Dallas has seen the highest five-year property tax increase of any major U.S. city, according to a new study.
The analysis by Today’s Homeowner found that in 2016, Dallas residents paid an average of $2,851 in property taxes.
By 2021, that figure grew 63.8%, with residents of Dallas now paying $4,671 in property taxes on average.
Property tax expenses have risen drastically in Dallas despite the City Council passing tax rate reductions every year since 2016, including what Mayor Eric Johnson described in a tweet last year as the “largest single-year tax-rate reduction in modern Dallas history.”
Mayor Johnson has a record of supporting property tax cuts, having previously said he believes in “across-the-board tax-rate reduction for all homeowners and renters,” per The Texan.
The Dallas Express reached out to Johnson’s office for comment on the findings of this study but received no response by press time.
Despite the stated priorities of City leaders like Johnson, the cuts enacted in recent years have not been substantial enough to counteract soaring home values across Dallas — as evidenced by the continually rising costs of property tax bills.
In January 2016, the average Dallas home cost $150,935, according to the Zillow Home Values Index.
Now, that value has risen to $308,305, marking a roughly 104% increase.
The property tax cuts passed by the City Council since 2016 amount to a mere 6.42% decrease — from $0.797 to $0.7458 per $100 valuation.
A March survey conducted on behalf of Mayor Johnson found that property tax reduction remains one of the highest priorities for over 70% of Dallas residents.
One factor contributing to higher property taxes in Dallas could be Texas’ lack of a state income tax, according to local CPA and founder of Alicorn Investment Management Bill Dendy.
“Having lived in Dallas County for most of my adult life, our property taxes, and taxes in general, are high, but we don’t have the state income tax, so you gotta pick things one way or another,” Dendy previously told The Dallas Express.
The Today’s Homeowner study also found that the state of Texas had the fifth-highest property tax increase out of all 50 states from 2016 to 2021.
Texans paid an average of $3,049 in property taxes in 2016, which then jumped to $4,601 by 2021 — a 32.6% increase.
Last week, the Texas House of Representatives passed a $12 billion property tax relief proposal that would lower the state’s “appraisal cap” on how much a home’s taxable value can increase in one year from 10% to 5%.
“We want to have the caps so that there’s predictability and stability for our property owners,” said Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas), per the Texas Tribune.
Total property tax collections across Texas increased over 12% last year alone, according to a study conducted by the Huffines Liberty Foundation.
Former Texas senator Don Huffines told The Dallas Express at that time that he believes “property taxes are immoral.”
However, others maintain that property taxes are essential for funding public services — especially education — as property taxes reportedly make up about half of the funds directed to public schools.
Texas A&M Research Economist Dr. Charles Gilliland said, “The only way to really institute meaningful property tax reductions would either be to find some other revenue source or to substantially cut education budgets,” per The Texas Tribune.
“Neither one of those options is palatable in today’s political atmosphere,” he added.
In the nearby city of Irving, homeowners have also seen drastic increases in property tax payments, according to Today’s Homeowner study.
In 2016, Irving residents paid an average of $2,985. In 2021, they paid an average of $4,671, marking a 61.5% rise.
The study analyzed housing data from 585 cities and all 50 states and found that across the nation, the average property tax bill rose 19% from 2016 to 2021 — from $2,340 to $2,795.
The Dallas Express reached out to Today’s Homeowner for additional information on the study and its results but received no response by press time.