Tarrant Appraisal District office sees last minute rush

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Homeowners lined up until the doors closed at the Tarrant Appraisal District office in Fort Worth Monday, trying to beat the deadline to protest soaring property values.

TAD was estimating as many as 170,000 property values could be protested this year, with values up on average more than 20%.

The last minute rush came as owners are starting to feel the impact from lasting inflation, and looking ahead to potentially substantially higher property taxes later this year.

"Groceries are up. Electricity is up. Gasoline is up. Gotta save money somewhere you know?" said Abdul Rasul. He was filing for formal protests for two homes in Mansfield and a business property in Fort Worth.

Barry Pal walked in Monday expecting to protest, only to learn that with senior exemptions his appraisal value may only increase his tax bill by about $50, which he thought he could handle for now.

"It's when its $20, $30 a month, that's when it's a concern to me," he said.

TAD was still planning to accept protests through its website until midnight on Monday.

Owners who received a valuation notice late, also have more time, with the deadline coming 30 days after the notice is delivered.

There is also the option of filing a protest up to the time taxes are delinquent, if you can show there was a substantial error in the value. It would require an owner to show a property was overvalued by one-fourth if it's a homestead property, and one-third above the correct value if it's a non-homestead.