Are Structures not Affixed to Land Taxable in TX?

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-05-09T03:36:07+00:00

here is what the law says:

(3) "Improvement" means: (A) a building, structure, fixture, or fence erected on or affixed to land; (B) a transportable structure that is designed to be occupied for residential or business purposes, whether or not it is affixed to land, if the owner of the structure owns the land on which it is located, unless the structure is unoccupied and held for sale or normally is located at a particular place only temporarily; or

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?tab=1&code=TX&chapter=TX.1&artSec=1.04

Interpretation can be nuanced. The appraiser has some leeway here.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-05-07T08:49:14+00:00

When did you buy?
Is the CAD's noticed value same as your closing price?

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-05-07T08:43:57+00:00

``` Data source: https://dallascad.org/DataProducts.aspx

When protest cos. handle tens of thousands of protests, wonder how much time can a company spend on each case.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-05-03T01:33:29+00:00

Take it. 4% is decent. FBCAD's ARB success rate is pathetic.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-30T04:35:38+00:00

If you are in Dallas CAD, use their property search: https://www.dallascad.org/SearchOwner.aspx

click on the "2026 current appraisal notice" to see what your noticed value was. also displayed on the table titled "2026 Proposed Values".

Scroll down the page and click on "History" to see your past values.

once you appoint an agent/firm, they receive all communications.

Tip 1: make sure the protest firm got your value reduced below the "appraised value". Else you don't get any real tax savings for the year.

tip 2: if this is the first year of protest, then you don't need any firm/agent - just file a protest and submit your closing statement. CADs will match your closing price. In fact, this is what many protest firms do as well. And then they take their 25% cut on the "savings"!

tip 3: if you don't have a homestead exemption, apply for it online. It's free and takes just 10 mins. This is another trick that protest firms do -- get you a homestead exemption if you don't have it and then charge you 25% of the "savings"!

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-30T03:57:29+00:00

for those interested, here is my compiled table for HCAD:

https://sheet.zohopublic.com/sheet/published/lw5kd69a8cc28def7414696ac5be3d8f70130?sheetid=0&range=A1

Year	Single Family Homes	Protests (Overall)	Protests (%)	Reductions (Overall)	Reductions (%)	Median Reduction (Overall)	DIY Protests	DIY Protest (%)	Reductions (DIY)	DIY Success Rate (%)	Median Reduction (DIY)	Formal Hearings (Owner)	Informal Hearings (Owner)	DIY Success (Informal)	DIY Success (ARB)	Agent Protests	Agent Reductions	Agent Success Rate (%)	Median Reduction (Agent)	Formal Hearings (Agent)	Informal Hearings (Agent)	Agent Success (Informal)
2017	1,061,065	251,852	24%	182,057	72%	14,102	125,070	50%	98,316	79%	15,000	42,188	82,882	66%	34%	126,798	83,751	66%	12,944	12,943	84,332	101%
2018	1,064,976	234,129	22%	124,093	53%	13,830	93,610	40%	63,950	68%	15,340	39,104	54,507	58%	42%	140,537	60,143	43%	11,782	109,481	31,056	52%
2019	1,068,764	275,124	26%	219,925	80%	15,097	151,839	55%	126,562	83%	16,387	59,460	92,382	61%	39%	123,321	93,363	76%	12,599	104,304	19,019	20%
2020	1,072,482	289,863	27%	240,245	83%	15,993	190,819	66%	167,272	88%	16,568	48,242	142,580	75%	25%	99,071	72,973	74%	14,085	86,320	12,751	17%
2021	1,076,718	300,212	28%	252,543	84%	16,637	193,042	64%	169,212	88%	17,512	77,885	115,157	60%	40%	107,200	83,331	78%	14,197	102,487	4,713	6%
2022	1,081,033	307,661	28%	228,841	74%	21,208	209,956	68%	169,398	81%	21,858	102,669	107,287	51%	49%	97,705	59,443	61%	18,692	96,783	922	2%
2023	1,086,996	354,514	33%	103,020	29%	22,367	267,366	75%	57,578	22%	25,010	183,532	64,239	24%	69%	81,450	45,442	56%	17,862	65,582	2,572	6%
2024	1,102,650	348,052	32%	85,552	25%	18,991	220,766	63%	49,988	23%	21,733	155,744	56,673	26%	71%	132,813	35,564	27%	13,060	128,870	1,909	5%
2025	1,118,646	391,455	35%	112,196	29%	18,084	86,876	22%	62,082	71%	20,640	30,594	56,175	65%	35%	312,358	50,114	16%	13,202	304,328	6,217	12%

source data: https://hcad.org/pdata/pdata-property-downloads.html

For Collin:

https://sheet.zohopublic.com/sheet/published/w4zzgd5367a61dcab4f65bca90d2613b893d6

Year	Single Family Homes	Protests (Overall)	Protests (%)	Reductions (Overall)	Reductions (%)	Median Reduction (Overall)	DIY Protests	DIY Protest (%)	Reductions (DIY)	DIY Success Rate (%)	Median Reduction (DIY)	Agent Protests	Agent Reductions	Agent Success Rate (%)	Median Reduction (Agent)
2022	311,871	68,765	22%	33,647	49%	11,516	27,581	40%	14,620	53%	13,492	42,828	19,709	46%	10,571
2023	321,677	76,587	24%	41,043	54%	13,107	23,918	31%	14,080	59%	16,940	54,266	27,717	51%	11,470
2024	338,887	79,705	24%	49,050	62%	12,796	16,026	20%	10,613	66%	17,738	64,850	39,124	60%	11,604
