Dallas Appraisal District Budgets Total $37.01 MM / Year
As Dallas County property taxes continue to spiral out of control, all eyes go to the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD). With a budget of $37.01 million, taxpayers expect DCAD to give them a fair shake when taxes come around. Instead, DCAD is stretched too thin thanks to understaffing, leaving them no choice but to use outdated information and educated guesses to determine property taxes. Enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ and end the madness by protesting your property taxes. There is no cost to protest, and your taxes can never be raised for doing so. You pay nothing upfront and there are no hidden fees. You only pay when you save. Enroll, relax, and save.
Total 2018 CAD Budget Including ARBSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Millions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Budget | 23.010 | 23.677 | 24.472 | 25.546 | 27.495 | 28.145 | 29.369 | 29.325 | 31.205 | 34.2 | 37.006 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.5230 | 0.5538 | 0.6073 | 0.6090 | 0.8282 | 0.9046 | 1.1265 | 1.0740 | 1.2426 | 1.312 | 1.562 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
Dallas County CAD Operations and Budgets
While Travis County is the most expensive on average, and Harris County is the biggest, Dallas County sits in between these two extremes. Far larger than Travis County in population and size, Dallas does not have the historically inflated property of Austin. That does not mean that the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) is going easy on taxpayers, as property valuations have doubled in the past decade. The district also still relies on gross overestimates and inaccurate computer models.
Homes and businesses are both under attack by aggressive taxation, and property tax protests are the only way to protect your property. Luckily, one of the largest property tax consulting companies in America is based in Texas, and O’Connor exists for the sole reason of lowering taxes. With over 50 years in the business of fighting taxation, O’Connor has the depth of knowledge to deal with DCAD or any other Texas appraisal district .
DCAD Total Budget Including ARB
DCAD, like all Texas appraisal district , fulfills an important function for their community. They assess, levy, collect, and distribute taxes. It is through DCAD that county taxing entities like MUD, school districts, and the county itself get their funding, as Texas has no income tax. The function is not the problem for taxpayers, it is how DCAD goes about evaluating properties and parcels for taxation.
DCAD had a budget of $37.01 million in 2024, increasing from $34.20 million in 2023. The budget has increased gradually over the past decade, rather than doubling or more like Travis County. While this seems like a good thing for Dallas taxpayers, DCAD is underfunded for what it must do. This is complicated even further by the appraisal review board (ARB) only receiving a fraction of the budget at $1.13 million. The ARB is where all formal tax protests are heard and is the main official way for residents to protest unfair taxes.
Total Property Taxes Levied Dallas CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Billions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Property Taxes Levied | 4.9273 | 5.2746 | 5.8172 | 6.2714 | 7.0146 | 7.3711 | 7.3529 | 7.9623 | 8.6368 | 8.5583 | 8.5752 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Appealing annually helps the appraisal district avoid over-taxing a property for both market value and unequal appraisal.
Dallas County Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
Inflation has gotten a lot of headlines in the past few years, and even that is growing slower than Texas taxes. The housing crisis, supply chain issues, and the general increase in land value have all pushed property valuations and taxes to unheard levels across Dallas County and beyond. From $4.93 billion in 2014, to $8.57 billion in 2024, Dallas taxes have nearly doubled. While some of that is certainly beyond DCAD’s control, their overzealous valuations and levies have put unnecessary pressure on taxpayers.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - Dallas CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Number of FTEs | 228 | 228 | 228 | 228 | 235 | 235 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 245 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions in Total Budget
The main cause of the inflated taxation problem is that DCAD is understaffed, forcing its employees to rely on inaccurate methods to assign assessed value to properties. DCAD had a total of 245 FTE (full-time equivalent) employees in 2024. This number has not really changed in a decade, when there were 228 FTEs in 2014. Improved technology can certainly offset the need for staffing somewhat but keeping a stagnant pool of employees frozen while property taxes soar is becoming a disaster for Dallas taxpayers.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - Dallas CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| FTEs Appraisal Total | 115 | 116 | 92 | 96 | 101 | 101 | 100 | 100 | 102 | 102 | 112 | |
| Residential | 45 | 45 | 38 | 39 | 44 | 44 | 48 | 44 | 46 | 45 | 45 | |
| Commercial | 24 | 26 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | |
| All Other | 46 | 45 | 35 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 32 | 36 | 35 | 36 | 46 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
DCAD FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
To make the staffing issues worse, only 112 of the 245 FTEs are assigned to actual appraisal work. There were actually more active appraisers a decade ago, with 115 in 2014. These FTEs are being asked to evaluate and tax a growing tide of properties, leaving them to use less care for every parcel under their care. As of 2024, 45 appraisers were dedicated to residential properties, while 67 were tasked to businesses.