appeals were able to secure $23.25 million in tax savings for homeowners in 2024. Business property was close at $16.96 million but would find more success in the formal appeal process.
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 | 5.15 | 8.52 | 11.88 | 8.20 | 16.28 | 27.13 | 37.98 | 67.65 | 76.23 | 96.02 | 134.28 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 1.92 | 1.75 | 1.59 | 1.72 | 3.02 | 4.34 | 5.65 | 4.30 | 7.91 | 12.85 | 15.92 |
| Commercial / Other | 3.23 | 6.76 | 10.29 | 6.49 | 13.26 | 22.80 | 32.33 | 63.35 | 68.32 | 83.17 | 118.36 |
Tax Savings, Formal ARB Hearings
Formal appeals went in the opposite direction to informal hearings and produced titanic savings for businesses. $118.36 million in taxes were cut for commercial, industrial, and multi family properties combined. ARB hearings totaled savings of $134.28 million, $73.28 million more than the total for these appeals. This is not to say that single family homes were iced out of savings from ARB appeals. Homeowners were able to pull in $15.92 million in reduced taxes. While they may not get huge returns compared to businesses in the ARB stage, single family homes are making steady gains every year.
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 | 31.46 | 46.31 | 61.16 | 38.86 | 47.35 | 72.61 | 85.35 | 93.44 | 104.41 | 134.86 | 174.49 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 3.57 | 6.89 | 10.23 | 12.67 | 11.37 | 12.86 | 16.67 | 16.28 | 23.19 | 32.89 | 39.17 |
| Commercial / Other | 27.89 | 39.41 | 50.93 | 26.20 | 35.97 | 59.75 | 68.69 | 77.16 | 81.22 | 101.97 | 135.32 |
Total Tax Savings (Informal & Formal)
Be they formal or informal, administrative appeals brought home a bounty for the people of Fort Bend in 2024. $174.49 million in total was saved by taxpayers of all stripes, the best appeal results yet. $135.32 million in total was brought in by business properties. The county has seen the number of businesses double in less than a decade, and commercial enterprises are becoming more important in a formally complete residential area. Homeowners saved $39.17 million, $6.28 million more than in 2023.