Many Central Texans have witnessed a year-after-year property-tax hike as the region’s growing market demand drives real estate prices up. “Between Bexar County and Travis County, that’s where all that demand is right now,” said Rufino Lozano, chief appraiser for the Comal Appraisal District. “There is a high demand for this particular area as well as adjacent counties that fall within that area.” While some residents equate a higher appraisal to more equity in their investments, others hope to keep their property appraisals to a minimum, creating a push-pull between a strong real estate market and citizens looking to combat cost-of-living increases.

Keeping property taxes down

For the past five years, data shows more local residents are tapping into the property-tax protest process to help minimize increases. Between 2013 and 2017, property-tax protests in Comal County increased by 3,074, while Guadalupe County saw an increase of 6,816 protests. Lozano said property owners commonly protest their taxes when they feel their appraised market value is incorrect or when they think their property is appraised too high or too low when compared to their neighbors. The protesting process allows them to present their case to the appraisal district. Some protests are resolved online, Lozano said, while others move on to an informal hearing. If the case is not resolved in the informal hearing, a property owner may advance to a formal hearing with the Appraisal Review Board. “It’s basically who provides the better evidence,” Lozano said. “Unfortunately from our side, we don’t see the inside of the house, so a lot of times they will bring in photos or show us photos of deficiencies on the property, and that’s why it’s a little less.” Lozano said that although property owners often wait until they receive their appraisal notice to protest taxes, they can be proactive about ensuring their appraisal is accurate by filling out a property rendition form and providing relevant information to the appraisal district at any time of year. New Braunfels resident Andi Holmgreen said she protested her taxes in 2016 after her appraisal came in at a rate significantly higher than she had purchased her home for in October 2015. Holmgreen made her case with a third-party appraisal, and the ARB ruled in her favor. “I do feel the county is mostly fair, and I do feel that our taxes do go for the most part to a lot of public works,” she said. Holmgreen is a Realtor with eXp Realty in New Braunfels and said she enjoys educating her clients on the protest process when necessary and encourages them to stay on top of their annual property tax statements. “I always tell people, ‘Read your tax bill. Make sure your exemptions are on there,’” she said. “I always want to make sure they’re taking advantage of the homestead exemption. It’s one of the great things about Texas property laws.” According to Holmgreen, a homestead exemption limits the county to raising the assessed value of a property more than 10 percent above the previous year. When purchasing a home, she said it is important to ask the lender about all available exemptions.

Calculating property taxes

As of Jan. 1, appraisal districts are tasked with appraising property at 100 percent market value. Jamie Osborne,  Guadalupe Appraisal District chief appraiser, said appraisals are determined by evaluating countywide property sales information. “We basically take the sales information, and if the sales information is saying X and we’re at Y, how do we go up or down in value to meet 100 percent market value?” Osborne said. “Everybody thinks we’re just going to go up in value, but that’s not necessarily always the case. We do go down in value to reflect what the market activity is.” According to Jennifer Salazar, director of operations for the Comal Appraisal District, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to property taxes. In addition to the county, Salazar said property owners must pay taxes to the additional taxing jurisdictions the property falls in. That could include a city, school district, emergency services district or utility district. Taxing jurisdictions use the county’s property evaluations to determine what rate they would need to set to have a zero-revenue, or balanced, budget. Then, the tax rate of a property is calculated by adding together the rate for all applicable taxing jurisdictions. From there, any qualifying exemptions—homestead, disabled veteran, agriculture, regular disability or 65 and older—can be deducted, but even then Salazar said there are exceptions. For example, ESDs are not required to give you a homestead exemption but school districts are. “So each property’s tax rate could be slightly different,” Salazar said. As of May 14, the latest numbers available before Community Impact Newspaper’s print deadline, the CAD had received 3,140 property-tax protests and the GAC had received 5,055. This year’s protest deadline was moved to May 15, two weeks earlier than the deadline in previous years. Property tax bills will be mailed out by Oct. 1, and payment is due upon receipt.