Ft Worth Times

As inflation soars higher than ever, property taxes in Fort Worth run past the preferred rate of growth.

Property taxes are a point of contention in Texas and has drawn bipartisan support to decrease the burden on the state's citizens. A report published by the Texas Public Policy Foundation in February showed property tax hikes for the state's largest cities compared to the tax's preferred growth rate, which combines inflation and population growth. Property tax in all 10 cities, including Fort Worth, outstripped this preferred rate over the period between 2016 and 2020.

"It's not a stretch to say that property taxes are out of control in the Lone Star State. As a result, local governments are getting rich while families are forced to make hard decisions," James Quintero, policy director at Texas Public Policy Foundation wrote in a newsletter on March 3, discussing property taxes in Texas.

According to the report "Just the Facts: Property Taxes in Texas' Most Populous Cities, Counties and School Districts 2nd Edition" by Quintero and Anthony Jones published last month, property taxes are "the largest tax assessed in Texas," based on the state's comptroller. In 2019, nearly 50% of all tax dollars collected in Texas came from property taxes. The report also noted that there were 4,256 separate property taxing units in Texas in fiscal 2019, some of which overlap. The report explains that "laws and systems surrounding Texas' property tax are notoriously complicated, oftentimes requiring a taxpayer to seek help through consultants, accountants, advocates and attorneys." Not only are the tax laws complex, but they are also growing far faster than the preferred rate of growth, which is calculated as population growth plus inflation.

The Balance, a personal finance platform, ranked Texas in the 10 states with the highest property tax rates in the United States, with a median payment of $4,065 per year.

In 2021, the Tax Foundation found that Texas had the sixth-highest property tax rate measured as property taxes paid as a percentage of owner-occupied housing value in 2019.

Fort Worth's property tax grew 33.6% from $460.8 million to $615.8 million from 2016 to 2020, according to a report published by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The combined population and inflation for the city grew by 15.2% during that time, resulting in a difference of 18.5%.