A HOME OWNERS GUIDE TO ANALYZING YOUR PROPERTY TAX APPRAISAL
PREPARED BY THE GROGAN’S MILL VILLAGE ASSOCIATION
DISCLAIMER: This guide has been prepared by a non-expert and has not had a legal
review. It is based on experience with the system and is designed to help you
understand a complex situation.
Taxpayers can protest appraisals they believe are inaccurate. There is no cost to protest
your property’s value, and it takes just a couple of minutes to fill out the forms. The staff
at the appraiser’s office in Conroe is customer friendly and professional.
The protest deadline is Wednesday, May 31.
A quick overview of the property tax
1. The appraisal process. An appraisal district in each county determines the
January 1 market value of all taxable property, and the property is appraised at
that value unless it is a residence homestead subject to a cap. Capped
homesteads are limited to increases in appraised value of 10% each year. Once
a property’s appraised and market values are equal, further increases (or
decreases) in value will depend on the market in that neighborhood. The
Woodlands was revalued this year and common appraisal zones were
established for different neighborhoods.
2. The tax rate. The governing bodies of the various local government
jurisdictions (county, school districts, cities, municipal utility districts, college
districts, hospital districts, etc.) set an annual tax rate which, when applied to the
total appraised value of all taxable property within that unit, generates the
amount of money needed to fund that governmental unit’s operations for the
year.
Taxes are calculated by multiplying a property’s taxable value by a tax rate. The
value of the property is determined by the market—what that property would
likely sell for on January 1 of the year. Each taxing entity’s governing body
determines the tax rate. The constitution requires the appraisal district to set the
value, without regard to the effect that the valuation will have on revenues.
There are things that property owners can do at the appraisal district to ensure
that their appraisal is fair and that their share of the tax burden is no higher than
it needs to be. Taking advantage of the homestead exemption is the principal
thing a homeowner can do. In addition, property owners can protest their value
to the appraisal review board if they believe it to be incorrect.
Understand how your home is appraised.
The Appraisal District values your property based on information they have. It may be
incorrect. For example, if they show you have 2.5 bathrooms and you only have two
they will lower your appraisal without a hearing, based on the accurate information you
have provided them with.
Find out how your home is appraised versus others on your street
Go to http://www.co.montgomery.tx.us/mcad/html/records.html
Click “Use this button to access all records”
On the left side of the screen click on “Address search”
On the next screen enter your street name – do not use street, circle or other descriptive
Based on your own knowledge decide if your home is fairly appraised. If your home
needs lots of major repairs; exterior rot, termites, cracked foundation, it may be
overvalued.
(Note: not all your information will be displayed on this web site, you need to visit the
Appraisal office and use their system to find all information about your property. The
Appraisal District does have staff help you work through the system)
Find out how much other homes in your area sold for
Go to www.gmva.org
Click on ‘Real Estate” and on the drop down menu click on “real estate info”
An Excel spreadsheet will open. Depress Ctrl and F at the same time and a search
screen will open. Type in your street name and if a house has been sold on your street
it will show the street name. (Note many streets in GM are small and there will not be a
record of a sale. Use other nearby streets to check.)
There are two common reasons GM resident’s might use to contest there
appraisal;
 The appraised value is higher than the market value. This will most likely happen
in neighborhoods that are affected by undesirable changes outside their control
such as an increase in noise on I-45. This is generally going to be a hard thing to
prove since appraisal values are less than market values.
 The appraised value is out of line with other houses in the immediate
neighborhood. This can occur for a number of reasons, the condition of your
home may be poorer than average because you need a new foundation, siding,
or have other problems that only you know about.
If you have questions contact bruce@gmva.org