Hays Property Tax Appeals Save $47+ Million Per Year

The effectiveness of Hays County property tax protests reached their zenith in 2024, cutting $45.37 million from the tax rolls. These savings demonstrate both the effectiveness and necessity of tax protests in one of the fastest growing counties in America. Using both informal and formal administrative appeals, taxpayers can continue to protect themselves from the Hays County Central Appraisal District (Hays CAD). Keep yourself safe and relax knowing that you are getting the best deal every year when you enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™. There are no upfront costs or hidden fees, and you will only pay if you lower your taxes. Enroll, relax, and save.

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	471.87	306.54	244.30	457.02	457.42	472.46	564.44	800.87	798.87	760.17	615.89
Single Family Residential Reduction	95.63	41.02	64.02	133.79	82.95	106.59	140.47	100.60	255.68	288.24	158.33
Commercial / Other	376.23	265.51	180.27	323.23	374.48	365.87	423.97	700.28	543.19	471.93	457.56

Texas property owners should protest annually since The value cannot be raised during the protest, based on 2019 legislation.

Hays County Property Tax Savings from Administrative Appeals

Travis County is the hottest housing market in the United States and Hays County is quickly joining it as more people move to the area. The Hays County Central Appraisal District (Hays CAD) is struggling to keep up with the rising demand for property valuations. Stretched to the breaking point, Hays CAD is having to rely on guesses and historical models to try and figure out what every taxpayer owes. These inaccurate values and taxes are leading to more administrative protests than ever before.

The only way to protect yourself from incorrect or aggressive taxation by Hays CAD is to use a tax protest. The basic forms of this are administrative appeals, which come in informal and formal varieties. Join O’Connor today and get the best result possible from your administrative appeal. With 50 years in the business of fighting property taxes, O’Connor has the knowledge needed to score a win over any appraisal district in Texas.

Hays CAD Informal Hearings

The entry point into the property tax protest process is informal protests. These simple appeals to Hays CAD is often enough to get a quick settlement, bringing home solid savings for relatively little effort. Due to their typical use of homes, informal appeals often bring in the most savings. This is not the case in Hays County, where $457.56million in tax reductions came from various business properties. Single family homes were still able to grab an impressive $158.33 million in reductions thanks to informal settlements. $615.89 million in total taxable value was saved due to informal appeals.

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	0.316	0.200	0.161	0.200	0.239	0.565	0.680	1.231	1.782	2.486	1.545
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.029	0.030	0.013	0.030	0.047	0.047	0.028	0.209	0.389	0.718	0.336
Commercial / Other	0.287	0.171	0.149	0.171	0.193	0.518	0.652	1.022	1.393	1.768	1.209

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).

Hays CAD Formal ARB Hearings

As property values across Texas climb, so do the results of formal appeals. With more money on the line than ever before, homeowners and businesses alike are starting to push for an appearance before the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). These formal appeals can sift through more evidence and get to the core of a tax issue, possibly bringing in more savings. Hays County sees more savings via ARB hearings each year, with 2023 bringing in $2.48 billion in value reductions. 2024 was the first retreat since 2016. Homes and businesses both fell, though each still scored respectable value reductions. Businesses cut $1.21 billion in value, while homeowners saved $336 million.

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	9.91	6.44	5.13	9.60	9.61	9.92	11.85	16.82	16.78	15.96	12.93
Single Family Residential Reduction	2.01	0.86	1.34	2.81	1.74	2.24	2.95	2.11	5.37	6.05	3.32
Commercial / Other	7.90	5.58	3.79	6.79	7.86	7.68	8.90	14.71	11.41	9.91	9.61

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

While they may not offer the gangbusters savings that formal appeals do, informal hearings are key to both savings and the health of the county as a whole. The ease of which these appeals can be filed means that they are open to anyone across the county and are a solid source of savings for even the smallest property. This can be especially key for families on fixed incomes that are trying to protect their home, as it can grant a solid break in taxes.

Informal appeals in the county still brought a solid benefit to the taxpayers of the county. $12.93 million in taxes were saved in 2024, far from a trivial amount. Business properties were able to score the most in winnings, with $9.61 million in tax cuts. Single family homes were able to get a bigger slice of the pie than ever before, taking in $3.32 million. Businesses mostly stayed steady, while homes dropped in savings for 2024.

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	6.64	4.21	3.39	4.21	5.02	11.87	14.28	25.85	37.42	52.20	32.44
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.61	0.62	0.27	0.62	0.98	0.98	0.58	4.38	8.18	15.08	7.05
Commercial / Other	6.03	3.58	3.12	3.58	4.04	10.89	13.70	21.47	29.24	37.12	25.38

Tax Savings, Formal ARB Hearings

Formal appeals were much more effective when it came to securing tax dollars, more than doubling the total of informal protests. $32.44 million was recovered in 2024. While businesses have always had an advantage in this phase, they ran away with it in 2024, netting $25.38 million against the $7.05 million for single family homes. Residential properties were still able to get back more money with formal appeals than they did informally, more than double, actually.

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	16.55	10.65	8.52	13.81	14.63	21.79	26.13	42.67	54.20	68.16	45.37
Single Family Residential Reduction	2.62	1.48	1.61	3.43	2.72	3.22	3.53	6.49	13.55	21.13	10.37
Commercial / Other	13.93	9.16	6.91	10.37	11.90	18.57	22.60	36.18	40.65	47.03	34.99

Total Tax Savings

Property tax savings across the county did not set records in 2024, with a grand total of $45.37 million being secured, but this was still impressive for a relatively small county. The total of administrative appeals also demonstrates why it is so important to protest taxes in general, as they are the only way to save on skyrocketing numbers.