Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Tax Appraisals topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Van Zandt County gets preliminary appraisal roll as commissioners set tight budget timeline
Summary
At a Van Zandt County budget workshop, officials reviewed preliminary appraisal district numbers that show taxable value rising even as market value fell and discussed legally required budget and tax-rate deadlines ahead of September adoption.
Van Zandt County officials reviewed preliminary numbers from the Van Zandt County Appraisal District and reiterated a compressed schedule for finalizing the fiscal 2026 budget and proposed tax rate.
The county received appraisal data on April 15 showing 2025 market value down compared with 2024 but taxable value up: market value fell by roughly $300 million while taxable value increased to about $6,265,282,911. County staff said certified appraisal rolls are due July 25 and that the county must file a proposed budget by July 30, with adoption and the public hearing on the tax rate scheduled for Sept. 10.
County leaders stressed the difference between market and taxable values and pointed to large amounts of agricultural and timber exemptions as a main reason taxable value diverges from market totals. They also noted pending legislative changes affecting business personal property exemptions were not yet reflected in the appraisal numbers. The legislature considered raising the business personal property exemption from $2,500 to higher amounts this session; the presenter said the final legislative decision was a $125,000 exemption and that those changes are not yet reflected in the appraisal district figures provided to the county.
County staff walked commissioners through the calendar of required steps: certification of the appraisal roll on or around July 25, budget workshops after certification, selection of a grievance committee at the July commissioner court meeting, and the Sept. 10 meeting where the court will hold the public hearing on the proposed tax rate, adopt the fiscal year 2026 budget, and adopt the tax rate. The presenter described the July 30 filing deadline for the proposed budget as required by law and emphasized the schedule leaves limited time for adjustments once appraisal values are certified.
Officials also pointed to “frozen” taxable values for homeowners 65 or older as another factor affecting calculations; those properties keep the tax base frozen at the amount set when the homeowner turned 65, subject to increases only for new improvements.
County staff requested commissioners review the appraisal materials and said department-level budget workshops would follow the appraisal certification.
The county did not take formal votes during the workshop; the session was used to review numbers and set the schedule that will shape required public hearings and final budget adoption in September.