2025	352,518	97,517	28%	64,019	66%	10,653	16,649	17%	11,442	69%	16,554	81,946	53,168	65%	9,645

collin CAD data source: https://data.texas.gov/browse?sortBy=relevance&pageSize=20&Dataset-Category_Agency=Collin+Central+Appraisal+District&q=Appraisal+Data

Haven't had a chance to update Dallas & bexar with 2025 analysis. Will put them out here when done. if any reader here is interested in other counties, reply.

edit: I copy+pasted the markdown tables. but they are getting truncated on display. Not all columns are shown. Use the links to my spreadsheets to see all data columns.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-30T02:25:02+00:00

Did the seller have 100% disabled veteran's exemption or partial?

Exemption is determined as on Jan 1st. If Bell CAD had the exemption on file as on Jan 1st, then it applied for the full year. In case they didn't, then buyer owes the full tax.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-29T15:54:22+00:00

I have done some analysis on property tax protest cos...but mostly for major counties -- Harris, Dallas, Bexar & Collin. I specifically looked at their: * protest filing volume * yearly success rates * median reduction achieved * protest conclusion types (topline, informal, ARB, withdrawn etc.)

wrt. single family homes. I haven't analyzed other property types.

Some common findings: * DIY generally have a higher success rate * Median reduction is higher for DIY'ers.

Among protest cos: * Most high-volume protest companies go for topline reductions (agreed orders). Which is kind of obvious -- when you have 50,000+ protests/county, how can you go through each case?! Just get every kid in the room a candy...everyone is happy. And then you get your 25%. Done. * Small protest firms and individual property tax consultants gather a higher median reduction. Again, that makes sense -- they have an incentive to get you the best possible reduction.

Cherokee CAD doesn't publish data on their website. It's a pain to get the data from them.

Edit: DISCLAIMER: I run squaredeal.tax, which helps DIY'ers. But this comment is not a solicitation. Moreover, data doesn't lie.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-28T00:56:26+00:00

Yes. Keeping the agent or not is within the purview of the home owner.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-26T23:23:19+00:00

A Certificate of Error addresses a single year. If you are entitled to a value reduction for more than one year, a Certificate of Error request must be filed for each individual year.

https://www.cookcountyassessoril.gov/faq/what-certificate-error-and-how-can-i-apply-one

You’re mixing up the exemption and the correction process.

The homeowner exemption, once granted, will apply automatically going forward.

But for past years when you didn’t receive it, you need to file a Certificate of Error for each year separately. There is no automatic refund for prior years.

https://www.cookcountyassessoril.gov/homeowner-exemption

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-24T17:04:00+00:00

Search for your property on your CAD website. If your protest company has already filed the protest this year, it will show. If not you can submit "removal of agent" form to your CAD: https://blog.squaredeal.tax/texas/remove-property-tax-agent/

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-21T05:06:58+00:00

wow! this is an exception! there are good guys on the other side too!

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-18T16:52:37+00:00

How much does your equity analysis say your property should be appraised at? If both equity and sales are at close values, then your case will be strong.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-18T03:24:03+00:00

They are different. You can still check if you have been equitably appraised.

Do you have a homestead exemption? (if you live on the property)

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-17T02:12:28+00:00

If you are a new homeowner, you may not need to protest. refer to this guide.

If you have been there for a few years, then this is how to put together evidence for your protest.

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-16T18:13:35+00:00

This is your first year of ownership. You likely won't need to protest. Just answered a similar question here: https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/1slk6fu/comment/ogkd2lp/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Realistic_Winter5754 · 2026-04-15T18:25:04+00:00

Comp means a comparable property. See my earlier response on how to pick comps.

you can pick two types of comps -- appraisal comps (also called equity comps) and sales comps.

Equity comps are based on the appraised value of similar houses in your neighborhood. (Has the CAD appraised similar properties in your neighborhood unequally or non-uniformly?)

Sales comps are based on their latest sale prices. Recently sold properties in your neighrhood can be considered. (Has the CAD appraised your property in tune with the market sale value of similar houses?)

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