Homestead Exemption - Harris County Appraisal District: Fill & Download for Free

You will want to file your homestead exemption with your county appraisal district. For example in Harris County you can file your homestead exemption online via their HCAD mobile app or mail in the form. How can you file your exemption? I’ve written a free step by step guide here.You can also fight your property taxes by protesting with your county appraisal district. You’ll want to document deficiencies in your home, neighbors homes, and provide recent sales comps with lower prices per square foot.

I can speak to this question from both sides of the fence. I own two houses, one Homesteaded and one my grandchildren live in that is not. Secondly I am the President of a Taxing entity. (An Emergency Services District provides fire, rescue, and medical support to unincorporated areas.)Your question doesn’t have a simple answer. The Texas average county property tax is 1.832% of the appraised value. The property taxes in the six largest counties are:El Paso 2.220%Tarrant 2.164%Harris 2.090%Dallas 1.992%Bexar 1.987%Travis 1.803%But even though Travis County is lowest on the list, it most likely has the highest taxes for a number of reasons. The first is appraisal values aren’t uniform. Appraisal districts usually set property values to meet the amount of tax receipts they need. A tax rate can be low but a high appraisal value can skyrocket taxes.Also City taxes to citizens that live in a city limits can be very high. A city like Austin has fewer large companies to tax than a city like Houston, so they need more tax money from residents in order to function. This could determine how they set appraisal values of homes.Then, too, there are all kinds of other taxing entities: Municipal Utility Districts, Emergency Services Districts, Community Colleges, Flood Control, just to name a few. Any one of these that doesn’t offer exemptions can significantly raise your taxes.Your taxes will also vary depending on whether your property qualifies for Homestead exemptions or Over 65 exemptions.Another thing to consider is school property taxes are invariably much greater than county property taxes and they tax separately. A school district with a high tax rate will more than double your property taxes.It all depends on where you live in a county and what the value of your property appears to be to the appraisers. They will generally milk you for all they think they can get away with.It is always a good idea to protest county taxes annually. The first time around they will almost always show you other houses in your area that sold for more and deny your protest. The second round it goes to arbitration before a group of other taxpayers and you will probably get a little bit of a break.Before buying a home it is a good idea to look into all of this. One thing is certain. If you have a 30 year loan, by the time you get your mortgage paid off, taxes and insurance alone will be higher than your entire payment was at the beginning.This is why it is a good idea to double up on your principal and pay the mortgage off early.