Tarrant County wants to maintain its property tax rate. You’ll likely pay more anyway
Tarrant County wants to keep the tax rate the same heading into the next fiscal year, but homeowners will pay more to fund a $916 million budget in 2023.
The owner of a $350,000 home would pay $802 in county taxes under the proposed tax rate of 22.9 cents per $100 of property valuation. Residential accounts increased by an average of 14.6% in 2022, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District, so taxes on that same home could have been as low as $729 a year ago. Some would see a smaller tax increase if their home value didn’t increase as much.
The county said its tax rate will raise property taxes by 12.4%, or $61.8 million, though $11.2 million of that is coming from new property.
Last year’s budget came in at $797 million. The primary factors leading to the large increase in this year’s budget include the county hiring 75 new employees across in law enforcement, the medical examiner’s office and other county departments, said Helen Giese, the county’s director of budget and risk management. The county also planned for $25 million worth of retention payments that add to base salaries and merit increases. Another $45 million will be going toward the county’s capital improvement plan.
County commissioners unanimously approved the proposed rate as a record vote at their Tuesday meeting, but the final rate won’t be decided until Sept. 13. They could lower the rate at time but can’t go higher.
