Is It Worth Protesting Property Taxes in Texas? Let’s Look at Its Effectiveness

Is it worth protesting property taxes in Texas? Here’s what you need to know about its effectiveness:

• A successful protest provides a long-term financial return by lowering your property’s assessed value baseline, which is further protected by the 10% annual homestead cap (if eligible).
• Some of the most effective protest methods are challenging the current market price assessment and the valuation compared to similar neighbors.
• Failing to protest creates a “hidden tax hike” by allowing inflated values to compound over time. When more properties are protested, it puts pressure on the appraisal district to keep values fair and consistent across the board.
• Hiring a professional firm, such as Gill, Denson & Company, is a zero-risk investment with our contingency fee model, ensuring you maximize your reduction potential by leveraging our expert data and proven strategies.

The ROI of a Property Tax Protest

Many homeowners view the property tax protest as simply a reaction to a high bill, but it should be treated as an annual financial investment. Sure, the process takes time, money, and resources. The true measure of a protest’s effectiveness lies in its long-term financial return. While the short-term ROI measures the tax savings against the professional contingency fee for the current year, the greater benefit is the cumulative financial savings that accrue over time.

A reduction in year one is not just a one-time discount; it lowers the property’s assessed value baseline for all subsequent years. This is where the power of the homestead cap is magnified, preventing your assessed value from increasing more than 10% in a given year. So, a lower assessed value this year means a lower maximum value next year.

The Most Effective Reasons for Protesting

When it comes to protesting your property taxes, some methods are more effective than others. Your “reason(s)” for protesting will depend on your specific circumstances. For example, if the county listed your property’s square footage incorrectly, or if your assessed value is unfairly higher than nearby comparable properties. Here are two protest reasons that are most commonly effective:

The Market Value Protest: When the market has recently dipped, or the CAD has glaring errors (such as miscalculating square footage or the property’s condition).

The Equal & Uniform Appraisal: When your home is valued higher than similar neighboring homes. This establishes a “median level of appraisal.”

There are many other reasons to protest, which you can read about here.

So, Is It Worth Protesting Property Taxes in Texas?

We’ve seen the most effective methods and what you can gain by protesting property taxes in Texas. Now, let’s further answer this question by looking at the opportunity cost of not protesting.

The difference in valuation between properties that protest and those that do not compounds over time, costing thousands and thousands of dollars over a decade. Think of this as a “hidden” tax hike, where you’re continuously paying an unfair share of property taxes. A successful protest protects the fair value of your property’s tax assessment. Failure to protest allows the CAD to potentially inflate the value year after year.

Even if you do protest, you may not see the same savings if you attempt to do it on your own. Think about the non-monetary cost of time and stress required for research, filing paperwork, and attending hearings. After all that work, you still might not be maximizing your ROI.

Maximizing Effectiveness with Professional Representation

Professional firms use collated data and resources to identify the absolute best comparables and the most advantageous reasons for protest. This strategy is necessary to achieve the maximum reduction possible. While you will pay a professional fee, it is often based on a contingency model. This means there is zero risk for you in working with us at Gill, Denson & Company. If we don’t help you achieve any savings, you won’t pay anything.

Protesting property taxes is not a gamble or a risk; it’s a proven financial strategy essential for any Texas homeowner. While we cannot guarantee savings, we believe our track record speaks volumes. We successfully helped more than 80% of our clients receive a tax appraisal reduction last year.

Stop simply paying inflated bills. Make an investment in your financial future, and contact Gill, Denson & Company today to start your risk-free protest.