Lubbock Property Tax Protest ARB Tax Savings over $9 MM in 2021
Lubbock Central Appraisal District property tax protests not settled informally are heard by the county appraisal review board. Lubbock owners saved a total of $11 million in 2021 in tax protests, including savings $1 million in protests settled informally and $9 million in ARB protests. In a typical year, about 65 to 75% of protests are successful. The only way to lose is to not file a protest. They can't raise your value due to a protest; it can only be reduced. Claim your fair share of property tax savings by enrolling in the Property Tax Protection Program (TM). No flat fees. Pay only if you save that year. No upfront costs. Simple 3 step program: 1) enroll, 2) relax and 3) save.
Protests with Written ARB DeterminationSource: 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 | 0.540 | 1.249 | 1.191 | 1.641 | 1.885 | 2.129 | 3.161 | 4.192 | 4.647 | 7.451 | 7.958 | |
| Protests single family residential | 0.282 | 0.838 | 0.871 | 1.093 | 1.251 | 1.409 | 1.496 | 1.583 | 2.588 | 4.108 | 3.384 | |
| Protests with all other | 0.258 | 0.411 | 0.320 | 0.548 | 0.634 | 0.720 | 1.665 | 2.609 | 2.059 | 3.343 | 4.574 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Hearing results depend on the appraiser assigned or the ARB; results vary widely. You do not know the appraiser or ARB panel prior to appealing.
Lubbock County Protests with Written ARB Determination
Lubbock County property owners have the right to appeal their property taxes to the Lubbock County Appraisal Review Board annually. It does not matter if the value increased, was unchanged or was reduced. You can protest based on market value and unequal appraisal. There is no cost to file a property tax protest and the ARB cannot raise your value at the hearing.
The graphs illustrate both residential and commercial (other) volumes.
Lubbock County property owners had appraisal review board hearings for 4,192 property tax protests, out of a total of 18,731 tax protests. Hence, 100% of Lubbock County protests proceeded to an ARB hearings. Home owners accounted for 1,583 of the ARB hearings.
Lubbock CAD Protests by Property Type
Lubbock Central Appraisal District is typical in that it has more residential than commercial ARB hearings. This is because such a large portion of the parcels are homes. While the Lubbock County ARB hearings are about two-thirds residential, about two-thirds of the savings are commercial.
In other words, though there are more residential protests, commercial property protests generate larger property tax savings. There are two reasons for this: 1) commercial properties tend to have a higher value and 2) the percentage reduction for commercial is higher since valuation of commercial properties is more subjective than valuation of homes.
Lubbock County ARB Decisions with a ReductionSource: 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 | 0.374 | 0.778 | 0.773 | 1.061 | 1.300 | 1.539 | 1.890 | 2.240 | 3.689 | 5.454 | 4.808 | |
| Single Family Residential | 0.198 | 0.582 | 0.643 | 0.706 | 0.882 | 1.058 | 1.145 | 1.231 | 2.167 | 3.161 | 2.148 | |
| Commercial / All Other | 0.176 | 0.196 | 0.130 | 0.355 | 0.418 | 0.481 | 0.745 | 1.009 | 1.522 | 2.293 | 2.660 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since An annual appeal is an insurance policy to avoid major increases.
Lubbock County ARB Decisions with a Reduction
Lubbock County has more successful ARB hearings for residential than for commercial. This is because of the prevalence of residential accounts. About half of ARB appeals are successful, depending on the county.
Home owners accounted for 1,583 of the ARB hearings, accounting for 38% of the total 2021 Lubbock County ARB protest hearings.
Percent That Resulted in A ReductionSource: 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 | ||
| Total Reduction | 69% | 62% | 65% | 65% | 69% | 72% | 60% | 53% | 79% | 73% | 60% | |
| Single Family Residential | 70% | 69% | 74% | 65% | 71% | 75% | 77% | 78% | 84% | 77% | 63% | |
| Commercial / All Other | 68% | 48% | 41% | 65% | 66% | 67% | 45% | 39% | 74% | 69% | 58% | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since To ensure their property taxes are at the lowest possible level.
Percent That Resulted in A Reduction
Here is a graph of the Lubbock County ARB decisions for residential and commercial showing what percent resulted in a reduction.
In Lubbock in 2021, there were 2,609 ARB hearings for home owners and 2,240 for commercial property owners. Home owners won a reduction in 78% of the Lubbock ARB hearings while commercial / other property owners won a reduction in 39% of their hearings.
Value Reduction From Written ARB DeterminationsSource: 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 | ||
| Total $ Reduction | 0.035 | 0.032 | 0.032 | 0.032 | 0.062 | 0.092 | 0.351 | 0.352 | 0.682 | 1.048 | 1.121 | |
| Single Family Residential | 0.011 | 0.008 | 0.013 | 0.017 | 0.036 | 0.056 | 0.014 | 0.026 | 0.069 | 0.088 | 0.068 | |
| Commercial / All Other | 0.024 | 0.024 | 0.019 | 0.015 | 0.026 | 0.037 | 0.337 | 0.326 | 0.612 | 0.960 | 1.052 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Unequal appraisal allows protests based on neighbors having a better tax assessment.
Lubbock CAD Dollar Value Reduction from ARB Hearings
Lubbock County property owners challenged the value set by Lubbock Central Appraisal District at the ARB in 4,192 cases. The ARB agreed reduction was appropriate in 2,240, or 53% of the hearings.