Jefferson Property Tax Protests - By Value by Property Type by Number
Jefferson property tax protests saved Jefferson County property owners over $43 million in 2021; informal hearings ($40 million) and appraisal review board hearings ($3 million). Jefferson Central Appraisal District, aka Jefferson Central Appraisal District, sets an initial value for property using a semi-reliable computer generated guesstimate. Most owners who protest (40 to 60%) are successful because the Jefferson CAD models are just not entirely reliable. If you don't protest, you are paying more than your fair share.
Total Parcels and Total Protests JCADSource: 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 Parcels | 152.76 | 151.47 | 152.05 | 151.14 | 150.43 | 150.01 | 149.60 | 148.91 | 148.89 | 149.39 | 148.87 | |
| Total Protests Filed | 6.59 | 6.19 | 6.21 | 6.19 | 6.34 | 6.76 | 9.03 | 14.70 | 12.49 | 14.19 | 13.52 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Mass appraisal used by appraisal districts includes many errors based on limited resources. About 500 appraisers value all 20 million Texas tax parcels; about 40,000 per appraiser. Another 1,500 appraisers measure new construction.
Jefferson County Property Tax Protests
Here is the total number of parcels for the Jefferson Central Appraisal District (represented by the green bars). The actual number of parcels that are protested are shown by the red line. This means that of all the parcels in the district, only a small number of them are actually protesting to save money.
Each property tracked by the appraisal district is a parcel. Parcels can include real property, business personal property and minerals.
Total parcels in Jefferson Central Appraisal District
Jefferson County property owners filed 14,695 protests with the Jefferson Central Appraisal District in 2021, up 140% from 6,118 in 2015.
Total Protests Jefferson CountySource: 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 | 6.59 | 6.19 | 6.21 | 6.19 | 6.34 | 6.76 | 9.03 | 14.70 | 12.49 | 14.19 | 13.52 | |
| Single Family Home Protests | 1.62 | 1.57 | 1.83 | 1.69 | 1.73 | 2.36 | 3.07 | 7.65 | 5.97 | 6.86 | 7.07 | |
| Commercial / Other Protests | 4.97 | 4.62 | 4.39 | 4.50 | 4.61 | 4.40 | 5.96 | 7.04 | 6.52 | 7.34 | 6.46 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is their right.
Total Protests
Jefferson County property tax protests by type are displayed. In most counties, the number of single family protests exceeds the number of commercial protests. However, the savings from commercial protests are greater than the reductions from single family appeals. Virtually all commercial property owners appeal their property taxes. In 2021, Jefferson County home owners accounted for 52% of tax protests while owners of commercial / other accounted for the remaining 48% of protests filed with Jefferson County Appraisal Review Board.
Home owners pay more than their fair share of property taxes by not appealing. The vast majority of commercial value is appealed statewide, generally with substantial reductions.
Jefferson County property owners filed 6,760 property tax protests in 2019. More than half were by commercial/other property owners (4,400).
% of Parcels Protested Jefferson CountySource: 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 | ||
| Percent Protested | 4.31% | 4.09% | 4.09% | 4.09% | 4.21% | 4.5% | 6.03% | 9.87% | 8.39% | 9.5% | 9.08% | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since About 60% of appeals are successful.
JCAD - % Parcels Protested
Following is an indication of the portion of all Jefferson Central Appraisal District parcels protested or appealed each year. Property owners handle about one-third of the appeals and hire property tax consultants for the other two-thirds.
Jefferson County property owners protested 9.9% of tax assessments by Jefferson Central Appraisal District in 2021, versus 4.0% protested in 2015.
Protests by Property Type Jefferson CountySource: 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 Number | 6.59 | 6.19 | 6.21 | 6.19 | 6.34 | 6.76 | 9.03 | 14.70 | 12.49 | 14.19 | 13.52 | |
| Single Family | 1.62 | 1.57 | 1.83 | 1.69 | 1.73 | 2.36 | 3.07 | 7.65 | 5.97 | 6.86 | 7.07 | |
| Multi-Family Res | 0.19 | 0.54 | 0.23 | 0.17 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.33 | 0.54 | 0.49 | 0.55 | 0.39 | |
| Commercial | 2.76 | 1.89 | 1.44 | 1.99 | 2.14 | 2.00 | 3.17 | 3.94 | 3.56 | 4.15 | 3.33 | |
| All Other | 2.03 | 2.19 | 2.72 | 2.34 | 2.21 | 2.15 | 2.45 | 2.57 | 2.47 | 2.63 | 2.73 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Correcting an error in the appraisal district’s description of your property can reap savings in future years.
Jefferson County Protests by Property Type
The Jefferson Central Appraisal District protests on property taxes are illustrated below based on the type of property and number of protests. Homeowners typically account for over half the property tax protests. However, this is a small portion of all homeowners. Most commercial accounts are appealed annually. It is a critical factor in managing property taxes. This is often the largest operating expense for commercial property owners. They have teams compile information property by property to assist us in reducing their taxes.
Jefferson County property owners filed property tax protests for 14,695 accounts versus 6,118 in 2015, an increase of 140%.
Value of Property Protested by TypeSource: 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 | ||
| Value Protested Total | 15.86 | 16.76 | 15.52 | 14.27 | 16.24 | 16.16 | 16.08 | 13.20 | 13.47 | 18.63 | 22.41 | |
| Single Family | 0.19 | 0.23 | 0.24 | 0.26 | 0.23 | 0.34 | 0.46 | 1.15 | 1.01 | 1.33 | 1.63 | |
| Multi-Family Res | 0.59 | 0.51 | 0.46 | 0.41 | 0.54 | 0.62 | 0.71 | 1.04 | 1.15 | 1.31 | 1.36 | |
| Commercial | 1.19 | 1.09 | 1.28 | 1.47 | 1.47 | 3.11 | 4.76 | 2.74 | 2.79 | 3.81 | 6.31 | |
| All Other | 13.89 | 14.94 | 13.53 | 12.13 | 14.00 | 12.08 | 10.15 | 8.28 | 8.53 | 12.18 | 13.10 | |
Jefferson County Value of Property Protested by Type
Here are the Jefferson Central Appraisal District’s property tax protests based on the dollar volume and type of property are illustrated in this graph. While the number of residential appeals is typically larger, the market value of commercial accounts protested is larger than the value of all residential accounts protested.
Here are the Jefferson Central Appraisal District’s property tax protests based on the dollar volume and type of property are illustrated in this graph. While the number of residential appeals is typically larger, the market value of commercial accounts protested is larger than the value of all residential accounts protested.
The total value protested has increased every year since 2014. With 2021’s value being $13 billion.