Texas Property Taxes 101: Your 2026 Guide

Texas property taxes are administered entirely at the local level. There is no state property tax. Instead, the Texas Constitution grants counties, cities, school districts, and special taxing entities the authority to levy taxes on real property within their jurisdiction.

Each year, the Central Appraisal District (CAD) for your county is responsible for determining the market value of every property within its boundaries as of January 1st of the tax year. Texas has over 250 appraisal districts, each operating independently under oversight from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

The Texas Constitution grants these counties the right to assess and collect property taxes, but it also guarantees that taxation must be equal and uniform. The county appraisal district must value properties with similar characteristics (size, location, age) similarly.

To achieve this, these CADs assess real estate values as of January 1st each year. Because counties must value hundreds or thousands of properties, they use mass appraisal techniques guided by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

The 4 Methods Texas Appraisers Use to Value Property

Depending on your property type, your local CAD will use one of the following approaches:

• Sales Comparison (Market) Approach: Evaluates recent sale prices of similar nearby properties. (Note: Texas is a non-disclosure state, meaning you do not have to report your purchase price for public record).
• Income Approach: Used for commercial, agricultural, and multifamily properties. It values the property based on its income-producing potential.
• Cost Approach: Values the property based on the cost to replace the building with a similar structure, minus depreciation, and is commonly used for new construction.
• Equity Approach: Ensures your property's assessed value aligns with similar properties in your neighborhood, satisfying the state's equal and uniform law.

Understanding your property tax bill comes down to a simple formula. Your county establishes the value, subtracts any exemptions you qualify for, and multiplies that by the local tax rate.

Example: A home assessed at $500,000 with the $140,000 general homestead exemption has a taxable value of $380,000. At a combined tax rate of 2.2%, the annual bill would be $8,360.

• Assessed Value is determined by your county's CAD each spring. For most residential properties, this is intended to reflect the property's market value as of January 1st.
• Tax Rate is the sum of all individual rates (such as your county, city, school district, and special districts like MUDs) expressed as dollars per $100 of taxable value.
• Exemptions reduce the taxable value on which your tax rate is applied.

Despite high baseline tax rates, Texas offers some of the most generous tax relief programs in the country.

1. File for Property Tax Exemptions

Exemptions lower the taxable value of your home. They're available to Texas homeowners who use the property as their primary residence as of January 1st of the tax year.

You must submit an application to your local appraisal district to receive them by April 30th.

• Homestead Exemption: The most common relief for primary residences. It immediately subtracts $140,000 from your fair market value. It also initiates a homestead cap that prevents your home's assessed value from increasing more than 10% year-over-year.
• Over-65 Exemption: Freezes the amount of property taxes that qualifying seniors pay to school districts the year they turn 65. It also subtracts an additional $60,000 from your fair market value, totaling $200,000 when combined with the general homestead exemption.
• Disability & Veteran Exemptions: Freezes certain taxes for individuals who meet Federal disability criteria and offers a total tax exemption for Veterans with a 100% service-related disability rating.
  • Surviving spouses of veterans killed in action may also qualify for a total exemption if they have not remarried.

For more details on exemptions visit our exemptions blog or the Texas Comptroller's website.

2. Protest Your Property Tax Assessment

Protesting your property tax in Texas is a low-risk, high-reward strategy. By law, the county cannot increase your property's taxable value as a result of a protest. If your assessment notice seems too high, you can file a protest with the County Appraisal District (CAD). The burden of proof lies with the CAD to defend its valuation. If that's not settled, you can protest via a formal hearing to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB).

Steps to Protest Your Texas Property Taxes

1. Review your Notice of Appraised Value (NoV): You will receive your NoV from your CAD in the spring (typically April). Review it carefully. The assessed value listed is the basis for your tax bill.
2. File by the Deadline: Submit Form 50-132 (Notice of Protest) by May 15th (or 30 days after your notice was postmarked, whichever is later).
3. Hire a Professional (Optional): You can sign Form 50-162 to appoint a licensed third-party agent, like Ownwell, to handle the entire appeal process on your behalf. Ownwell boasts an 88% success rate and averages $774 in tax bill savings.
4. Gather Evidence: Collect recent comparable property sales (comps), documentation of property damage, deferred maintenance, or functional obsolescence, and similar properties' assessed values within your neighborhood. Request from the CAD the data they used to appraise your value — they must supply this at least 14 days before your informal hearing.
5. Attend the Hearing: You can request an informal conference with the CAD to settle early, or attend the formal ARB hearing to present sales comps and photos of deferred maintenance if a settlement isn't reached with the CAD.
6. Further Appeal Options: If you disagree with the ARB's decision, you can appeal further to:
   • State district court
   • Binding arbitration (a max property value of $5 million for non-homestead properties)
   • State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) (for properties valued at $1 million or less)

Note: Average tax rates fluctuate. Always check your local CAD website for the most current data.

*Extended due to the county sending Notice of Appraised Values late.

Information accurate as of May 12, 2026

Sources: Texas Comptroller's Office, Texas Constitution and Statutes, The Appraisal Foundation
https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/basics.php
https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/valuing-property.phphttps://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/exemptions/https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/protests/