We’ve gone through and gathered a list of the Top 11 reasons why Texas property owners do not file a property tax appeal.
Number 11 – Guesstimates of assessed value are established by computers, and we all know computers are ALWAYS correct.
Number 10 – If I file an appeal, they may send people in black helicopters after me. (There is a real concern that if people file an appeal, the appraisal district will come and inspect their house. However, this simply is not true.)
Number 9 – If I file an appeal my property taxes, doesn’t that mean my house is worth less? This simply is not true, the market value of a house is determined by recent sales in the area, not by the appraisal district’s value.
Number 8 – If I file an appeal my assessed value, can’t they raise the value? At the informal hearing, the only way the property taxes can be increased is if you agree to an increase. It is very unusual for the assessed value to be increased at the appraisal review board hearing. Perhaps only one in 5,000 values are raised at the appraisal review board. Those are pretty good odds.
Number 7 – WHY BOTHER appealing? You can’t beat City Hall! While this attitude is prevalent, most property tax appeals are successful.
Number 6 – It isn’t worth the effort. Well, the reality is most appeals only take two or three hours including filing the appeal, preparing for the hearing and attending the hearing.
Number 5 – Appealing my property taxes seems overwhelming — I don’t know what to do; many people truly have this sentiment, however just go to cutmytaxes.com and we have all the forms and information you need to appeal your property taxes, and it’s all free! You can appeal your property taxes and win!
Number 4 – The assessed value of my house is below its true market value. Many property owners are not yet aware of the option to appeal on unequal appraisal. If your house is assessed below market value but is assessed unfairly compared to nearby houses, you can appeal using unequal appraisal. Most appeals are successful. If you want to find out if you property is fairly assessed, click here to use the Free Fairness Assessment tool.
Number 3 – I didn’t know I could appeal my property taxes! Well, we’ve now taken this one away. Click here and you will find all the information and forms you need to handle your own property tax appeal.
Number 2– I intended to appeal but I just got busy. I can understand this dilemma. Go ahead and file your property tax appeal now. It only takes two or three minutes to complete the appeal form. Be sure to select both unequal appraisal and market value. You can get the form here. If you are too busy when the hearing is scheduled, you can hire a consultant to attend the hearing for you. There would be no cost for the consultant to attend the hearing unless they reduce your property taxes, and then the fee would just be a portion of the savings.
Number 1 – The government needs the money more than I do. If your house is worth $150,000 and the assessed value increases by 10%, that amounts to a $450 increase in property taxes. Just imagine how much more the government could do for us if everyone contributed an extra $450 in property taxes every year. This is all well and good, but the tax code says that you have a right to fair and equal taxation! You should never pay more in property taxes than you should.
To find out if you are over-assessed, visit CutMyTaxes.com and check out the Fairness Assessment. It’s free and takes less than 1 minute to find out if your property is fairly assessed.
And remember: File your property tax appeal each and every year.
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