Walking You Through Homestead Exemptions & Tax Protests
March thru May are the months when homeowners received a notice of appraised value on their properties.
I can’t tell you how many clients have contacted me over the years to say that they never filed a homestead exemption on their principal residence, and then their property’s assessed value skyrocketed, as did their property taxes.
In March, Tina and I each had clients call us to find out if it’s too late to file homestead exemptions. One of our client’s taxes went from about $2600 per year to $6500 per year. Another client’s taxes increased from $6000 to $11,000.
So the answer is NO! It is NEVER too late to file an exemption. AND you can file retroactively for up to two years.
For example, if Anna Banana bought a house in June 2020 for $300,000 but failed to file her homestead exemption, she can file today and go back 2 years.
So if her 2021 value increased to $430,00, 2022 increased to $610,000, and 2023 increased to $900,000, she can apply for the homestead to be applied for 2022 & 2023.
That means the appraiser would take her $430,000 value from 2021 and cap the increase at no more than 10% ($43,000). Her 2022 assessed value would then be approximately $473,000, and her 2023 value would again increase no more than 10% of the 2022 value ($47,300 + $473,000 = $520,300).
$520,300 is WAY BETTER than the estimated $900,000 value before the homestead exemption.
IF YOU AREN’T SURE HOW TO APPLY, CONTACT US!
Also, once you get your 2023 notice of appraised value, there will be information on how to PROTEST the estimated value. All protests are filed online now, so again, CONTACT US! Tina or I can run comps to find out how your home’s value might be different than the county’s estimated value. The county does not have access to sold data from the MLS, so they are taking a shot in the dark based on numerous factors to determine your 2023 value.
Per Williamson Central Appraisal District’s website (https://www.wcad.org/common-misconceptions/):
“The Williamson Central Appraisal District does not have access to all sales information due to Texas being a non-sales disclosure state. This means that real estate sales transactions are not given to the Appraisal District. Each Appraisal District must research all available data in the marketplace by contacting realtors, brokers, property sellers, and buyers to obtain sales information. Through this process the District receives some of the sales, but not all. Any and all sales evidence you can provide to the District will ensure proper valuation of your property.
Protesting your taxes is not scary. It’s super easy and could end up saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars since the sold comps toward the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 are much LOWER than in the previous 2 years.
THERE IS A DEADLINE TO PROTEST (each county has a different deadline). PLEASE READ YOUR “NOTICE OF APPRAISED VALUE” LETTER TO FIND OUT THAT DEADLINE.
Email, text, or call us! You will not be bothering us, and we are ecstatic to help you save money:
Rachel@RxRHomeTeam.com or 512-468-9122
Tina@RxRHomeTeam.com or 512-705-7765