Tarrant Appraisal District Budget Totals $29 MM / Year
Composed of 1.90 million parcels as of 2024, Tarrant County is the second-biggest county in all of Texas when it comes to actual property. One would think that the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) would have a huge budget and thousands of employees. Afterall, Texas does require property taxes to function. Instead, the CAD has only 95 full-time appraisers and is funded by a budget of $29.43 million. When the size of the county is combined with the understaffed CAD, the only feasible result is overworked employees resorting to inaccurate property tax estimates to meet their goals. Enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today and be ready to protest these inaccurate levies at no upfront cost to you and with no hidden fees. Enroll, relax, and save.
Total 2018 CAD Budget Including ARBSource: 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 Budget | 21.508 | 21.508 | 21.233 | 23.145 | 23.688 | 24.913 | 25.829 | 25.593 | 26.79 | 28.631 | 29.429 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.9307 | 0.6881 | 0.6699 | 0.6753 | 1.5206 | 1.8149 | 1.9661 | 1.4351 | 1.2039 | 1.145 | 1.879 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
Tarrant County CAD Operations and Budgets
The Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) is a necessary evil for local government to function, just like any other Texas appraisal district. Without a state income tax, the primary way for Texas counties to fund themselves is through property taxes. After TAD appraises and collects taxes, entities like MUDS, school districts, and the county government each take a piece to keep operating. While taxes are a necessary duty for all property owners, unfair taxes are not.
O’Connor was founded in 1974 on the principle that every Texan should pay their fair share. Becoming one of the biggest property tax protest firms in America, O’Connor has nurtured expertise when it comes to opposing the CAD and the rest of the appraisal districts. Join O’Connor and practice your constitutional right to protest your inflated and unfair taxes.
TAD Total CAD Budget Including ARB
Tarrant County is ranked only behind Harris County in terms of size when it comes to property parcels, and it takes a lot of resources to properly manage it all. With a budget of $29.43 million, TAD is funded lower than the neighboring Dallas County Appraisal District’s $37 million. TAD has a lot of ground to cover in every sense of the word and may be underfunded to give accurate estimates for property taxes. The appraisal review board (ABR) is an important check on TAD’s power to levy taxes but only has a budget of $1.88 million.
Total Property Taxes Levied Tarrant CountySource: 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 | ||
| Property Taxes Levied | 3.5713 | 3.5713 | 4.0276 | 4.5631 | 4.3821 | 4.7535 | 5.1406 | 5.3923 | 5.8064 | 6.0498 | 5.9399 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Appealing annually helps the appraisal district avoid over-taxing a property for both market value and unequal appraisal.
Tarrant County Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
Tarrant County property taxes have increased 65% in the past decade, with $5.94 billion being handed out in 2024. Across Texas, taxes have doubled, or even tripled depending on the county, which puts the residents of the area in a better position than most. Despite some legislation being put forth, taxes continue to climb every year. Even with its restrained growth, the county’s property taxes are still increasing faster than wage growth or even the dreaded inflation.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - Tarrant CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Number of FTEs | 199 | 199 | 199 | 199 | 211 | 211 | 211 | 211 | 212 | 214 | 216 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions in Total Budget
All Texas appraisal districts are trimmed down when it comes to staff, and TAD is certainly no different. TAD had only 216 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in 2024. This number has not really changed in the past decade, where the average number of FTEs ranges from 199-214. The fact that the CAD’s staff have remained largely the same in the face of increasing population sizes and construction alone is an indicator that it is understaffed for the monumental job ahead of it. While new technology can help, expecting 216 employees to accurately take assessment of the county is a stretch.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - Tarrant CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| FTEs Appraisal Total | 91 | 97 | 92 | 92 | 119 | 120 | 120 | 117 | 122 | 103 | 95 | |
| Residential | 39 | 46 | 40 | 40 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 43 | 37 | |
| Commercial | 34 | 38 | 34 | 34 | 47 | 48 | 48 | 46 | 49 | 38 | 36 | |
| All Other | 18 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 28 | 22 | 22 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
TAD FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
To make matters worse, only 95 of TAD’s FTEs are appraising properties. The rest are support or clerical staff. This is the lowest number of appraisers since 2017 and eight fewer than in 2023. 37 FTEs worked residential properties, 36 commercial properties, and the remaining 22 managed the other types. There are 1.90 million parcels in 2023, meaning that 95 appraisers were forced to survey 20,000 properties each.