How to reduce your property taxes

Several new homeowners or even homeowners that have several years with the house are unaware of how the property taxes works or how to reduced the amount they pay. I know at least 2 ways to reduce it, if you know more ways I will be happy to hear about it. 

1. Requesting an Exemption
2. Reducing the Appraised value.

REQUESTING AN EXEMPTION

For Requesting an Exemption, there are different types you can request

• General Residence Homestead.  If you are the owner of the house you have as your principal residence you can claim this discount. You cannot claim this exemption on any other property. 
• Disabled Person. Having a disability for purposes of payment of disability insurance benefit
• Age 65 or Older. If you on the property by January 1 on the year you became 65 you can start claiming this exemption. If you are also disabled, you can claim both exemptions or discounts.
• Surviving Spouse of an Individual who qualified for Age 65 or Older. If the surviving spouse was 55 years of age or older when the qualified spouse died, this exemption can be claimed.
• 100 Percent Disabled Veterans. If the owner receives a 100 percent disability compensation due to a service-connected disability can request this one.
• Surviving Spouse of a qualified 100 Percent disabled Veterans. This spouse who has not remarried since the death of the veteran can claim it.
• Donated Residence Homestead of partially Disabled Veteran. If less than 100% disabled veteran  who received the house as a donation by a charitable organization at no cost or less than the 50 % of the market value can have this one.
• Surviving Spouse can also claim it if has not remarried since the death of the veteran
• Surviving Spouse of a Member of Armed Services Killed in Action. If has not remarried since the death of the service member you are OK to claim this one. 
• Surviving Spouse of a First Responder Killed in the Line of Duty. Very similar as the previous one.

VERY IMPORTANT

If you qualify for any of these exemptions, you can only apply between January 1 and April 30 of the year for which the exemption is requested. 

A late application for Residence Homestead exemption may be filled up to two years after deadline for filling has passed. 

If exemption is granted, you don't need to reapply annually.

If you are the owner of the house you live or are 65 years old, or older, you are paying more taxes that you have to. I think I paid my first 2 years after buying my house the full tax without any exemption, rookie mistake. 

Download the format 50-114 from Hidalgo County Appraisal, fill it and go to the Appraisal office with the supported documentation between January 1 and April 30.  Mark your Calendar or place a reminder on your phone.

REDUCING THE APPRAISED VALUE

This may be more difficult than getting an exemption but it worth to try it. How does it works?  Appraisal district must send a notice by May 1 or April 1 or as soon as practical, if there is an increment on the appraised value for your property. Remember that the taxes you paid are based on this "Appraised value" and the tax rate imposed by the city, county, school district the previous year. Normally those rates do not change, but the appraised value may. For example, supposed that all tax rates combined are 10%, if your property appraised value is $100,000  you will have to pay $10,000 of taxes by the end of the year, however if the appraiser thinks that your house value is $120,000 your taxes will be $12,000. $2,000 dollar more just because some guy believes your house value is higher. The things I can do or buy with those $2,000!  I don't have a problem with taxes incrementals as long as my salary or income is incremented proportional to that, but if I got a 4% increment on my income but the appraisers believe that your house value incremented by 12%.  Sooner or later I will need an alternative source of income just to pay the taxes of my house.

Filing a Protest

We have the option to file a protest and maybe decrease the appraised value, and therefore the taxes to pay. First, you will need to receive the "Notice of Appraised Value", I have normally received it between February to May. This letter may looks like this:

When you receive it, check the last year value vs the proposed for this one, and if you see that the increment is significant or not acceptable, you may need to protest it. There are only 2 reasons eligible to be filed electronically: Value over market or Unequal compared to others. I highly recommend to select both. 

On this notice you will see the deadline you have for filing a protest, normally is no later than 30 days after the notice was mailed. On the example above the notice was sent on April 17, 2020 but I received it on my mail on April 23 and I have until May 18, 2020 to file the protest. 

