Protest Midland Property Tax - Reduction from Lawsuits $5 MM / Year
It is hard to nail a dramatic ending, and this certainly includes judicial appeals. The last step in a long protest journey for the most expensive real estate in Midland County, these district court cases nearly always end in a settlement in favor of the taxpayer. In fact, in 2024,100% of judicial appeals were settled by Midland Central Appraisal District (MCAD). Build your legal team when you join O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today and get your legal team built for you. Enroll, relax, and save.
How the Judicial Appeals Were ResolvedSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Judicial Appeals | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Number of Judicial Appeals Resolved | 7.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 12.00 | 10.00 | 8.00 | 25.00 | 27.00 | 28.00 | 19.00 |
| By Agreed Judgment | 4.00 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 10.00 | 9.00 | 8.00 | 25.00 | 26.00 | 27.00 | 19.00 |
| By Court Judgment or Other | 3.00 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0 |
Texas property owners should protest annually since An annual appeal is an insurance policy to avoid major increases.
MCAD Judicial Appeal Resolutions
Because the barrier of entry to even file a judicial appeal is so high, having the right legal team and evidence is the real challenge. O’Connor can help by finding the right lawyers, expert witnesses, and evidence, making your lawsuit against MCAD a cakewalk. There is no cost to join, and you only pay if O’Connor lowers your taxes.
MCAD Judicial Appeal Resolution Summary
Any taxpayer with the resources to make it to the judicial appeal stage can easily intimidate MCAD, as it means they have the legal team and evidence to eviscerate the CAD’s values. This means that MCAD will do whatever it takes to settle the case. In 2024, this meant surrendering to the taxpayer 100% of the time. 19 judicial appeals in total were settled out of court in favor of the plaintiff, representing tax cuts to the most premium properties in the county.
Appraised Value (ARB) of Resolved Judicial AppealsSource: 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 | |
| Appraised Value (ARB) | 0.06 | 0.12 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.06 | 0.09 | 0.48 | 0.38 | 0.29 | 0.98 |
Texas property owners should protest annually since To maintain their rights to appeal to or through the judicial appeal process. Owners must exhaust administrative options to pursue binding arbitration or a judicial appeal
Appraised Value of Resolved Judicial Appeals
While there were only a handful of lawsuits in 2024, they did manage to easily set the record for the most value contested in the county’s history. Considering there were 28 lawsuits in 2023, compared to 2024’s 19, that means that only the most premium real estate was decided at the ultimate level. While this type of litigation can be up-and-down thanks to how courts work, this was still an impressive achievement.
Value Reduction from Judicial AppealsSource: 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 Reduction from Judicial Appeals | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.09 | 0.46 |
| Single Family | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 |
| Multi-Family | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.20 |
| Commercial | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.22 |
| All Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.04 |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a responsibility of ownership. Large commercial owners generally appeal annually and obtain a reduction. Why should homeowners be excluded?
MCAD Taxpayer Value Reduction
from Judicial Appeals
2024 saw more value returned via litigation than the previous decade combined. $460 million in value was cut, easily dwarfing any year that came before. This was thanks to both multi family and commercial properties. Commercial properties accounted for $220 million, while apartments were responsible for $200 million. Oil and gas managed to land a reduction of $40 million.
Tax Savings From Judicial AppealsSource: 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 Tax Reduction | 0.57 | 0.46 | 0.26 | 0.34 | 0.42 | 0.51 | 0.61 | 0.39 | 1.19 | 1.99 | 9.74 |
| Single Family | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0.15 |
| Multi-Family | 0.28 | 0 | 0.02 | 0.11 | 0.21 | 0.31 | 0.42 | 0.17 | 0.64 | 1.11 | 4.22 |
| Commercial | 0.20 | 0.44 | 0.24 | 0.19 | 0.15 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.18 | 0.53 | 0.88 | 4.59 |
| All Other | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0.03 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0 | 0.78 |
Texas property owners should protest annually since The appraisal district uses inaccurate data, factors and an inaccurate model to estimate values. Half are too high and half too low; very few are just right. Even if you are under-valued on market value, you can appeal on unequal appraisal.
MCAD Property Tax Reduction from Judicial Appeals
With the many records broken in 2024, it should be no surprise that the most taxes ever were reduced that year. Over $9.74 million was cut from the tax rolls. In comparison, only $1.99 million was saved in 2023, which had been the previous record holder. Thanks to only a few properties being contested, this implies that the value of businesses across Midland County is rapidly increasing.
$4.59 million of this came from commercial real estate, while apartments were able to slice $4.22 million. Oil and gas saw a strong reduction of $780,000. These three property types all set their respective records easily. Single family homes were not part of the equation, but homes are rarely protested in Midland County. With growing wealth in the county, it is only a matter of time before single family residences appear on the docket.