MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — If you saw your property tax bill and feel like you paid too much, you might be in luck— a local Realtor explains how you can lower those numbers in 2025 when you see your appraisal in April.
- Haus Realty Broker Cory Duncan explains the impact of property taxes on homeowners in Texas. He explains the protest process is a way to bring down your home's appraised value.
- Austin Maddox attended one of Duncan's workshops and learned various strategies to lower his appraisal, ultimately saving $500.
- Duncan recognized the increasing financial burden of property taxes in Central Texas communities, so to help, he’s holding free property tax protest workshops.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“The bill just seems to get higher and higher year after year, and it just doesn’t seem to make sense,” Waco Homeowner Austin Maddox said.
As many of us dig into our pockets to pay property taxes, several neighbors, like Austin Maddox, wonder the same thing.
“Why is the value more than what I paid for the house? Or why is the value 10 to $20,000 more than last year? I haven’t made any significant updates,” he said.
So, Maddox decided to protest his property taxes and save $500, which was a massive help to his family of four.
“How big of an impact is that to a family?” asked 25 News reporter Dominique Leh
“That money can go a long way," Maddox said. "It can pay for my kid’s karate lessons or, you know, school care or anything like that. $500 is a lot of money, and it goes a long way for anybody with a family."
Depending on your bill, Haus Realty Broker Cory Duncan said savings could be anywhere from $100 to thousands.
“The more you let it grow year after year and don’t keep an eye on it, it will get to a point where their values at the county are way too high,” Cory Duncan said.
Those county numbers come from a mass appraisal system, but Cory says that’s why the protest process exists.
“There’s a myth that if you protest your property taxes, then the county will keep an eagle on your property here. They’re going to come out and try to find something to report to the city, and that’s not the case,” said Duncan.
Duncan recognized the increasing financial burden of property taxes in Central Texas communities, so to help, he’s holding free property tax protest workshops.
Cory Duncan’s first free information session will be on Sunday, February 2nd, in Groesbeck at 1pm. It’ll be an opportunity for you to learn how to go through the protest process as he shares tips to reduce your tax burden.
Duncan will have information sessions in 10 counties: McLennan, Limestone, Falls, Bell Coryell, Hamilton, Bosque, Erath, Hill, and Ellis County. But if your county is not listed, you can contact Cory Duncan at 254-900-3800.