You can protest by filing the form included on the letter you received and mail it to them, or taking it to their location. But the most convenient way is to file electronically, and I will focus on this guide how to do it. 

1. Make sure you have a valid email address, this days everybody has an email address, it is mostly free so there is no excuse to don't have one. 
2. Go to their website for protests at http://onlineappeals.hidalgoad.org/  you can also reach that site if you go to Hidalgo County Appraisal District page and clicked on "On-line Protest"
3. If it is your first time you file electronically, you will need your "Owner ID" and "PIN" located on your "Notice of Appraised Value" , be careful with the pin because is case sensitive. If you have already filed before, the username and password used  last year will work, you will no need to register again.
4. When logged in you will find this page, just click on "Online Appeals" 

   
5. Then click on "click here to e-file". 

   
6. And now select your property (fill the rectangle on the left) and then click on "E-File Selected Properties". 

   
7. After that a new window will open asking to select the reasons for protest. I highly recommend on selecting both: Value over market or Unequal compared to others. One time I just selected "Unequal to others" since I saw other houses in the neighborhood with exactly the same design but with lower appraised value, I presented that as my evidence but they came with examples they took (different house designs) and said that those needed to be considered too.  Then you will have to write a comment on why you think the appraised value deserved a lower value and indicate the value you think is the correct one. Submit it after that.
8. After your submission, you will have to wait a couple of weeks, depending of the workload of the appraiser assigned to your property he may call you to get a settlement. One time I went to the appraisal office, talked with him, he saw my property from drone pictures taken from different angles, finally provided pictures of some cracked walls, and cracked tiles and with that he reduced the appraised value. If you accepted the new proposal you are fine, you may have to sign it. 
9. In case the appraisal does not want to settle, or you don't accept the new value offered, then you will have to go to the ARB hearing  indicated on your notice of appraised value. 

    On that hearing you will present your case to some citizens appointed by the appraisal office (not so imparcial) , can bring copies of your evidence, and then the appraisal will also present his information. Be aware that the appraiser must share the information he used to came to the valuation days before the hearing. 
10. Based on the notice, it looks like the hearings would be "virtual", or by videoconference this year.

You can always go back to the portal and check any updates on your protest. You may see the appraisal already updated it with some offer, or in some cases already changed the appraisal value.  Also any changes on the hearing location/date can be seen there.  The appraisal may also communicate to the e-mail you used to create your account so check them frequently and make sure none of their emails are on the spam folder.

For you to investigate the appraised value of other houses on your neighborhood, you can see that information by clicking on "property search" 

 and then a new tab in your browser will open. 

You can start by searching your property and see how does the information looks there. Just enter the "Property ID"  and click search. The "Property ID" can also be found on your "Notice of Appraised Value". 

Then, you will see the information about your property

On these page you can see the values assigned to your property such as Homesite value, land value, appraised value and if you got an exemption you will see it there. Also you can see the current rate of tax fo the different entities calculated according to the appraised value, in my case those entities are: City of Pharr, Drainage District #1, Hidalgo County, South Texas College, PSJA ISD, and South Texas School. And the total taxes you would be paying by the end of the year.

The following sections "Improvement/Building" shows the area of the house and the assigned value to it, then on the "Land" you will see the Area and the market value assigned. 

But the most interesting section is the "Roll Value History" where you can see the appraised value of your property year by year. There you can analyze the increments year by year. 

Now that you understand the information on your property you can navigate on your neighborhood, just click on "Map".

Now a map will show up with your property

On the bottom right section, you can click "-" to Zoom Out and see all the properties around. Click on any other property and a window with some basic information will pop up,  but you can click on "property details" and the same information you saw from your property you will see it here but from your neighbor. This way you can compare the appraised value of houses around you. 

I hope this information is clear and understandable to let you know how to get your property taxes down. Don't let them increment your taxes without a fight.