Texas is one of 7 states that don’t require citizens to pay income tax. It is the only state in that list of 7, which also made the list of top 10 states with the highest property taxes.
Texans still believe that education; emergency services, transportation, libraries and public parks should be available to all people in the state no matter what their income is. So, most Texans find their tax bills reasonable. The fact that millions and millions of properties are being assessed and taxed each year makes it imperative for property owners to educate themselves on what goes in to determining their taxes so they pay their fair share and nothing more!
Property tax rates are calculated using the “Mill Levy.” This is the tax rate levied on your property value with one mill representing 1/10th of one cent. As an example of a mill levy calculation, suppose the total assessed property value in a county is $100,000,000, and the county decides it needs $1,000,000 in tax revenues to run the county. The mill levy would simply be $1,000,000 divided by $100,000,000, and equals 1%. Now, suppose the city and school district calculated a mill levy of 0.5% and 3% respectively. The total mill levy for the region would be 4.5% (1+0.5+3) or 45 mills.
It’s important to know what the assessed value of your property is. This is the yearly estimation of the reasonable market value for your home based on local real estate market conditions. The assessor takes 3 things into consideration:
What other houses have sold for in your area, how much the property would be worth without you in it, and how much income you would make if you sold it.
If you think your tax bill seems high, it’s important for you to know you can have your concerns reviewed by the Appraisal Review Board in your local district. For more information about them and their process for review check out the information on the Texas Comptroller’s “Window On State Government” site:
Taxes pay for things that raise our society up; people resent them when they are unreasonable, so take charge of what you have and what you owe so you can feel good about making Texas the biggest and best state in the nation.
Source: Investopedia
