Texas property taxes are based on what your county says your home is worth. Not what you paid for it, and not what you think it’s worth. Every year, a county office called the appraisal district estimates your home’s value. Your tax bill comes from that number.
If you’ve never fully understood how this works, you’re in good company. Most Texas homeowners haven’t. The system wasn’t built to be simple. This guide breaks it down.
What Is an Assessed Value?
Your assessed value is the dollar amount the county assigns to your home each year. The county’s appraisal district calculates this number using recent home sales, permit data, and market trends in your area.
This number shows up on your appraisal notice, which most Texas counties mail between April and May. It’s the starting point for your tax bill.
Important: assessed value and market value are not the same thing. Market value is what a buyer might pay. Assessed value is what the county uses for tax purposes. They often differ.
How Is Your Tax Bill Calculated?
Texas has no state income tax. Instead, local services like schools, roads, and emergency response are funded by property taxes. Your bill is determined by two things: your assessed value and your tax rate.
The tax rate is set by each taxing entity in your area — your school district, city, county, and special districts like MUDs. These rates stack on top of each other to form your total effective rate.
Here’s the formula:
Assessed value × total tax rate = annual property tax.
For a $350,000 home in North Texas at a 1.73% effective rate, that’s about $6,055 per year. Through your escrow account, that’s roughly $505 per month.
What Is the Appraisal District?
Every Texas county has an appraisal district. This is the office responsible for determining the assessed value of every property in the county. They’re separate from the tax collector’s office.
In North Texas, the major appraisal districts are:
- Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD)
- Denton Central Appraisal District (Denton CAD)
- Collin Central Appraisal District (Collin CAD)
- Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD)
The appraisal district doesn’t set your tax rate. They determine your home’s value. The taxing entities set the rates.
When Do Property Tax Assessments Happen?
Texas appraisal districts assess properties as of January 1 each year. Notices are typically mailed between April and May. Once you receive your notice, you have until May 15 (or 30 days after the notice date, whichever is later) to file a protest.
This deadline matters. Miss it, and you’re locked in for the year.
What Is a Homestead Exemption?
If your home is your primary residence, you likely qualify for a homestead exemption. This reduces your taxable value — the amount your tax rate is applied to.
In Texas, the general homestead exemption removes $100,000 from your assessed value for school district taxes. Many counties and cities offer additional exemptions on top of that.
The homestead exemption also includes the 10% cap. This limits how much your assessed value can increase from one year to the next. Without this cap, a spike in local home prices could dramatically increase your tax bill.
Not sure if you’ve filed your homestead exemption? Check with your county’s appraisal district. If you bought your home recently, it may not have been filed automatically.
What Happens If You Think Your Assessment Is Too High?
You have the right to protest. This is a formal process where you tell the county you believe your assessed value is too high — and back it up with evidence.
Protesting does not mean hiring a lawyer or attending a courtroom hearing. In most Texas counties, the process starts online. You file a protest, submit evidence, and an appraiser reviews your case. Most protests resolve at this informal stage without a hearing.
Texas law also protects you: your assessed value cannot go up as a result of filing a protest. The worst that can happen is nothing changes.
How Much Could Protesting Save You?
Savings depend on how much your home is over-assessed relative to similar homes nearby. A common benchmark: if your home is assessed 10% above comparable homes, the savings can be meaningful.
On a $350,000 home at a 1.73% effective tax rate, a 10% reduction could save approximately $50 per month (~$600 per year). On a $450,000 home, that jumps to approximately $65 per month (~$780 per year).
Those monthly savings add up — and they repeat every year your value stays at the corrected level.
What Evidence Do You Need to Protest?
The most effective method used in Texas property tax protests is called Equal and Uniform. In plain terms, it’s a fairness comparison. You show that similar homes in your area are assessed at a lower value per square foot than yours.
A strong protest also includes condition evidence — photos and documentation of your home’s actual condition. Aging systems, needed repairs, and deferred maintenance are things the county doesn’t know about unless you tell them.
Together, the fairness data and the condition documentation give the appraiser a reason to adjust your value.
Check If Your Home Is Fairly Assessed
Free. About 60 seconds. No signup required. Nothing happens without your permission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay to protest my property taxes in Texas?
Filing a protest with your county is free. There’s no charge to challenge your assessed value. If you want organized evidence to support your case, services like CheckMyPropertyTax.com offer protest-ready packets starting at $39.99.
Can my property taxes go up if I protest?
No. Texas law says your assessed value cannot increase as a result of a protest. The worst outcome is that nothing changes.
What’s the deadline to protest in Texas?
The general deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice is mailed — whichever is later. Check your notice for the exact date.
Do I need a lawyer or tax firm to protest?
No. Most Texas homeowners who protest do it themselves. In some counties, homeowners who protest with their own evidence actually achieve better outcomes than those using tax firms.
What if I’ve never protested before?
You’re not alone. 53% of homeowners who’ve never protested didn’t even know they could. The process starts online in most Texas counties, takes about 60 seconds to begin, and costs nothing to file.