Frequently Asked Questions About Texas Property Taxes  What are property taxes? Property taxes-also called ad valorem taxes-are locally assessed taxes. The county appraisal district appraises property located in the county, while local taxing units set tax rates and collect property taxes based on those values. Property taxes provide more tax dollars for local services in Texas than any other source-they help pay for public schools, city streets, county roads, police, fire protection and many other services How does the property tax system work?  There are three main parts to the property tax system in Texas:    • An appraisal district in each county sets the value of property each year. A chief        appraiser is the chief administrator and operates the appraisal office.   • A citizen board, called the appraisal review board, settles any disagreements between        a property owner and the appraisal district about a property´s value.   • Local taxing units-city, county, school and special districts-decide how much money they      will spend by adopting a budget. Next, the units set tax rates that will raise the revenue      necessary to fund their budgets. The adopted budgets and the tax rates set to fund the     budgets determine the total amount of taxes that a person will pay. The property tax year has four stages: appraising taxable property, protesting the appraised values, adopting the tax rates and collecting the taxes. January 1 marks the beginning of property appraisal. What a property is used for on January 1, market conditions at that time and who owns the property on that date determine whether the property is taxed, its value and who is responsible for paying the tax.    • Between January 1 and April 30, the appraisal district processes applications for tax      exemptions, agricultural appraisals and other tax relief.   • Around May 15, the appraisal review board begins hearing protests from property        owners who believe their property values are incorrect or who did not get exemptions or      agricultural appraisal. When the ARB finishes its work, the appraisal district gives each       taxing unit a list of taxable property.   • In August or September, the elected officials of each taxing unit adopt tax rates for their        county and the local school district. You also may pay taxes to a city and to special      districts such as hospital, junior college, water, fire and others. When are my taxes due? Tax collection starts around October 1 as tax bills go out. Taxpayers have until January 31 of the following year to pay their taxes. On February 1, penalty and interest charges begin accumulating on most unpaid tax bills. Tax collectors may start legal action to collect unpaid taxes on February 1. How and when will I know what value the appraisal district puts on my property? The chief appraiser will send you a notice of appraised value that details what the appraisal district believes is the value of your property. The notice includes a protest form and explains how you can file a protest with the appraisal review board if you disagree with the district. Notices for business personal property will not be mailed until after applicable rendition deadlines. The chief appraiser must mail a notice by May 15 or as soon thereafter as possible. The notice of appraised value is sent if any of the following circumstances exists: the value of a property is higher than it was in the previous year; the value of a property is higher than the value the owner gave on a rendition; the property wasn't on the appraisal district's records in the previous year; the property was reappraised this year; the ownership of the property changed in the previous year; or the property owner or the owner´s agent requested the notice Does Texas have a state property tax?  No. Texas has only local property taxes levied by local taxing units. The state does not have local tax records on each property and its ownership and does not set your property´s value for property taxes. Which local taxing units may tax my property in Texas? All taxable property will pay county and school taxes. If the property is located inside a city´s boundaries, you also may pay city taxes. Special taxing units- junior college, hospital district, road district and others-may also tax your property. What are the tax rates? Tax rates vary between about 2.4% - 3.4% per $100 valuation, depending on your area.  For example, property tax rates in the Western Oaks Subdivision of Austin for 2005 are on a home appraised at $209,000 might look like this:                                                 tax rate per       estimated tax                                                          $100 valuation    before exemption Austin Community College  0.09910       $   199.63    Austin Independent School District  1.62300   $3,107.15 City of Austin       0.44300  $   914.55 Travis Co. Hospital District  0.07790        $   128.66 Travis County    0.49930 $   824.62 Total taxes for 2005  2.74230 $5,174.62     The above example shows 5 taxing units for a home in Western Oaks including School Taxes. Taxing units will vary depending on the property location.   Go to Jurisdiction Rates & Exemptions for a list of individual tax units and rates for year 2005.