Cameron Property Tax Appeals Save $24+ Million Per Year

2023 was a record year for property tax appeal results in Cameron County. Fed up with the aggressive taxation of the Cameron Appraisal District (Cameron CAD), taxpayers have been launching appeals like never before. When informal and formal hearings combined, a record $23.15 million in taxes was cut from the rolls, representing a huge boon for the people of the county. Get a piece of this action when you join O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today. There is no fee to enroll, and you will only be charged if your taxes are lowered. Enroll, relax, and save.

Total Value Reduction, Informal HearingsSource: 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	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	108.51	117.59	111.23	104.86	120.89	169.15	216.79	373.79	530.78	803.62	530.93
Single Family Residential Reduction	27.86	24.13	20.68	17.24	33.11	26.11	10.14	121.84	233.54	442.30	224.17
Commercial / Other	80.65	93.46	90.55	87.63	87.78	143.04	206.65	251.95	297.24	361.32	306.76

Texas property owners should protest annually since The value cannot be raised during the protest, based on 2019 legislation.

Cameron County Property Tax Savings from Administrative Appeals

Administrative appeals are divided into informal protests and formal hearings. These serve as the two building blocks of the tax protest cycle in Texas and are where the vast majority of cases are settled. While some may go to lawsuits such as binding arbitration or judicial appeal, most will find their end at the administrative level. Some counties focus on informal appeals, while others are built around formal protests. Finding a balance between the two is rare.

No matter what type of appeal taxpayers are experiencing, it is always best to have an expert in their corner. O’Connor is here to help. One of the largest firms specializing in tax protests, O’Connor has been fighting the likes of the Cameron Appraisal District (Cameron CAD) for over 50 years. With over 50 years in the business, O’Connor knows how best to launch the perfect protest.

Cameron CAD Informal Hearings

Informal appeals are the simplest and earliest protest possible, but that does not mean that they are lacking when it comes to packing a punch. In 2023, $803.62 million in taxable value was lowered informally. That is easily a record, effortlessly eclipsing the previous highwater mark of $530.67 million from 2022. Single family homes were responsible for $442.3 million of the total, while commercial and other businesses accounted for $361.32 million in value.

Total Value Reduction, Formal ARB HearingsSource: 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 Value Reduction	0.037	0.019	0.028	0.032	0.040	0.173	0.217	0.206	0.195	0.299	0.430
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.011	0.007	0.012	0.007	0.010	0.010	0.010	0.059	0.107	0.203	0.141
Commercial / Other	0.026	0.012	0.017	0.025	0.031	0.163	0.207	0.147	0.087	0.095	0.289

Texas property owners should protest annually since You can’t evaluate the strength of your appeal until you obtain the hearing evidence file. You have to protest to obtain the hearing evidence file (available free upon request via U.S. mail).

Cameron CAD Formal ARB Hearings

If an informal appeal is rejected or deemed insufficient by the taxpayer, then a formal hearing before the appraisal review board (ARB) is required. This impartial three-person panel hears both sides and picks whoever has the best evidence. $299 million in taxable value was reduced thanks to ARB hearings, the most the county has even seen. Residential property was able to cut the value by $203 million in 2023, nearly double what it achieved in 2022. Business real estate sliced $95 million from the tax rolls using formal protests. While impressive, this was on the low side, though it did top the 2022 figure of $87 million.

Tax Savings, Informal HearingsSource: 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	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	2.28	2.47	2.34	2.20	2.54	3.55	4.55	7.85	11.15	16.88	11.15
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.59	0.51	0.43	0.36	0.70	0.55	0.21	2.56	4.90	9.29	4.71
Commercial / Other	1.69	1.96	1.90	1.84	1.84	3.00	4.34	5.29	6.24	7.59	6.44

Texas property owners should protest annually since Not appealing is used against property owners in the subsequent years since “you agreed to the value” (by not protesting).

Estimated Total Property Tax Informal Savings

Like many working-class communities, Cameron County favored informal appeals over ARB hearings. With the bounty brought in by these relatively simple appeals, there was no real need to push for another round of protests, though many certainly did. In 2023, $16.88 million in taxes came back to taxpayers thanks to informal appeals, which was significantly higher than $11.15 million in 2022, and double the 2021 total.

2023 was the first time that savings from homes surpassed those of businesses. Residential properties notched an impressive cut of $9.29 million to their tax bills. Again, this was nearly double the previous amount, with only $4.90 million being reduced in 2022. Commercial and other business real estate also set a record for savings, bringing in $7.59 million. While not a huge jump like that experienced by homes, businesses still improved drastically in 2023, blowing away the previous high of $6.24 million in 2022.

Tax Savings, Formal ARB HearingsSource: 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	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	0.77	0.39	0.60	0.68	0.85	3.64	4.55	4.32	4.09	6.27	9.02
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.23	0.15	0.25	0.14	0.20	0.22	0.21	1.23	2.26	4.27	2.96
Commercial / Other	0.55	0.24	0.35	0.53	0.65	3.43	4.34	3.09	1.84	2.00	6.06

Formal Tax Savings

Homes had traditionally been a non-factor in ARB hearings, which is typical for most of Texas. This changed in 2022 when homes blew past businesses when it came to formal savings in 2022. Homes nabbed a savings of $2.26 million in 2022, before seeing an even greater outcome with $4.27 million in 2023. While they improved upon their informal appeals, commercial properties also managed to bounce back formally in 2023, attaining a total of $2 million. This was up from a low period of $1.84 million in 2022. When put together, these numbers suggest that home values are increasing so high that homeowners are being forced to go multiple rounds with Cameron CAD just to get a fair result.

Total Tax Savings (Informal & Formal)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	2024
$ Total Value Reduction	3.05	2.86	2.94	2.88	3.39	7.19	9.10	12.17	15.24	23.15	20.17
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.82	0.66	0.68	0.50	0.90	0.77	0.42	3.79	7.16	13.56	7.67
Commercial / Other	2.24	2.20	2.25	2.37	2.49	6.43	8.68	8.38	8.08	9.59	12.50

Total Tax Savings

2023 was a record year for both homes and businesses when it came to tax savings through protests. When combined, both property types saw an outstanding return of $23.15 million, a giant leap from 2022’s $15.25 million. While single family homes led the way with $13.56 million, businesses had a strong showing as well, notching record savings of $9.59 million. This implies that there are more appeals being launched in the county than ever before, which can only benefit taxpayers, as frequent appeals keep Cameron CAD honest across the board.