You may soon receive an appraisal notice from the Liberty County Appraisal District. The appraisal district mailed about 75,000 appraisal notices on March 31, 2023. Your city, county, school district and other local taxing units will use the appraisal district’s value to set your 2023 property taxes.
This year, the Liberty County Central Appraisal District is managing statements for close to 140,000 parcels in Liberty County. Chief Appraiser Lana McCarty said the County has seen an abundance of growth, which appears to be slowing down slightly. The across-the-board increase in property valuations this year is 8 percent. Some properties will see only small increases while other properties see a sharp increase in value.
Under Texas law, local appraisal districts must notify property owners about changes in their property’s value. The notice contains important information about the property’s location, ownership and property tax exemptions that apply to the property. It must also include a web address where tax information for the property can be found.
Property owners who disagree with the appraised value of their property, the exemptions or any other action by the appraisal district have the right to appeal to the Liberty County Appraisal Review Board (ARB). The ARB is an independent panel of citizens responsible for hearing and settling property owner protests.
To be successful in protesting, if you have any discrepancy in the valuations, take pictures of what is wrong with your property. Get estimates for roof and foundation problems, and estimates for AC and heating problems. That helps us give property owners adjustments to their property. The state is very strict about the adjustments and we have to be able to prove why we did it. We have to have evidence to support adjustments. Anything they have that we can take copies of and put in our files, even closing costs on recently purchased properties. If they can show us they paid less for a property than the appraised value, then that will be considered. Not only does this help the property owner who is protesting, but it helps us establish the market and may show that values are maybe not as high as we believe. Not only does this help you, as a homeowner. It also helps your neighbor.
Lana McCarty, chief appraiser for Liberty County Central Appraisal District
The notice of appraised value includes instructions on how and when to file a protest, a protest form, a statement about the availability of an informal conference prior to attending a protest hearing and a copy of the Comptroller’s Property Taxpayer Remedies. The deadline for filing a protest with the ARB is May 15 or 30 days after your notice of appraised value was delivered to you.
The Comptroller’s publication, Property Taxpayer Remedies, explains in detail how to protest your property appraisal, what issues the ARB can consider and what to expect during a protest hearing. The publication also discusses the option to request limited binding arbitration to compel the ARB or chief appraiser to comply with a procedural requirement and the options of taking your case to district court, the State Office of Administrative Hearings or binding arbitration if you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your ARB hearing.
Property Taxpayer Remedies is available from the Liberty County Appraisal District at 2030 Sam Houston St., Liberty. The publication is also available on the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division’s website at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/. The CAD also has a second office in the shopping center across from Cleveland High School.
Finally, check your statement to make sure you have the right exemptions. In the state of Texas, you can get a homestead exemption for your primary residence. The exemption is $40,000 off the valuation, which should lower your taxes. You only get to count one homestead exemption in the entire state of Texas. If you have multiple homes in other counties, only your primary residence should receive the homestead exemption. You must live in the house to obtain a homestead exemption. If you want the homestead exemption to be applied to your 2023 tax statement, then your homestead exemption request MUST be turned in by the May 31 deadline.
