Travis Property Tax Appeal Savings
Travis County broke the record for savings via tax protest in 2024, with an astounding $800.24 million in taxes being cut. Travis County property taxes are some of the fastest rising in Texas, but residents are understanding their rights and fighting back. It is your right as a Texan to dispute unfair valuations, taxes, and assessments, and the only way to do this is to protest. The county is focused on appraisal review board (ARB) appeals over informal hearings, with 90% of all successful appeals coming from that process. You need a professional by your side to get the most out of a formal appeal. Join O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today and get your perfect partner to navigate the ABR process. No flat fees, no upfront costs, and you only pay if you win.
Total Value Reduction, Informal HearingsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Millions of $ | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| $ Total Value Reduction | 4,039.27 | 3,866.45 | 4,359.89 | 4,286.45 | 5,077.69 | 1,060.36 | 1,067.16 | 1,300.02 | 2,450.80 | 2,022.17 | 1,867.18 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 1,412.00 | 1,835.00 | 1,964.53 | 2,477.46 | 3,019.78 | 613.37 | 150.72 | 476.86 | 922.10 | 870.70 | 963.20 |
| Commercial / Other | 2,627.27 | 2,031.45 | 2,395.36 | 1,809.00 | 2,057.91 | 446.99 | 916.43 | 823.16 | 1,528.69 | 1,151.47 | 903.98 |
Texas property owners should protest annually since The value cannot be raised during the protest, based on 2019 legislation.
TCAD Savings from Administrative Appeals
Informal appeals and appraisal review board (ARB) hearings operate under the umbrella of administrative appeals. Typically, the vast majority of Texas protests fall under these two categories. However, Travis County is different, as ABR appeals have a lot more weight than informal ones. Only $1.87 billion in taxable value was reduced informally in 2024.
You don’t have to protest your values and taxes alone, O’Connor can help. A Texan favorite property tax consulting business, O’Connor is one of the biggest specialist firms in America. With offices all over Texas and over 50 years in the business, O’Connor is here to walk you through every step of your tax protest journey.
TCAD Informal Hearings
Though a tiny fraction of the whole, informal hearings still produced big savings for Travis County taxpayers that went through with them. $1.87 billion was knocked off of property valuation thanks to informal appeals in 2024. $903.98 million for commercial properties and $969.20 million for single family homes. This was the largest reduction achieved by homes in this fashion since 2018. This should illustrate that even the smallest tax protest can bring big savings.
Total Value Reduction, Formal ARB HearingsSource: 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 Value Reduction | 1.952 | 2.895 | 4.647 | 4.790 | 4.956 | 6.244 | 5.065 | 7.886 | 12.697 | 23.283 | 29.340 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 0.229 | 0.196 | 0.222 | 0.207 | 0.410 | 1.774 | 1.005 | 2.924 | 6.544 | 9.743 | 10.507 |
| Commercial / Other | 1.724 | 2.699 | 4.425 | 4.583 | 4.546 | 4.470 | 4.060 | 4.962 | 6.153 | 13.540 | 18.833 |
Texas property owners should protest annually since You can’t evaluate the strength of your appeal until you obtain the hearing evidence file. You have to protest to obtain the hearing evidence file (available free upon request via U.S. mail).
TCAD Formal ARB Hearings
The meat and potatoes of Travis County tax appeals are ARB hearings. Formal hearings are the main way that taxes are reduced in valuation and money in Travis County. In 2024 alone, $29.34 billion was wiped from appraised value due to formal protests, a giant jump from $23.28 billion in 2023. Single family homes accounted for $10.51 billion in reductions, while businesses nabbed $18.83 billion. Commercial properties saw a large jump in 2024, while homes rose slightly.
Tax Savings, Informal HearingsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Millions of $ | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| $ Total Value Reduction | 84.82 | 81.20 | 91.56 | 90.02 | 106.63 | 22.27 | 22.41 | 27.30 | 51.47 | 42.47 | 39.21 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 29.65 | 38.54 | 41.26 | 52.03 | 63.42 | 12.88 | 3.17 | 10.01 | 19.36 | 18.28 | 20.23 |
| Commercial / Other | 55.17 | 42.66 | 50.30 | 37.99 | 43.22 | 9.39 | 19.25 | 17.29 | 32.10 | 24.18 | 18.98 |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Not appealing is used against property owners in the subsequent years since “you agreed to the value” (by not protesting).
Estimated Total Property Tax Informal Savings
Enshrined in the Texas Constitution is the right to protest your property taxes. As the only tax in Texas, property taxes represent a significant expense to most residents, and it is key to managing the costs for long-term financial planning. Few Texans currently practice this right, but it has been growing with the cost of housing.
Informal hearings reached their zenith in Travis County in 2018, where $137.09 million was cut from the taxes of residents. Since then, the focus has shifted to formal hearings, leaving Travis County as one of the lowest counties in the state of Texas to use informal appeals. In 2024, only $39.21 million was returned to taxpayers through informal appeals. This was even a serious drop from 2023, which managed to achieve a cut of only $42.47 billion.
Tax Savings, Formal ARB HearingsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Millions of $ | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| $ Total Value Reduction | 41.00 | 60.80 | 97.59 | 100.59 | 104.07 | 131.13 | 106.37 | 165.60 | 266.63 | 488.95 | 616.14 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 4.80 | 4.12 | 4.66 | 4.35 | 8.61 | 37.26 | 21.11 | 61.41 | 137.42 | 204.60 | 220.65 |
| Commercial / Other | 36.20 | 56.68 | 92.93 | 96.24 | 95.46 | 93.87 | 85.26 | 104.19 | 129.21 | 284.35 | 395.49 |
Tax Savings, Formal ARB Hearings
ABR hearings in Travis County are moving in the complete opposite direction of informal appeals, where they now make up a clear majority of property tax disputes. $616.14 million in taxes were cut in 2024, more than 14 times higher than the taxes reduced by informal appeals in the same timeframe. This makes ARB hearings the preferred method of property tax protest in Travis County.
Total Tax Savings (Informal & Formal)Source: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Millions of $ | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| $ Total Value Reduction | 125.82 | 142.00 | 189.15 | 190.61 | 210.70 | 153.40 | 128.78 | 192.90 | 318.10 | 531.42 | 655.35 |
| Single Family Residential Reduction | 34.45 | 42.66 | 45.92 | 56.38 | 72.03 | 50.14 | 24.28 | 71.42 | 156.78 | 222.88 | 240.88 |
| Commercial / Other | 91.37 | 99.34 | 143.23 | 134.23 | 138.68 | 103.26 | 104.51 | 121.48 | 161.31 | 308.53 | 414.47 |
Total Tax Savings (Informal & Formal)
Despite informal appeals falling off a cliff, 2024 saw the area have the highest amount of tax protest in its history. $655.35 million in taxes were returned to residents, over 94% of it coming from ABR hearings. The 2024 total was also double the savings achieved in 2022, showing how fast things have changed in the county.
As property continues to increase in value every year, so will property taxes. Austin and the surrounding areas are some of the hottest housing markets in the nation and will continue to see ballooning prices and taxes. Get your taxable value under control by filing your appeals with O’Connor.