Fort Worth sets hearings on property taxes. Why a lower rate doesn’t mean a lower bill.
Fort Worth homeowners will likely be paying a higher property tax bill next year if the city in September adopts the proposed property tax rate even though it’s 2% lower than the 2021 rate.
The city council will meet Sept. 14 for its first public hearing on the proposed tax rate.
Fort Worth expects that its property tax rate for 2022 will be 73.25 cents per $100 valuation, 1.5 cents lower than the current rate, but with property values across the region skyrocketing homeowners should still expect to see a higher tax bill from the city.
Under that proposed tax rate, the owner of a $300,000 home, the median price in Fort Worth, would pay the city $1,758 with a homestead exemption, an increase of $458.40 since 2016, when the city began steadily lowering its property tax rate and the average home was valued at $190,000.
The owner of a home in 2016 valued at the median of $190,000 would have paid $1,299.60 with a homestead exemption.
The city expects the increasing property values will allow them to be able to spend nearly $2 billion to fix water lines, address storm water drainage and complete many other projects during the next five years, even after lowering tax rates.
A second public hearing on the proposed tax rate will be held Sept. 21, followed by a vote by the council to approve or deny the tax rate.