Tarrant Property Tax Protests - Value by Type and Number
Tarrant County is behind only Harris County in the number of taxable parcels, making it both huge and valuable. The Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) cannot accurately survey all of that land, so they resort to faulty estimates, historical precedent, and computer models to fill in the gaps. The outcome is that more Fort Worth area taxpayers than ever are protesting their property taxes, resulting in $205.90 billion in property value being protested in 2024. O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ is your key to getting the most out of your property tax protest. You will never pay a dime unless you lower your taxes and will never be responsible for a hidden fee or upfront cost. Enroll, relax, and save.
Total Parcels and Total Protests TADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Thousands | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Parcels | 1,459.39 | 1,663.34 | 1,709.29 | 1,755.23 | 1,811.69 | 1,832.24 | 1,838.35 | 1,840.88 | 1,832.46 | 1,845.02 | 1,901.02 | |
| Total Protests Filed | 72.18 | 56.70 | 105.13 | 126.60 | 148.07 | 133.58 | 149.09 | 148.10 | 197.12 | 206.96 | 172.22 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Mass appraisal used by appraisal districts includes many errors based on limited resources. About 500 appraisers value all 20 million Texas tax parcels; about 40,000 per appraiser. Another 1,500 appraisers measure new construction.
TAD Tax Protests
Property tax protests have historically been underutilized in Tarrant County. That has allowed the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) to run roughshod over taxpayers for years. Thankfully, the word is beginning to spread, and 2024 was a banner year for protests launched in the county. With formal, informal, and judicial appeals all at the ready, taxpayers are ready to take the fight into 2025 and beyond to combat rising taxes.
All throughout your quest to contest property taxes, it is always good to have a veteran fighter at your side. That is where O’Connor comes in. O’Connor was founded in 1974 with the vision of getting every Texan to pay only their fair share of property taxes. 50 years later, O’Connor is one of the biggest property tax consulting firms in the nation and has helped people across the county protect themselves from overzealous taxation.
Total Parcels in TAD
TAD and other Texas appraisal districts are predicated on a unit of measure known as a parcel. Parcels collect all real property in a county into a set amount of acreage, which can then be assessed and taxed. As of 2024, Tarrant County has 1.90 million parcels, the second most in Texas. A mix of urban areas around Fort Worth and a cornucopia of rural communities, Tarrant County has the most diverse land in Texas. While Dallas and Collin Counties may be the most valuable and the trendiest, the area is the most quintessentially Texan of all the metroplex.
Total Protests Tarrant CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Thousands | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Protests | 72.18 | 56.70 | 105.13 | 126.60 | 148.07 | 133.58 | 149.09 | 148.10 | 197.12 | 206.96 | 172.22 | |
| Single Family Home Protests | 47.15 | 28.39 | 67.30 | 90.11 | 112.92 | 79.23 | 100.84 | 101.91 | 138.32 | 152.86 | 120.91 | |
| Commercial / Other Protests | 25.03 | 28.32 | 37.83 | 36.49 | 35.15 | 54.35 | 48.25 | 46.20 | 58.80 | 54.09 | 51.31 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is their right.
Total Protests
A total of 172.22 tax protests were filed in Tarrant County, the most yet seen. For having such a massive footprint, the county typically had a relatively small number of protests. This has slowly been changing in recent years, and property tax appeals are becoming more common. A decade ago, only 72,180 property tax protests were held. The rise in housing and real estate across the country and Texas has also pushed up the value of Tarrant County land, forcing higher taxes on residents than ever before.
Most tax protests are single family homes, as to be expected. Households will greatly outnumber businesses and related types, leading to more protests in general. 121,910 homeowners protested in 2024 and have been the driving factor in the rise of total protests. 51,310 business owners also appealed their taxes in the same timeframe. Commercial numbers have remained somewhat static, but since most businesses protest every year as a part of cost reduction, this is to be expected.
