Are You Paying Too Much Property Tax in El Paso? [Probably, YES]

Are You Paying Too Much Property Tax in El Paso?

If you own a home in El Paso or Horizon City, there's a good chance that you're paying too much in property taxes. We're going to break down why and what you can do about it.

Why Property Taxes Are High in El Paso

Texas does not have state income tax. So cities rely heavily on property taxes to fund schools, roads, police, and all essential services. What matters most is your effective tax rate-that's the actual percentage of your home's appraised value that you pay in taxes each year, including all taxing entities like city, county, school district, and hospital district.

In El Paso, the effective tax rate typically sits around 2.5 to 2.6% of your home's appraised value. So on a $300,000 home, you're paying about $7,500 to $7,800 a year in property taxes. For comparison, places like Austin and Houston often have effective tax rates around 1.8 to 2%. But because home prices are higher there, people pay more in dollars, while El Paso residents pay a higher percentage to generate the revenue that the city needs.

Property Taxes in Horizon City

If you live in Horizon City, your property tax burden is a little bit higher. Many Horizon City homes have a total effective tax rate around 3 to 3.1%, which is significantly higher than in El Paso. Why? Because Horizon City homeowners pay an additional MUD or municipal utility district tax to fund water and sewer infrastructure, plus the local school district taxes on top of county and hospital taxes.

If you own a $300,000 home in Horizon City, you might be paying over $9,300 a year in property taxes.

How Home Values Are Determined

Let's look at how your home's value is actually determined for tax purposes. The El Paso Central Appraisal District, or EPCAD, does not have access to MLS data, which means they can't actually see the actual sales price of homes like yours. Instead, they rely on public deed records, questionnaires sent to new homeowners, and evidence submitted during protests to estimate property values. The key word is "estimates."

EPCAD uses a mass appraisal approach, grouping similar homes together in neighborhoods rather than looking at the unique features or condition of your specific home. As El Paso Matters reported, EPCAD openly says they don't know the individual characteristics of each property. Because of this system, home values tend to increase each year-typically around 12%-unless homeowners take action to protest.

While Texas only requires reappraisals every 3 years, EPCAD does them every single year because home prices in our area keep going up. At least in the last couple of years. Not as much this year.

How to Avoid Overpaying

Here's a simple three-step plan. Start thinking about it now because you've got some time. But number one, go to epcad.org and use the property search tool to look up your home's appraised value for 2025. You've got to know that number.

Next, check your Zestimate on Zillow or reach out to us and we can give you a sense of what your home's actual true market value is. Zillow will be close, maybe a little high. If your appraised value is significantly higher than what your home would actually sell for, consider protesting your valuation when protests open next year for 2026. It's too late for this year-that moment has passed-but next year won't be.

Protesting isn't as hard as it sounds. You can do it yourself or you can hire a company to help you through the process. Reach out to us and we can help you with some of that.

Why This Matters

El Paso and Horizon City homeowners are often paying too much in property taxes because of that high effective tax rate and an imperfect appraisal process. Next year, when you get your notice from EPCAD, don't just accept the number. Take the time to check it. Protesting your value could save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

We made this video because we had a homeowner who sold their home a month or so ago in Horizon. They were about $70,000 overvalued when they got under contract. Everything was going along pretty smoothly, but then once that buyer realized how much they were going to be paying in property taxes, they actually decided to terminate the contract and walk away. This isn't the homeowner's fault, but if they had been protesting their values and keeping their valuation lower, that situation probably would not have occurred. It's a worst case scenario, but nobody wants to pay more money than they have to.

If you're going to sell your home in the future, having a more reasonable and lower appraisal value will definitely be of great benefit to you.