Understanding how property taxes work is fairly straightforward. There are four simplified steps the county goes through to arrive at the amount it bills you for. First, the assessor’s office determines the value of all the properties in the county. It does this by appraisals, sold records, computer modeling, building permits, etc.; the assessor then adds up all the real estate values in the county to get a grand total. Second, if your county uses the full value approach, the assessor simply totals up the appraised values. But, if the county uses an assessment ratio, say one-half, for example, then you multiply the total value of all taxable properties by .50.
Third, the county comes up with a tax rate. This is simply the budget or the money the county needs for the coming year divided by total value of all the real estate in the county. Suppose the tax rate is .0076 and your house is assessed at $200,000. Multiplying $200,000 by .0076 equals $1,520 that you owe the tax collector.
In the final step, the county clerk mails out tax notices to the owners of all of the properties in the county. If you think your taxes are too high, there are two variables you can work with to lower them. One, you can go to the county or city budget hearings and challenge how the government spends the money. If enough people get upset, a referendum can put a tax cap on the ballot, as happened in California, Texas, and other states.
The other way is make sure your home’s assessment is as low as possible. If the tax notice shows a value you think is to high, you can appeal it.
Third, the county comes up with a tax rate. This is simply the budget or the money the county needs for the coming year divided by total value of all the real estate in the county. Suppose the tax rate is .0076 and your house is assessed at $200,000. Multiplying $200,000 by .0076 equals $1,520 that you owe the tax collector.
In the final step, the county clerk mails out tax notices to the owners of all of the properties in the county. If you think your taxes are too high, there are two variables you can work with to lower them. One, you can go to the county or city budget hearings and challenge how the government spends the money. If enough people get upset, a referendum can put a tax cap on the ballot, as happened in California, Texas, and other states.
The other way is make sure your home’s assessment is as low as possible. If the tax notice shows a value you think is to high, you can appeal it.
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