% of Parcels Protested Tarrant CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Percent | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Percent Protested | 4.95% | 3.41% | 6.15% | 7.21% | 8.17% | 7.29% | 8.11% | 8.05% | 10.76% | 11.22% | 9.06% | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since About 60% of appeals are successful.
TAD - Percentage Parcels Protested
In 2024, 9.06% of Tarrant County parcels were protested, behind the statewide average of 12.94%. While below the average, the percentage of parcels protested has more than doubled in the past decade. This trend is certainly moving in the right direction, and as more residents learn their rights, it will only increase going forward. 2024 was the first time since 2018 that the percentage of protests did not improve, though it appears to be an outlier.
Protests by Property Type Tarrant CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Thousands | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Number | 72.18 | 56.70 | 105.13 | 126.60 | 148.07 | 133.58 | 149.09 | 148.10 | 197.12 | 206.96 | 172.22 | |
| Single Family | 47.15 | 28.39 | 67.30 | 90.11 | 112.92 | 79.23 | 100.84 | 101.91 | 138.32 | 152.86 | 120.91 | |
| Multi-Family Res | 3.49 | 1.33 | 11.87 | 8.75 | 5.64 | 4.98 | 4.24 | 4.29 | 5.43 | 5.70 | 4.69 | |
| Commercial | 14.05 | 18.37 | 24.80 | 24.68 | 24.55 | 21.60 | 20.46 | 21.13 | 21.29 | 21.11 | 21.42 | |
| All Other | 7.50 | 8.62 | 1.16 | 3.06 | 4.96 | 27.78 | 23.55 | 20.77 | 32.08 | 27.28 | 25.21 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Correcting an error in the appraisal district’s description of your property can reap savings in future years.
Tarrant County Protests by Property Type
As previously demonstrated, single family homes were far-and-away the most protested properties in Tarrant County. 120,197 homeowners reached out to protest growing taxes. This has been a general trend across Texas, mostly thanks to legacy homeowners. Families and older people that have lived on a property for decades or even generations are seeing their beloved homes becoming unaffordable. With property values doubling or even tripling in a decade, it is hard for many families to cope with the changes.
Commercial properties have remained in the 21,000 protests area since 2020 and remain generally stable. Since most, if not all, businesses protest every year, the static number makes sense. Industrial, utilities, and other related properties combined into the “other” category surpassed commercial properties in protests in 2021 and retain a slight lead with 25,210 protests.
Value of Property Protested by TypeSource: 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 | ||
| Value Protested Total | 45.91 | 54.55 | 71.08 | 81.20 | 104.00 | 118.00 | 95.29 | 122.00 | 155.00 | 188.21 | 205.90 | |
| Single Family | 11.07 | 7.51 | 19.47 | 26.30 | 32.11 | 24.82 | 17.10 | 33.67 | 49.59 | 74.69 | 85.59 | |
| Multi-Family Res | 5.46 | 0.15 | 0.65 | 0.83 | 1.98 | 1.96 | 22.18 | 24.73 | 30.35 | 34.77 | 35.05 | |
| Commercial | 24.20 | 42.88 | 46.94 | 36.36 | 42.70 | 53.36 | 48.19 | 48.85 | 53.06 | 54.79 | 59.09 | |
| All Other | 5.17 | 4.00 | 4.01 | 17.71 | 27.20 | 37.86 | 7.83 | 14.75 | 22.01 | 23.96 | 26.17 | |
TAD Value Protested by Type
$205.90 billion in Tarrant County property value was protested in 2024. This was triple the amount protested a decade ago, following the trend of real estate values shooting for the stars. There was a 9.4% increase in value between 2023 and 2024, an improvement of $17.69 billion.
For the second time ever, the protested value of single family homes exceeded that of commercial land. $85.59 billion in homes were contested against $59.09 billion in business real estate. This is due to both the housing crisis and the sharp rise in taxes over the last few years. It has never been more difficult to buy, rent, or keep a home in Texas than it is now, but homeowners are starting to enforce their rights like never before.