Williamson Central Appraisal District briefs Taylor council on values, homestead cap and legislative changes

Alvin Langford, chief appraiser for the Williamson Central Appraisal District, told the Taylor City Council on July 10 that the city's total market value rose substantially in 2025, driven largely by industrial additions including Samsung, and reviewed recent and pending state legislation that will affect tax rolls and exemptions.

Langford said the city's total market value rose from about $4.02 billion in 2024 to roughly $5.23 billion in 2025, and that commercial value had grown especially rapidly. "Now, it's up to $2,200,000,000 in commercial value for '25," he said.

He explained how Texas homestead and circuit-breaker caps affect assessed value: "The homestead provides for a 10% cap on the assessed value, but not the market value," Langford said. That 10% cap limits year-to-year increases in assessed value for homesteaded residences even when market value jumps.

Langford summarized bills from the most recent legislative session and their local effects. He said Senate Bill 4 would raise the homestead exemption to $140,000 and would appear on the November ballot; House Bill 9 creates a $125,000 exemption for business personal property and is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2026. He also described a transparency bill that will allow appraisal sketches and street-level images to be posted online. He said some temporary caps that limit increases on non-homesteaded properties (the so-called circuit breaker) were not extended and will expire after 2026.

Langford described tools WCAD has added for taxpayer transparency, including a sales-comparison grid accompanying many appraisal notices and a Power BI dashboard for taxing-unit data. He walked council through why modeled values and recent sales can push appraised values higher and noted that appraisal districts are audited by the state comptroller's property-value study to ensure values are at market.

Council members pressed Langford on effects to downtown commercial property owners and small businesses, asking whether sales tied to outside investment (which some council members said inflated local sale prices) must be used in valuations. Langford said the district uses sales to adjust models and that if sales are anomalous they can be treated as outliers, but when they become the market the district must recognize those sales to avoid risking state funding to local school districts.

Council action: Mayor Pro Tem Semeric made a motion to receive the WCAD presentation as presented; Councilwoman Cobb seconded. The motion passed by voice vote.