Home address: 1620 Drexel St

2021 Taxable Value: $318,170

Recent Sales Price: $165,000 – Over-taxed by 93%

Appraisal district errors in setting assessed values cause Dallas County owners to pay extra taxes. Protest market value, get a few comparable sales as evidence and you are very likely to reduce your property taxes. An unequal appraisal appeal is easy to prepare.  Just find neighborhood homes with a lower level of assessment (per square foot).  Summarize the data in a table. Winning a property tax protest is easy.  Getting property owners to appeal is hard.  Only 10% of Texan home owners appeal their property taxes.

Some homeowners believe “you can’t fight city hall.”  But property owners win 60 to 80% of property tax appeals. Appraisal districts use the cost approach to value houses.  It is generally considered the least reliable method of appraisal. One reason appraisal districts are motivated to settle protests is to maintain goodwill with the community. Property taxes are the largest tax most Texans face.  But it is a stealth tax hidden in the mortgage payment, disguising the size of property taxes paid.