North San Antonio News

With property taxes across the state’s most populous counties steadily on the rise compared to the state’s preferred growth rate, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) is sounding the alarm.

“If left unchallenged, these value increases have the potential to really take a bite out of taxpayers over the long-haul,” TPPF’s James Quintero said in a recent newsletter discussing property tax appraisals and how to protest them. “Taxpayers should be prepared to defend their wallets this year — first by protesting their property tax appraisals and then by pressuring their local elected officials to adopt lower tax rates.”

In their February 2022 report, TPPF officials highlighted the state’s preferred growth rate is a combination of inflation plus population growth and the increases come as median home values across the state also continue to rise. Data also shows over a four-year period beginning in 2016, property tax in all ten counties, including Bexar, outstripped this preferred rate.

In Bexar, rates grew 35.7% from $432.4 million to $586.8 million over that same period, as the combined population and inflation for the city jumped by 12.1%, accounting for a difference of 23.6%.

Property taxes are based on the appraised value of the home, and in Bexar County, median home values have been skyrocketing.

As recently as in 2019, property taxes already stood as the largest tax assessed in the state, rising as high as nearly 50% of all tax dollars collected, according to the state comptroller. The report also highlighted that there were 4,256 separate property taxing units across the state in fiscal year 2019, some of which overlap.

"The laws and systems surrounding Texas’ property tax are notoriously complicated, oftentimes requiring a taxpayer to seek help through consultants, accountants, advocates, and attorneys," the report added. “Not only are the tax laws complex, but they are also growing far faster than the preferred rate of growth, which is calculated as population growth plus inflation.”

With a median annual payment of $4,065, The Balance recently ranked Texas among the 10 states with the highest property tax rates in the country, while the Tax Foundation pegged the state’s property tax rate, measured as property taxes paid as a percentage of owner occupied housing value in 2019, as sixth highest.

From 2016 to 2020, the South San Antonio News reports all of the state’s most populous counties experienced some level of population growth.

"It’s not a stretch to say that property taxes are out of control in the Lone Star State,” Quintero added. “As a result, local governments are getting rich while families are forced to make hard decisions."