Smith Property Tax Protest ARB Tax Savings over $3 MM in 2021
Smith County Appraisal District property tax protests not settled informally are heard by the county appraisal review board. Smith owners saved a total of $3 million in 2021 in tax protests, including savings $291 million in protests settled informally and $3 million in ARB protests. In a typical year, about 45 to 75% of protests are successful. The only way to lose is to not file a protest. They can't raise your value due to a protest; it can only be reduced. Claim your fair share of property tax savings by enrolling in the Property Tax Protection Program (TM). No flat fees. Pay only if you save that year. No upfront costs. Simple 3 step program: 1) enroll, 2) relax and 3) save.
Protests with Written ARB DeterminationSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Thousands | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total protests | 0.165 | 0.218 | 0.215 | 0.262 | 0.303 | 0.334 | 0.368 | 0.402 | 0.793 | 1.231 | 1.231 | |
| Protests single family residential | 0.044 | 0.064 | 0.089 | 0.113 | 0.114 | 0.144 | 0.145 | 0.145 | 0.366 | 0.432 | 0.432 | |
| Protests with all other | 0.121 | 0.154 | 0.126 | 0.149 | 0.189 | 0.190 | 0.223 | 0.257 | 0.427 | 0.799 | 0.799 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Hearing results depend on the appraiser assigned or the ARB; results vary widely. You do not know the appraiser or ARB panel prior to appealing.
Smith County Protests with Written ARB Determination
Smith County property owners have the right to appeal their property taxes to the Smith County Appraisal Review Board annually. It does not matter if the value increased, was unchanged or was reduced. You can protest based on market value and unequal appraisal. There is no cost to file a property tax protest and the ARB cannot raise your value at the hearing.
The graphs illustrate both residential and commercial (other) volumes.
Smith County homeowners appealed 334 accounts to the appraisal review board (ARB) in 2019, accounting for 0.1% of statewide ARB protests for homeowners.(322,000 statewide)
Smith CAD Protests by Property Type
Smith County Appraisal District is typical in that it has more residential than commercial ARB hearings. This is because such a large portion of the parcels are homes. While the Smith County ARB hearings are about two-thirds residential, about two-thirds of the savings are commercial.
In other words, though there are more residential protests, commercial property protests generate larger property tax savings. There are two reasons for this: 1) commercial properties tend to have a higher value and 2) the percentage reduction for commercial is higher since valuation of commercial properties is more subjective than valuation of homes.
Smith County ARB Decisions with a ReductionSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Thousands | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total | 0.051 | 0.080 | 0.076 | 0.098 | 0.086 | 0.169 | 0.186 | 0.202 | 0.443 | 0.783 | 0.962 | |
| Single Family Residential | 0.014 | 0.028 | 0.045 | 0.057 | 0.046 | 0.071 | 0.073 | 0.075 | 0.283 | 0.358 | 0.367 | |
| Commercial / All Other | 0.037 | 0.052 | 0.031 | 0.041 | 0.040 | 0.098 | 0.113 | 0.127 | 0.160 | 0.425 | 0.595 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since An annual appeal is an insurance policy to avoid major increases.
Smith County ARB Decisions with a Reduction
Smith County has had more successful ARB hearings for residential than for commercial. This is because of the prevalence of residential accounts. About half of ARB appeals are successful, depending on the county.
In 2019, 58% of property appeals with ARB decisions were single family residential properties.
Percent That Resulted in A ReductionSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Percent | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Reduction | 31% | 37% | 35% | 37% | 28% | 51% | 51% | 50% | 56% | 64% | 78% | |
| Single Family Residential | 32% | 44% | 51% | 50% | 40% | 49% | 50% | 52% | 77% | 83% | 85% | |
| Commercial / All Other | 31% | 34% | 25% | 28% | 21% | 52% | 51% | 49% | 37% | 53% | 74% | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since To ensure their property taxes are at the lowest possible level.
Percent That Resulted in A Reduction
Here is a graph of the Smith County ARB decisions for residential and commercial showing what percent resulted in a reduction.
In 2019, single family residential properties were less successful in getting a tax reduction compared to commercial / all other properties. (49% vs 52% respectively)
Value Reduction From Written ARB DeterminationsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Billions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total $ Reduction | 0.008 | 0.018 | 0.013 | 0.008 | 0.015 | 0.064 | 0.113 | 0.135 | 0.146 | 0.594 | 0.414 | |
| Single Family Residential | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.003 | 0.002 | 0.008 | 0.033 | 0.010 | |
| Commercial / All Other | 0.008 | 0.018 | 0.012 | 0.006 | 0.013 | 0.062 | 0.110 | 0.132 | 0.138 | 0.561 | 0.404 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Unequal appraisal allows protests based on neighbors having a better tax assessment.
Smith CAD Dollar Value Reduction from ARB Hearings
Assessment reduction at the appraisal review board was substantial for Smith County homeowners in 2019. Homeowners reduced the assessed value of their houses by $64.1 million at the appraisal review board in 2019.