DALLAS — Editor's note: This story was originally published in the Dallas Business Journal here.
Texas had the fifth highest increase in the nation over the last five years in the average property tax paid by residents, and Dallas posted the highest increase of any major city in the U.S.
In 2016, Texans were paying an average of $3,049 annually on their property taxes. In 2021, that number rose to $4,061 — a staggering 32.6% increase, according to analysis by Today’s Homeowner.
Residents of Dallas had an average property tax bill of $2,851 in 2016 and that jumped to $4,671 in 2021 — an even more staggering 63.8% increase.
Irving homeowners saw a sharp rise in their tax bills, too, according to the analysis. The average property tax bill there escalated from $2,985 in 2016 to $4,671 in 2021 — a 61.5% increase.
Nationwide, the average property tax bill increased by 19% over the past five years, going from $2,340 to $2,795.
The study analyzed housing data across 50 states and 585 cities from 2016 to 2021.
Colorado, Georgia, Utah and Washington had bigger percentage increases in the average property tax bill than Texas, rising 40.2%, 35.8%, 34.7% and 33.2%, respectively, in the five-year period.
Meanwhile, the Texas House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $12 billion proposal to give property tax relief to homeowners in the state.
House Bill 2 passed the full House by a 140-9 vote Thursday, setting up a showdown with the Senate where Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing for a different tax-cut package.
House Bill 2 would pump $12 billion into Texas school districts so that they, in turn, can lower their property taxes on home and business owners. School district property taxes make up the majority of most Texas homeowners’ tax bill.
Soaring home values in Dallas-Fort Worth and throughout the state have pushed home appraisal values ever higher, leading to the higher tax bills.
Property taxes are typically tacked onto homebuyers’ monthly mortgage payments and go toward funding public schools, city and county government and special assessments for local improvement projects like infrastructure and road construction. For the roughly one-third of homeowners who have paid off their mortgage, the tax bill comes in the form of a bill from their local government.
The amount of property taxes due is based on the appraised value of the property and the tax rate in the neighborhood in which a home or other property lies.
A recent study by ATTOM Data Solutions, broke down the average property tax on a single-family home in 2022 by counties.
Here’s the data for select North Texas counties:
- Collin — $7,590
- Dallas — $6,420
- Denton — $7,126
- Ellis — $2,394
- Greyson — $3,305
- Johnson — $4,103
- Kaufman — $5,233
- Rockwall — $5,251
- Tarrant — $5,744
- Wise — $3,350
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