DCAD - Paying Taxes

Paying Your Property Taxes

How are Taxes Calculated? How are Tax Rates Determined? When are Taxes Due?

How are Taxes Calculated?

Your property is actually taxed by the cities, schools, counties and special districts (the taxing entities). They calculate the amount of tax you owe, send you the tax bill and collect the tax payments. The Dallas Central Appraisal District appraises property in Dallas County and parts of surrounding counties in order to determine the value of your property. This value is, in turn, used by the taxing entities in calculating your property taxes. Your property tax amount is calculated by taking the market value (as determined by the appraisal district) and subtracting any appropriate exemptions (granted by the appraisal district) to determine the taxable value, then multiplying this taxable value by each applicable taxing entity's tax rate.

To estimate your property taxes, you may download the TaxEstimator software.

How are Tax Rates Determined?

Each entity determines their tax rate by first determining what and how many services they will provide in the coming year and how much revenue they need to support these services. The appraisal district provides them an appraisal roll listing the value of all the taxable properties within the boundaries of the taxing entity. The taxing entity then takes the revenue or income needed and divides it by the taxable value to calculate the tax rate that is adopted by the taxing unit's governing body (i.e., city council, school board or commissioners court). This is basically how the taxing entities establish the tax rate necessary to raise the needed tax dollars to fund their budget. However, there are "Truth in Taxation" laws that limit how much this tax rate can be and sometimes require a vote by the public to approve a tax rate that exceeds a certain percentage. For a listing of each taxing unit's tax rate and exemptions offered, you may refer to the annual detail listing of Ad Valorem Tax Rates for Dallas County at this website.

When are Taxes Due?

Taxes become due when the taxpayer receives a bill. Most taxing entities mail their bills around October 1. Typically taxpayers have until January 31 of the following year to pay their taxes. They become delinquent on February 1 when penalty and interest charges begin accumulating on most unpaid tax bills. However, if a taxing unit mails an initial bill after January 10, that tax becomes delinquent on the first day of the next month, thus providing at least 21 days for payment. Throughout the year, tax collectors mail notices to delinquent taxpayers and take legal action to secure payment of overdue taxes, penalties and interest.

If you have questions about your taxes, you should call the appropriate taxing entity. However, if you have a question concerning your property value, exemption status, ownership or address correction, you should contact the appraisal district at 214/631-0910.