Tarrant Appraisal District sent out property value notices to Tarrant County homeowners last week, and rising valuations have sparked concerns over heavier tax burdens.
Texas homeowners, already face the sixth-highest property taxes in the country.
A 10% increase in value per year is the maximum increase allowed for a property owner with a homestead exemption, which does not tax the first $40,000 of a property.
Tax rates are established by each taxing unit, which includes the county, city, and school district, according to NBC 5 DFW.
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said continued property value appraisal increases are untenable.
“Every single person who owns a home or owns business property will tell you the same story — taxes continue to go up and up,” O’Hare told NBC 5 DFW.
“When our economy is not doing as well as it has in the past few years, when inflation is through the roof the way it is, I think it’s grossly irresponsible to increase taxes on people.”
Home values have increased substantially in recent years, meaning this increased tax burden is felt nearly across the board.
“Our home appraisal came in the mail today from TAD. Not surprisingly, it came with another 10% increase to the appraised value,” O’Hare said in a tweet on Saturday. “These repeated double-digit increases are unsustainable. 209% increase since 2018. All taxing entities must provide tax relief for our residents.”
With so many relocations to the area and rapidly rising home values, Danny Perez, founder and managing director of M&D Real Estate, says that DFW is what California was 20 years ago.
“We’ve seen, over the last three years, a 40% price appreciation, which is astounding. “The last thing I would want to be this year is a tax appraiser because the county assessor’s office, they have a very difficult task,” Perez told NBC 5 DFW.
“Our phones were actually blowing up last week from all of the tax notices that went out to everybody in Texas,” he added. “Right now, we always advise our buyers when they’re going in that we’re in a very high appreciating market. Beware of your taxes. We’re trying to prep them for that as much as we can.”
Statewide, lawmakers have put forward two competing bills meant to bring down property taxes but are divided on how to get there.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, House Bill 2 proposes to limit the appraisal cap from 10% to 5% per year, while Senate Bill 3 seeks to raise the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000.
Judge O’Hare said that the commissioners court is considering implementing a homestead exemption for the first time in Tarrant County.
“The state offers up to a 20% homestead exemption. Tarrant County offers zero, and we’re still trying to change that,” he said, per NBC 5 DFW.