SE Dallas News

Property taxes are a point of contention in the state of Texas; it's an issue that draws bipartisan support for decreasing the property tax burden on Texas citizens.

A report published by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) in February shows property tax increases for Texas' most populous counties compared to the tax's preferred rate of growth, which is a combination of inflation plus population growth. Property tax in all 10 counties, including Dallas, outstripped this preferred rate over the period from 2016 to 2020.

Property taxes are unique in a number of ways, according to the TPPF publication called "Just the Facts, 2nd Edition" by James Quintero and Anthony Jones. The report noted that property taxes are “the largest tax assessed in Texas”, according to the comptroller. In 2019, nearly 50 percent of all tax dollars collected in Texas came from property taxes. The report also noted that there were 4,256 separate property taxing units in Texas in fiscal year 2019, some of which overlap. 

The report also claimed that "the laws and systems surrounding Texas’ property tax are notoriously complicated, oftentimes requiring a taxpayer to seek help through consultants, accountants, advocates, and attorneys." Not only are the tax laws complex, but they are also growing far faster than the preferred rate of growth.

"It’s not a stretch to say that property taxes are out of control in the Lone Star State," Quintero, a policy director at TPPF, wrote in a newsletter in early March. "As a result, local governments are getting rich while families are forced to make hard decisions."

Dallas County's property tax grew 52.6 percent, from $505 million to $771 million, during the years 2016 to 2020, according to the report. The combined population and inflation for the city grew by 8.7% during that time, resulting in a difference of 43.9%.

All of Texas’ 10 most populous counties experienced some level of population growth from 2016 to 2020. Dallas County saw the least growth out of the 10 most populous, increasing only 0.9 percent over that period, according to TPPF.

The Balance ranked Texas among the 10 states with the highest property tax rates in the U.S., with a median real estate tax payment of $4,065 per year.

The Tax Foundation found in 2021 that Texas had the sixth-highest property tax rate, measured as property taxes paid as a percentage of owner-occupied housing value, in 2019.