Texas property taxes have recently become a subject of debate as home value appraisals have rapidly increased, resulting in rising property tax assessments.
A recently published report by the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (TTARA) said that a major driver in rising property tax rates are hikes in the amount of spending sought by local jurisdictions.
Texans will likely see "sticker shock" when getting their appraisals this year, but in the end Texans do have some influence over their property tax rates, the report said.
"The simple truth is no matter what your appraisal, property tax bills would not be going up unless local jurisdictions wanted to spend more money," TTARA said. "Regardless of your 2022 appraisal, right now your 2022 tax bill is zero. Your tax bill won't be set until the jurisdictions in which you reside decide how much money they want to raise and set their tax rates."
Austin's property tax went up by 69.8%, from $559.5 million in 2016 to $949.8 million in 2020, a recent report published by the Texas Public Policy Foundation said. The aggregate population and inflation for the city went up by 10.2% during that period, adding up to a difference of 59.5%.
Appraised property values are anticipated to surge across Texas by 20% to 50% in 2022, according to a recent report on The Texan. Property values are a main component in the determination of property taxes, which have been a hot issue in Texas for some time. Property tax rates are also determined and vary by which school district a person lives in, and they can reach particularly high levels in large cities. A majority of the property tax money in Texas is accounted for by school districts.