Bell Property Tax Appeals Save $21+ Million Per Year

While Bell County may be one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas, the Tax Appraisal District of Bell County (Bell CAD) is using the growing population to raise property values. However, the people of Bell County are fighting back with property tax appeals and other methods of reduction. If you live in Killeen, Temple, Fort Hood, or anywhere else in the county, get the best deal possible by joining O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today. There is no cost to enroll, and your values will be challenged annually with no upfront costs. You only pay if you win. 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	26.01	34.05	42.10	87.65	133.19	161.25	189.32	336.43	483.55	483.74	483.93
Single Family Residential Reduction	5.62	6.64	7.65	10.95	14.25	24.35	34.45	63.42	92.39	93.61	94.84
Commercial / Other	20.39	27.42	34.45	76.70	118.95	136.91	154.87	273.01	391.16	390.12	389.09

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

Bell County Property Tax Savings from Administrative Appeals

Informal and formal protests, known as administrative appeals, allow Texas taxpayers to fight the unfair values placed upon them by their CADs. Bell CAD faces the same challenges and can make mistakes or overassesses properties due to the large area it must cover. These protests can lower the value of homes and businesses, which then translates into smaller tax bills.

While these protests allow every Texan to challenge their taxes, it is often best to join forces with a firm that knows taxes, the law, and more. We at O’Connor have been fighting CADs in Texas and across the nation for over 50 years, and have the experience needed to get you the best deal possible on your appeal. We offer personalized solutions and are backed by patented databases that can find the true value of any property.

Bell CAD Informal Hearings

These basic protests allow taxpayers to face Bell CAD directly and are often the best solution to protect homes and businesses. In 2024, $483.93 million in taxable value was reduced informally, the best seen in the county. These initial hearings have reduced over $483 million every year since 2021 and have continued to grow. $389.09 million was cut by businesses, while homes saved $94.84 million. If settlements at this stage are inadequate, then a taxpayer can move on to the formal step.

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	0.010	0.012	0.016	0.021	0.013	0.091	0.117	0.080	0.185	0.594	0.512
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.001	0	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.008	0.022	0.025	0.075	0.164	0.164
Commercial / Other	0.009	0.011	0.015	0.019	0.013	0.083	0.095	0.055	0.110	0.430	0.347

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).

Bell CAD Formal ARB Hearings

These hearings take place in front of the appraisal review board (ARB). This is a trio of experts that acts as an impartial judge between the evidence presented by the taxpayer and by Bell CAD. Formal appeals have grown dramatically in importance in the past few years, going from $185 million in value reduced in 2022 to $512 million in 2024. 2023 set the record with $594 million. $347 million was sliced from the rolls by commercial properties, while residential real estate managed to land reductions of $164 million. Bell is a rare county where informal and formal hearings are balanced.

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	0.55	0.72	0.88	1.84	2.80	3.39	3.98	7.07	10.15	10.16	10.16
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.12	0.14	0.16	0.23	0.30	0.51	0.72	1.33	1.94	1.97	1.99
Commercial / Other	0.43	0.58	0.72	1.61	2.50	2.88	3.25	5.73	8.21	8.19	8.17

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

Just as they did with taxable value, informal protests managed to set a new record in 2024 with a total of $10.16 million in tax savings. These appeals once represented the vast majority of protests, though ARB hearings have caught up. This is why savings have doubled in just a few years. This shows that Bell County citizens are getting serious about lowering their taxes, which is good for the future.

Of the $10.16 million saved, $8.17 billion came from commercial real estate and businesses. This is the typical pattern, as businesses are worth more than homes individually. Residential properties had their best year ever with a savings of $1.99 million. If not for the rising importance of formal hearings, these numbers would be even higher.

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	0.21	0.25	0.34	0.44	0.28	1.92	2.46	1.69	3.89	12.48	10.75
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.01	0.01	0.02	0.03	0.01	0.17	0.47	0.53	1.58	3.45	3.45
Commercial / Other	0.19	0.24	0.32	0.41	0.27	1.75	2.00	1.15	2.31	9.03	7.30

Tax Savings, Formal ARB Hearings

Between 2022 and 2023, the savings for ARB appeals tripled, bringing a new age to Bell County tax reduction. 2024 was a slight step back from the high-water mark of 2023 but still managed to bring in $10.75 million. This was spearheaded by $7.3 million from businesses. Homes nabbed $3.45 million, almost double the savings they saw from initial protests. This means that residential properties are seeing more to gain by going the extra step.

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	0.76	0.97	1.22	2.28	3.08	5.31	6.44	8.76	14.04	22.64	20.91
Single Family Residential Reduction	0.13	0.15	0.18	0.26	0.31	0.68	1.19	1.86	3.52	5.42	5.44
Commercial / Other	0.62	0.82	1.04	2.02	2.77	4.63	5.25	6.88	10.52	17.22	15.47

Administrative Appeals Total Tax Savings

When added together, all administrative protests resulted in $20.91 million in tax savings, the second-most of all time for the county. This was thanks to the balance struck between informal and formal protests. Counties like Travis and Fort Bend focus on ARB hearings, while the likes of El Paso and Hidalgo counties prefer informal ones. To be roughly the same is unusual, and marks Bell as a county on an inflection point.

$15.47 million was saved by businesses and other commercial properties, while residential real estate saved $5.44 million. While homes managed to stay steady, businesses retreated a bit from 2023’s $17.22 million. This may simply be a correction following the huge leap between 2022 and 2023, and later years are certainly going to see even more taxes cut. With both avenues bringing in savings, taxpayers have more options than ever before.