Ft Worth Times

Property taxes are a point of contention in the state of Texas, and there is bipartisan support for decreasing the property tax burden on the state's citizens.

According to The Texas Public Policy Foundation's (TPPF) "Just the Facts: Property Taxes in Texas’ Most Populous Cities, Counties, and School Districts," published in February of 2022, property tax has increased faster for almost all of Texas' largest school districts compared to the tax's preferred rate of growth, which is a combination of inflation plus population growth.

From 2016 to 2020, Fort Worth ISD's property tax grew 40.6% from $418.8 million to $589.1 million, according to a report published by the TPPF. The combined population and inflation for the city grew by 3% during that time, resulting in a difference of 37.6%.

"If left unchallenged, these value increases have the potential to really take a bite out of taxpayers over the long-haul,” TPPF’s James Quintero said in a newsletter discussing property tax appraisals and how to protest them. “Taxpayers should be prepared to defend their wallets this year—first by protesting their property tax appraisals and then by pressuring their local elected officials to adopt lower tax rates.”

Property taxes are unique in several ways, according to the TPPF publication. The report noted that property taxes are “the largest tax assessed in Texas,” according to the comptroller. In 2019, nearly 50 percent 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 the fiscal year 2019, some of which overlap. 

The report also claimed that "the 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.

"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," Quintero said.

The report also noted that in 2019, the 86th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 3 (2019), which made sweeping changes to the school finance system. One key change now requires school districts to conduct efficiency audits “before a district seeks voter approval for increasing tax rates” (Texas Education Agency, n.d.-a, p. 48). Per state law, an efficiency audit is “an investigation of the operations of a school district to examine fiscal management, efficiency, and utilization of resources.” (Legislative Budget Board, 2020, p. 1).

The Balance ranked Texas as 10th 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.

Katy ISD and Conroe ISD were the only two school districts that kept their property tax growth rate below the preferred rate of growth.