Updated Property Tax Information Now Available for Texas
Taxpayers
Walker County — New and updated property tax information has just been compiled by the Walker County Appraisal District (Walker CAD) and is available now to assist taxpayers. This property tax information is current and covers a wide range of topics, such as taxpayer remedies, exemptions and appraisals, and has information for select groups, such as disabled veterans and persons age 65 or older.
“Whether you are a homeowner, business owner, disabled veteran or taxpayer, it’s important you know your rights concerning property tax laws” said Stacey Poteete, Chief Appraiser of the Walker CAD. “You can contact us about any property tax issues with full confidence that we will
provide the most complete, accurate, and up-to-date information available to assist you.” This includes information about the following programs:
- Property Tax Exemptions for Disabled Veterans – The law provides partial exemptions for any property owned by disabled veterans or surviving spouses and surviving children of deceased disabled veterans. Another partial exemption is for homesteads donated to disabled veterans by charitable organizations at no cost or not more than 50 percent of the good faith estimate of the homestead’s market value to disabled veterans and their surviving spouses. The exemption amount is determined according to the percentage of a service-connected disability. The law also provides a 100 percent homestead exemption for 100 percent disabled veterans and their surviving spouses and surviving spouses of U.S. armed service members killed or fatally injured in the line of duty.
- Property Tax Exemptions – Non-profit organizations that meet statutory requirements may seek property tax exemptions and must apply to their local appraisal district by a specific date. Child-care facilities; medical or biomedical property; businesses that receive tax abatements granted by taxing units; ship inventory out of Texas that may be eligible for the freeport exemption; store certain goods in transit in warehouses that are moved within 175 days; construct, install or acquire pollution control property; own and operate energy storage systems; convert landfill-generated gas; or store offshore drilling equipment while not in use may also be eligible for statutory exemptions.
- Rendering Taxable Property – If a business owns tangible personal property that is used to produce income, the business must file a rendition with its local appraisal district by a specified date. Personal property includes inventory and equipment used by a business. Owners do not have to render exempt property such as church property or an agriculture producer’s equipment used for farming.
- Appraisal Notices – Normally, taxpayers receive a notice of appraised value from the appropriate local appraisal district. The city, county, school districts, and other local taxing units use the appraisal district’s value to set property taxes for the coming year.
- Taxpayer Assistance Pamphlet – This Comptroller publication explains in detail the functions of a taxpayer liaison officer, how to protest a property appraisal, what issues the county appraisal review board (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 a taxpayer’s case to district court, the State Office of Administrative Hearings, or regular binding arbitration if the taxpayer is dissatisfied with the outcome of the ARB hearing.
- Homestead Exemptions – A homestead is generally defined as the home and land used as the owner’s principal residence on Jan. 1 of the tax year. A person who acquires property after Jan. 1 may receive the residence homestead exemption for the applicable portion of that tax year immediately on qualification for the exemption if the preceding owner did not receive the same exemption for that tax year. A homestead exemption reduces the home’s appraised value and, as a result, lowers property taxes. Applications are submitted to the appropriate local appraisal district.
- Productivity Appraisal – Property owners who use land for timberland production, agricultural purposes, or wildlife management can be granted property tax relief on their land. They may apply to their local appraisal district for an agricultural special appraisal, which may result in a lower appraisal of the land based on production, versus market value.
- Residence Homestead Tax Deferral – Texas homeowners may postpone paying the currently delinquent property taxes due on the appreciating value of their homes by filing a tax deferral affidavit at their local appraisal district. This tax relief allows homeowners to pay the property taxes on 105 percent of the preceding year’s appraised value of their homestead, plus the taxes on any new improvements to the homestead. The deferral postpones the remaining taxes, with interest accruing at 8 percent per year but does not cancel them.
- Property Tax Deferral for Persons Age 65 or Older or Disabled or Disabled Veteran Homeowners – Texans who are age 65 or older or disabled, as defined by law, or who qualify for a disabled veteran exemption may postpone paying current and delinquent property taxes on their homes by signing a tax deferral affidavit. Once the affidavit is on file, taxes are deferred but not canceled, as long as the owner continues to own and live in the home. Interest continues to accrue at 5 percent per year on the unpaid taxes. You may obtain a deferral affidavit at the appraisal district.
- Protesting Property Appraisal Values – Property owners who disagree with the appraisal district’s appraisal of their property for local taxes or for any other action that adversely affects them may protest their property value to their county’s ARB.
- Informal Meetings – Property owners can request an informal meeting with appraisal district staff to try and resolve their disputes prior to attending ARB hearings.
For more information about these programs, contact Walker CAD at (936) 295-0402 via email info@walkercad.org or drop by our office at 1060 Highway 190 East Huntsville Texas 77340. Texas.
Information is also available on the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division’s website at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/.
Published November 5, 2025
Notice of Estimated Taxes
Property tax information for Walker County is available at https://walker.countytaxrates.com/. This is the official website on which property owners can easily access information regarding property taxes, including the amount of taxes that each entity that taxes a property will impose if the entity adopts its proposed tax rate. Property owners may also visit Texas.gov/PropertyTaxes to find a link to their local property tax website.
Taxing units regularly update this website during August and September as local elected officials propose and adopt the property tax rates that will determine how much you pay in property taxes. The website allows property owners to provide feedback on the tax rate process. It provides the following property-specific information for each taxing unit authorized to levy a tax on the property, including property values, proposed tax rates, an estimate of property taxes that would be imposed under the proposed rates, dates and locations of public hearings on the tax rates, and other useful information on taxing unit budgets, revenue and rate calculations.
