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The other day I was talking with a client about property taxes. I work with a lot of clients who are from out-of-state, and this particular one was taken aback by the amount of property taxes that we have to pay here in Houston. Keep in mind that there is no state income tax in Texas, so the revenue taken from the government comes largely from our property taxes.
How to Reduce Your Tax Burden
Property taxes are based on what the county assesses your property's value at, and not its true market value. The tax value and market value are two different things in this case. Tax rates in Texas are sitting right at 3%, so these tax sums can begin to add up. In order to offset these values we can protest our taxes, and there are a few different ways to do this.
- You Can Do Nothing: In this scenario the county will set the amount and you will pay. Property values will increase over time, so your taxes will rise and you will have no way of bringing them back down. Passivity will not work here and your taxes will snowball, leaving you in a bad situation. Now is the time to act.
- You Can Protest them Yourself - (more on this in a second...)
- You Can Hire a 3rd Party to Do it For You:
- Generally these parties will take about 50% of the savings that you incurred, so it's not exactly a win-win situation. If you're strapped for time it might be a valid option, but protesting on your own is relatively easy with the right tools.
To Protest Taxes On Your Own...
- Go to http://hcad.org/ : They have an application where you can enter the amount that you expect your home value to be, and if they agree with you, then your property value is reduced and your property taxes are settled.
- If they don't agree with your value, then you have to show up in person to protest:
- You need to be very well prepared for this. Be prepared to do some research on what comparable properties are worth and be able to prove that this should translate into your property being worth less. The lower the value, the less you pay.
- Be prepared to defend your findings with facts and verified documents.
- The county reserves the right to increase taxes by 10% every year, and can also increase your home's value based on any additions to your property.
- My property value went up 10% this year, and we also installed a pool, so it escalated even further.
However, I would be glad to help you with this process. If you're confused or intimidated, give me a call and I will walk you through the process. You can reach me at (832) 428-6453 or email me at Mike@HomesFromHouston.com
