Question about fighting Travis Co. property tax and 10% rule

[Franco]

Let's say you have a property with an appraised value of $100k. Next year comes around and the TCAD raises the appraised value to $130k. With the 10% rule, your assessed value will be $110k, and that's what you will get taxed on. So the question is, in this situation, what good is it to try to fight the appraised value if, for example, say that you fight it and you get them to reduce the appraised value from $130k to $115k. Your assessed value will still be $110k, so you pay the same.

So, should one bother to fight it when likely one will end up paying the same amount of taxes?

 

[l00p]

What you could fight is their justification for your area being raised that much in the beginning. If that overage was too much, then half of too much to begin with is too much. Make them tell you why it went up even 15k.

They tried this **** on my entire neighborhood. Our association got together and went down there in large numbers. By about the fourth person to go through and force them to prove their lies about services provided, etc...they made a blanket reversal and raised it only a couple of thousand dollars instead of the 24 k they wanted. They have been very careful in the subsequent years. They thought they could get one over.

Also, we made this verdict help state a case with the city that now provides the services they were supposed to all along yet did not.

So if you think it is not accurate, come up with your reasons why and fight it. Get a few neighbors to do this as well and it may have more teeth.

 

[Roger]

the reason to do this is that if you don't fight it this year then you are giving into the 10% next year. Also if TCAD is anything like HCAD (Harris County) then any decent argument and you should be able to get them back to last years rate. I've had the agent at HCAD tell me that they are only allowed to go back to the prior year rate without you appealling further. This may or may not be true but they usually are pretty easy to get back to the prior year's level.

 

[doylehargraves]

I don't think you have to do anything. Your bill is going to reflect an unadjusted value, and then a value adjusted at a 10% cap which you pay the tax on.

 

[jimmyjazz]

I think the problem occurs down the line. Say your appraised value is up +15% this year, so your taxable value is capped at +10%. What if you don't protest, but appraisals stay flat the following year? Then your taxable value will climb +5% to meet the appraised value. (This assumes all properties behave like the average, which is unrealistic.)