Continue to check the website for updates throughout the tax rate adoption process in August and September. You may request the same information from the assessor for each taxing unit for your property by contacting Stacey Poteete at Walker County Appraisal District at 1060 Hwy 190 East, Huntsville, TX 77340, or by phone at 936-295-0402.
Published August 7, 2025
Property Owners Can Protest Property Appraisal Values
Property owners who disagree with the Walker County Appraisal District’s appraisal of their property for local taxes or for any other action that adversely affects them may protest to the local appraisal review board (ARB).
A property owner must file a written notice of protest before May 15 or within 30 days after the appraisal district delivers the property owner’s notice of appraised value, whichever is later. The ARB will begin hearing taxpayer protests on May 15, 2025.
After the ARB completes its hearings and approves final property tax appraisals, taxing units will use these appraisals to set property tax rates.
The ARB is a group of citizens who live in the appraisal district. In counties with populations less than 75,000, the local administrative district judge appoints ARB members. Otherwise, the appraisal district’s board of directors appoints them. Property owners may protest any of the following issues to the ARB:
• the property’s appraised or market value;
• unequal property appraisal;
• the property’s inclusion on the appraisal records;
• denial of a partial exemption, such as a homestead exemption;
• determination that the property does not qualify for the circuit breaker limitation on appraised value for non-homestead real property;
• denial of special appraisal, such as agricultural or timber productivity appraisal;
• determination that agricultural or timberland has had a change of use and is subject to a rollback tax;
• identification of the taxing unit or taxing units in which the property is located;
• determination that the taxpayer is the property owner; or
• any other action of the appraisal district office or ARB that adversely affects the owner.
The ARB schedules a hearing and sends the protesting property owner written notice of the date, time and place of the hearing. The law contains specific timelines and procedures for both the property owner and the ARB throughout the appraisal protest process, as detailed in the Comptroller’s publication, Taxpayer Assistance Pamphlet.
Copies are available from Walker County Appraisal District at 1060 Hwy 190 East Huntsville Tx. The publication is also available on the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division’s website at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/.
Published June 4, 2025
Property Owners Can Protest Property Appraisal Values
Property owners may soon receive an appraisal notice from the Walker County Appraisal District. The district mailed about 16,700 appraisal notices on May 30, 2024. Your city, county, school district, and other local taxing units will use the appraisal district’s value to set your 2024 property taxes.
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 Walker County Appraisal Review Board (ARB).
A property owner must file a written notice of protest before May 15 or within 30 days after the appraisal district delivers the property owner’s notice of appraised value, whichever is later. The ARB will begin hearing taxpayer protests on May 5, 2024.
After the ARB completes its hearings and approves final property appraisals, local taxing units will use these appraisals to adopt property tax rates.
The ARB is a group of citizens who live within the boundaries of the appraisal district and are appointed by the local district administrative judge. Property owners may protest any of the following issues to the ARB:
- the appraised or market value of the property.
- unequal appraisal of the owner’s property.
- inclusion of the property on the appraisal records.
- denial of a partial exemption, such as a homestead exemption.
- denial of special appraisals, such as agricultural or timber productivity appraisal.
- determination that agricultural or timberland has had a change of use and is subject to a rollback tax.
- identification of the taxing unit or taxing units in which the property is located.
- determination that the taxpayer is the owner of the property; or
- any other action of the appraisal district office or ARB that adversely affects the owner.
The ARB schedules a hearing and sends the protesting property owner written notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing. The law contains specific timelines and procedures for both the property owner and the ARB throughout the appraisal protest process, as detailed in the Comptroller’s publication, Property Taxpayer Remedies. Copies are available from Walker County Appraisal District at 1060 Hwy 190 East, Huntsville, TX. The publication is also available on the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division’s website at: comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/.
Published June 3, 2023
CIRCUIT BREAKER LIMITATION OF APPRAISED VALUE
Beginning in 2024, all real property valued at $5,000,000 or less will have a 20 percent circuit breaker cap on the appraised value, with the exclusion of land receiving the agriculture special-use appraisal and homestead properties that receive the 10 percent limited appraised value cap. The circuit breaker provision of the Property Tax Code limits the amount the Appraisal District can increase your property value. The appraised value of qualifying real property is limited to an increase of no more than 20 percent per year unless new improvements, excluding ordinary maintenance, have been made. This limitation takes effect on January 1 of the tax year following the first tax year in which the owner owns the property and expires on January 1 of the first tax year when the owner no longer owns the property. A property will receive this appraised value limitation in 2024 if there has been no change in ownership since January 1, 2023. The property will now carry two values:
- the circuit breaker cap value which is the value that the taxes will be based on, and
- the market value which is the true value of the property.
For example, the appraised value of a qualifying real property was $100,000 last year. This year the Appraisal District appraises the property at $125,000. No new improvements or additions have been added to the tax roll since last year. The circuit breaker value is to be calculated as follows:
$100,000 X 20% = $20,000 + $100,000 = $120,000
Taxes will be based on the circuit breaker value of $120,000; however, the market value of the property will remain at $125,000. Should a property sell, the limitation on its appraised value will be removed, and the tax base will increase to the market value.
The circuit breaker currently applies to the 2024, 2025, and 2026 tax years. The appraised value that the circuit breaker applies to is set at $5,000,000 or less for 2024; however, the State Comptroller can increase or decrease the appraised value limit for 2025 and 2026 based on the consumer price index.
Published April 26, 2024
