Texas Property Tax Records: Search, Exemptions, and Fixing Errors

Texas property tax records are public and free to search online through the central appraisal district in the county where the property sits. Each record shows the owner’s name and mailing address, the appraised value of the land and improvements, the taxing units that levy on the parcel, any exemptions in place, and a unique account number assigned by the district.¹ Anyone can look them up, whether you’re checking your own property, researching one you might buy, or comparing your appraisal to neighbors’.

How to Search Property Tax Records

Start with your county’s central appraisal district website. The Texas Comptroller keeps a directory of every county’s appraisal district and tax assessor-collector, which is the fastest way in if you don’t already know the district’s URL.² Most district homepages have a clearly labeled property search tab.

You can usually search three ways: by street address (sometimes called the situs address), by owner name, or by account number. The account number, sometimes labeled Geographic ID, is printed on your prior tax statements and closing documents. It points to one specific parcel, so it removes the ambiguity you get when several addresses look similar.

A few practical tips. Appraisal district databases are picky about formatting. Shorten “Street” to “St” and “Drive” to “Dr,” or drop the suffix and search on the street name alone. Match spelling to your deed or tax statement. If a name search returns nothing, try the last name only.

Once you pull up a parcel, the detail page typically shows the current appraised value, a breakdown between land and improvements, exemptions on file, and the taxing units attached (school district, county, city, and any special districts). Many portals also display a value history going back several years and let you export or print the record as a PDF. That printout is useful for lenders, protests, or your own files.

One important limit: the Comptroller’s office does not hold individual property records and cannot answer questions about a specific parcel. All lookups and inquiries go through the county appraisal district or the county tax assessor-collector.²

Manufactured Homes Are Searched Separately

If you’re looking up a manufactured home, the appraisal district may not be the right database. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs runs a separate records system for manufactured housing, covering ownership, home details, and tax lien information. To search it, you’ll need the home’s complete serial number plus either the HUD label number or the Texas Seal number, all of which appear on the home’s data plate or in the original purchase paperwork.³ A manufactured home permanently attached to land may also appear in the county appraisal district’s regular records.

What Each Record Contains

The Tax Code sets a minimum standard for what every appraisal record must show. That includes the property owner’s name and last known address, the appraised value of the land and any improvements, the tax year the appraisal covers, and a legal description of the property. The description may use lot-and-block numbers in a subdivision or metes-and-bounds language for rural land.¹

Every record identifies each taxing unit that can levy on the parcel: typically the school district, county, city, and special districts like community colleges or municipal utility districts. Each unit sets its own rate, and together they determine the total bill.¹

The record also lists any exemptions applied to the property and displays both the full appraised value and the lower taxable value after those exemptions are subtracted. And each record carries a unique account number. If the district ever renumbers an account, it must notify you in writing as soon as practicable and again with your next notice of appraised value.¹

Check the Exemptions on the Record

Exemptions cut the taxable value directly, so they’re the first thing worth verifying when you look at your record. The general residence homestead exemption for school district taxes is $140,000, which means a home appraised at $300,000 would be taxed by the school district on $160,000 of value.⁴ Any taxing unit can also adopt an optional homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of appraised value, with a $5,000 floor.

Owners who are 65 or older or who have a disability qualify for an additional $10,000 school district exemption on top of the general homestead. The over-65 exemption also triggers a school tax ceiling that locks school district taxes at the amount owed the year the owner turned 65 or qualified for the disability exemption. Counties that collect farm-to-market or flood control taxes provide a separate $3,000 homestead exemption.⁴

If the record doesn’t show an exemption you qualify for, fix it now. A missing homestead exemption can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars a year. File the application with your appraisal district rather than waiting for the issue to appear on a future notice.

Fixing Errors You Find in the Record

Records get things wrong more often than people expect: an extra bedroom, the wrong square footage, incorrect acreage, or a misspelled name. Those errors push the appraised value up and the tax bill with it. How you fix an error depends on what kind it is.

The chief appraiser can correct certain problems at any time without a hearing. That includes mistakes in the owner’s name or address, ownership records, property descriptions, duplicate appraisals, and clerical errors that don’t increase your tax liability. Any change that decreases a property owner’s tax liability must be reported to the appraisal review board within 10 days after the calendar quarter ends.⁵

For anything the chief appraiser can’t handle unilaterally, you can file a motion asking the appraisal review board to order a change. The board can correct clerical errors, duplicate appraisals, nonexistent property, and wrong ownership for any of the five preceding tax years.⁵ That five-year window means overpayments from older errors are still recoverable. If the error produced an incorrect appraised value, the motion can be filed any time before that year’s taxes go delinquent. Bring evidence: a recent survey, an independent appraisal, or your own measurements showing the actual dimensions.

When Records Aren’t Online: Public Information Act Requests

If you need records the district doesn’t publish online, you can request them in writing under the Texas Public Information Act. The request goes to the governmental body holding the records, addressed to its officer for public information or a designee. Describe what you want specifically enough that the office can find it without guessing.⁶

Agencies must produce records “promptly,” meaning as soon as possible under the circumstances. If the office can’t produce them within 10 business days, it must certify that in writing and tell you when they’ll be ready.⁷ If the agency wants to withhold anything, it has 10 business days to ask the Attorney General for a ruling on whether an exception applies.⁸

Standard paper copies cost $0.10 per page, and each printed side counts as a page.⁹ If filling the request is expected to cost more than $40, the agency must send a written estimate first, giving you a chance to narrow the scope.¹⁰

Keeping Your Own Address Out of Public Records

Because these records are public, anyone can look up your name, home address, and property value. Texas law lets certain people ask the appraisal district to keep their home address confidential when they face heightened safety risks from public exposure.

The following groups can request confidentiality:

Current or former peace officers and their spouses, county jailers, commissioned security officers, employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and federal protective service officers
Federal judges, federal bankruptcy judges, U.S. marshals, state judges, and their family members
Current or former district attorneys, criminal district attorneys, county or municipal attorneys, and employees of those offices
Victims of family violence, sexual assault, abuse, stalking, or trafficking, including children and household members
Participants certified under the Attorney General’s address confidentiality program

To request the protection, eligible owners file Form 50-284 with the appraisal district in each county where they own property.¹¹ Victims must attach a protective order, a magistrate’s order for emergency protection, or other documentary evidence. State and federal judges and their spouses are covered automatically because the Office of Court Administration notifies districts directly.¹² Once filed, the election stays in effect until the owner rescinds it in writing, and filing a false statement can result in criminal charges under the Penal Code.

1
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 25.02 – Form and Content
2
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Local Property Appraisal and Tax Information
3
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Instructions and Information – Applying for a Statement of Ownership
4
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
5
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 25.25 – Correction of Appraisal Roll
6
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Public Information Act Handbook
7
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Overview of the Public Information Act
8
State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 552.301 – Request for Attorney General Decision
9
Cornell Law Institute. 1 Texas Administrative Code 70.3 – Charges for Providing Copies of Public Information
10
Texas House of Representatives. Texas Public Information Act
11
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Request for Confidentiality Under Tax Code Section 25.025
12
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 25.025 – Confidentiality of Certain Home Address Information