AUSTIN, Texas — Across Central Texas, homeowners will either receive or have already received their property appraisal notices.
Nearly half a million appraisal notices will be in mailboxes across Travis County this week. Hays Central Appraisal District plans to mail out notices starting Tuesday, April. 18. In Williamson County, the central appraisal district already mailed notices at the end of March.
Terms to know:
Market/Appraised value is what the appraisal district shows the property is worth.
Assessed/Taxable value is the value that is taxed.
The amount of money owed in property taxes comes from taxing entities such as cities, school districts and utility districts.
Those budgets are set once property values are assessed and adjusted.
What to expect:
Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) data show the Central Texas median home price fell by more than 6% from January 2022 to January 2023.
In January 2023, ABoR data showed a median home price of more than $437,000 for Williamson County, nearly a half-million for Travis County and nearly $428,000 for Hays.
GRAPHICS: Austin Board of Realtors' January 2023 housing market report
But those market value decreases do not translate into a decrease in taxable value.
“While market values have declined since last year, the assessed values of homesteaded properties will continue to increase by law 10% until the assessed value reaches the market value,” the Williamson Central Appraisal District wrote in a release to KVUE.
The gap between market value and taxable value can be wide.
For the Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD), the market price would need to drop by hundreds of thousands of dollars to meet the median assessed value.
How to save money:
Check exemptions:
- General residence homestead
- Disabled person
- Age 65 or older
- Surviving spouse of an individual who qualified for age 65 or older exemption
- 100% disabled veterans
- Surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who qualified or would have qualified for 100% disabled veteran’s exemption
- Donated residence homestead of a partially disabled veteran
- Surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who qualified for the donated residence homestead exemption
- Surviving spouse of an armed services member killed in the line of duty
- Surviving spouse of a first responder killed in the line of duty
File a protest with the appropriate central appraisal district to lower the property’s market value. Real estate sales prices are not public in Texas, but a local realtor can get information on comparable sales in the area.
A reduction in the district’s appraised or assessed values does not always translate into tax savings since taxing entities will set their rates in the fall.
The deadline to file a protest is May 15.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.