Sum of Texas Appraisal District budgets, including ARBs. 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 | ||
| Total Budget | 428.541 | 447.323 | 495.550 | 494.899 | 523.435 | 542.819 | 571.965 | 585.745 | 618.595 | 726.391 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 9.4793 | 8.2872 | 9.6826 | 11.0070 | 13.5023 | 15.2364 | 16.0122 | 16.5006 | 18.6510 | 18.803 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
CAD Operations and Budgets
County appraisal districts in Texas (CAD) are a mystery to many people.
- 1. Why do they exist?
- 2. Who runs the operation?
- 3. Who funds the operation?
Texas appraisal district are a quasi-governmental operation made possible by Tax Code Section 6 regarding the establishment of one appraisal district in each county. Appraisal districts were legislated into existence in 1979 to begin operation in 1981; the legislation is known as the “Peveto Bill”, based on the sponsor. Previously each city, county and school district valued property in their jurisdiction separately and had hearings regarding value. The board of directors consists of representatives of largest tax entities (school, county, city, MUDs, special districts). They are largely a “budget board” with two responsibilities: 1) select the chief appraiser (who runs the appraisal district) and 2) approve the annual budget. Texas appraisal district budgets were $523 million in 2018. We hope to provide insights with the graphs.
State of Texas Total CAD Budget Including ARB
Texas appraisal districts annual budgets, along with the budget for the ARB are below. Texas appraisal district budgets are substantial. These are public servants paid with public money. Do you feel like a valued client when you visit the appraisal district? Are you surprised at the amount of budget for Texas appraisal districts?
The 2018 budget for the Texas appraisal districts was $523.4 million, about 5% higher than 2017.
Total Property Taxes Levied TexasSource: 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 | ||
| Property Taxes Levied | 48.0617 | 63.9744 | 75.0970 | 62.0772 | 67.4118 | 80.1903 | 79.8121 | 80.8251 | 92.4001 | 117.633 | |
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.
Texas Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
Texas tax entities total tax levies have been growing much faster than inflation. This has caused property taxes to rise much faster than inflation. Wage increases have been lean for the past 10 years. However, the total property tax levy for Texas has increased 7 to 10% consistently. This was a primary factor in the legislature passing Senate Bill 2 in 2019.
Total Texas property taxes are huge; $67 billion in 2018 to be exact.
FTE Positions in Budget Total –Texas Appraisal Districts Source: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Total Number of FTEs | 4280 | 4275 | 4282 | 4417 | 4609 | 4620 | 4705 | 4750 | 4841 | 5044 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions In Budget Total
Texas appraisal districts staffing levels are illustrated below. Texas appraisal districts reported a total of 4,609 FTEs (full-time equivalents). Increased use of technology may reduce the need for appraisal district staff, or at least slow the level of expense growth.
There were 5,138 full time employees at Texas appraisal districts in 2019.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal – Total for Texas Appraisal Districts Source: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| FTEs Appraisal Total | 2,263 | 2,542 | 2,354 | 2,371 | 2,375 | 2,536 | 2,468 | 2,485 | 2,278 | 2,596 | |
| Residential | 992 | 1,121 | 1,121 | 1,147 | 1,187 | 1,281 | 1,259 | 1,264 | 1,227 | 1,242 | |
| Commercial | 400 | 434 | 536 | 549 | 535 | 620 | 553 | 568 | 498 | 502 | |
| All Other | 871 | 987 | 697 | 675 | 653 | 635 | 656 | 653 | 553 | 852 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
State of Texas FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
Texas appraisal districts have two groups of staff: 1) appraisers and 2) administrative staff / everyone else. Statewide appraisers (2,221) account for just under half (48%) of total staff at Texas appraisal districts. The graph provides a total and individual numbers for residential and commercial by year.
There were 2,222 appraisers at the Texas State Appraisal District in 2018. 53% of those were residential.