Most Texas homeowners not aware of right to protest property tax
Editor’s Note: The transcript of this live Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The deadline is quickly approaching for Travis County homeowners to protest the market value of their property. That date is May 15 or 30 days after the notice has been mailed to you whichever is later, according to the Travis County Appraisal District.
KXAN’s Will DuPree and Avery Travis spoke to Ownwell CEO Colton Pace on new data released by the company that shows around half of homeowners in Texas are not aware of their right to protest their property taxes.
Avery Travis: According to a company called Ownwell, their property tax consulting firm [is] working to help people with protests and appeals, all with the goal of reducing their customers property taxes. I know that is music to so many people’s ears who might have already received that bill. So for some more insight, we want to bring in Ownwell CEO Colton Pace, thanks so much for joining us today. We want to dig into that survey that you all did, and some of the numbers in just a little bit, but first, just give us an idea. What are you hearing from your clients, particularly this year, maybe compared to some years past?
Colton Pace: I think people are ready for their property taxes to stop going up. And it feels like home values aren’t going up as much as they were previously. So for people to still see their property taxes go up over time, even though your market value of your home may not have. It’s a little scary and worrisome, and people may not have budgeted the amount necessary to pay their tax bill this year.
Will DuPree: Yeah, we’ll talk a little bit more about that too, but we want to dive into some of that survey data that your company came out with here today. So if you want to take a look at this, according to your company’s data, 75% of Texas homeowners said their property taxes noticeably increased since moving in. More than half were shocked by their last property tax bill, and more than 70% feel their recent property taxes are more than what they budgeted for. So why do you think that is? Why are so many people shocked by that?
Pace: Yeah. Well, I think home values are slowing down, and property taxes are set as of the value of your property Jan. 1, so it’s a little bit of a lag, in addition to tax rates going up. And so tax rates can go up while your assessment isn’t going up, and homestead exemptions are out there to help you kind of mitigate that. But then, as your assessment is rising, your market value may not be and that gets complex, right? I’m already losing myself in what I’m saying and so, there’s lots to be seen in why it is going up. There’s a bunch of different factors, and what can we do to stop it from going up.
Travis: So talk to us about what you’re seeing across Texas. We know the state is booming with the population growing. How does that play a role in some of these, you know, rising values that we’re seeing, and maybe why people are so caught off guard by their skyrocketing tax bill?
Pace: Yeah, so your tax bill is set on the basis of the value your home and so as home values rise, your tax bill is going to rise. And in addition to school budgets rising and inflation, tax rates are going to keep going up. So your tax bill is going to keep going up. It’s like a good and bad thing. The value of your home went up, but your tax bill is also going up, and you can’t realize those gains on your home. And so that’s why it’s really important to make sure you have your homestead and make sure you’re protesting every single year. And that’s why Ownwell exists.
DuPree: We want to get into that now. So according to Ownwell’s research, Texans paid about $25 million more than necessary by not protesting their property taxes. What does that number indicate to you?
Pace: Property taxes need to be equitable. They need to be fair. So there’s a lot of people out there who know that you can protest and make sure that property tax rate is set. There’s property taxes, and your assessment is calculated in large swaths via mass appraisal. And to fix that, you should protest and make sure you do a deep dive into the equity of your specific property tax assessment. And that’s what protesting does, and not everybody does that, and that’s why we see people overpaying. Because corporations and the most wealthy individuals are protesting and reducing their tax burden. Well, not everybody knows to do that.
Travis: So talk about kind of the average homeowner, or people with maybe smaller, lower value properties. What is it that you see? And what do you want those people to know?
Pace: Yeah, well, everybody can do this. Everybody has the legislative right to protest their property tax bill, and that’s why Ownwell exists. It’s a very complex process with tax consultants, attorneys and and that’s why we exist to help people protest their property tax bill. They don’t have to learn about it. They can sign up with us and we take care of the whole process and make sure that they’re not paying within their fair share.
