Johnson County tax bills hit $7,300 for the median Cleburne or Burleson home in 2026. Keene's 2.58% combined rate is one of the highest in DFW. Don't pay another year's worth of overassessment.
β Licensed Texas Tax Pros β JCAD experts, not bots
β 25% Contingency β Half what O'Connor charges
β File in 3 Minutes β Even on May 14
β No Win, No Fee β Zero risk to try
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Johnson County tax bills hit $7,300 for the median Cleburne or Burleson home in 2026. Keene's 2.58% combined rate is one of the highest in DFW. Don't pay another year's worth of overassessment.
β Licensed Texas Tax Pros β JCAD experts, not bots
β 25% Contingency β Half what O'Connor charges
β File in 3 Minutes β Even on May 14
β No Win, No Fee β Zero risk to try
If you just opened your 2026 JCAD notice and felt your stomach drop, you're not alone. Johnson County's median home value sits around $332,000 in 2026, and at the county's combined effective tax rate of 1.7β2.6% (Keene homeowners face the highest rate at 2.58%), the average homeowner pays $7,300+ annually in property taxes. With Burleson, Cleburne, Joshua, and Alvarado growing rapidly as Tarrant County spillover, thousands of Johnson homeowners are overpaying right now.
The Central Appraisal District of Johnson County (JCAD) deadline to protest your 2026 assessment is May 15, 2026 β or 30 days after your Notice of Appraised Value was mailed, whichever is later. Notices typically arrive in April. Miss the deadline and you're locked into your 2026 valuation for the entire year, with no path to challenge it short of proving "good cause" under a narrow legal standard. Not knowing about the deadline is not considered good cause.
Here's the math on waiting at Keene's 2.58% rate: a $30,000 overassessment costs you $774 per year. At Cleburne's lower rate, the same overassessment costs around $560. Most overassessments we see are $30,000β$80,000+, putting the annual overpayment at $560β$2,064. Wait three years and that's $1,680β$6,192 you'll never recover.
Johnson County stretches across 734 square miles of mixed urban, suburban, and rural property β a diverse mix that mass-appraisal models handle poorly. JCAD relies on automated systems that work reasonably well for cookie-cutter Burleson subdivisions but routinely miss the mark on:
Here's the data JCAD doesn't put on the front page. In 2024, over 20,000 protests were filed with JCAD, with an average savings of $1,307 per client. JCAD also commissioned an independent organizational audit in 2026 β published on their website β to evaluate operations, governance, and service delivery. That kind of transparency review usually only happens when systemic concerns exist, and the high success rate of informal and formal appeals tends to indicate that systemic problems with overvaluation persist. Your neighbors figured out the system. The question is whether you'll capture your share of those savings or pay the inflated bill another year.
Following voter approval of Proposition 13 in November 2025 and the passage of Texas Senate Bill 4, the school district homestead exemption increased to $140,000 (up from $100,000). For Johnson homeowners with a homestead in Burleson ISD, Cleburne ISD, Joshua ISD, Godley ISD, or Alvarado ISD, that's an automatic $700β$1,800 in annual school tax savings β but only on the value JCAD assigns. If JCAD overstates your home's value, you lose meaningful exemption benefit. That's why protesting your assessment in 2026 matters more than ever: a winning protest stacks on top of the new $140K exemption to maximize your total tax reduction.
Johnson County is one of the fastest-growing Tarrant spillover counties, which means real estate investors holding rental property here are facing aggressive year-over-year assessment increases β with no homestead cap to limit them. JCAD can raise your rental assessment by 30%, 40%, or more in a single year, and at Keene's 2.58% combined rate or Burleson's 2.5%+ MUD rates, every dollar of overassessment compounds. That's why Burleson landlords with single-family rentals, Cleburne small multifamily owners, and Joshua investment-property owners are some of the most overtaxed property owners in DFW. Annual protests aren't optional β they're required for portfolio ROI. See our portfolio service for Texas landlords β
We're not a software-only platform that submits boilerplate forms and hopes for the best. Our licensed Texas property tax consultants build property-by-property evidence packages tailored to JCAD's review criteria β recent comparable sales pulled from your specific Johnson neighborhood (Burleson, Cleburne, Joshua, Alvarado, Keene, etc.), property-specific condition documentation (clay soil foundation issues common in older Cleburne homes), Godley ISD/MUD-area context when applicable, and unequal-appraisal arguments comparing premium new construction to older homes that JCAD lumps together. We file the protest with JCAD through True Prodigy Taxpayer Portal, handle informal negotiations, and represent you at the ARB hearing if needed. You never sit through paperwork or step into the appraisal district office at 109 N. Main St in Cleburne.
Most national property tax protest firms charge 50% of your first-year savings. TaxDrop charges 25%. That means on a typical $1,307 Johnson reduction β the 2024 county-wide average savings β you keep $980 instead of $653. There's no upfront fee, no enrollment cost, no fee at all unless we successfully reduce your taxes. If JCAD doesn't lower your assessment, you owe us nothing. Zero risk to try.
Enter your Johnson County property address below. We'll pull your JCAD assessment, run a comparable-sales analysis, show you your estimated savings instantly, and β if it makes sense β file your 2026 protest before the May 15 deadline. We accept signups right up to the last day of the protest window and can file same-day in urgent cases. Don't lose another year to an inflated assessment.
Own property across the DFW metro? We file in all 254 Texas counties. Nearby high-value markets:
Signup to have TaxDrop take care of your assessment protest for you. It takes less than 3 minutes to enroll and there is no fee if we don't win.
Step 1: Sign Up in 3 Minutes β Enter your Johnson County property address. We'll pull your JCAD assessment, run a comparable-sales analysis, and show you your estimated savings instantly. Free. No credit card.
Step 2: We Build Your Evidence Package β Our licensed Texas property tax consultants pull recent comparable sales from your specific Johnson neighborhood, document property-specific issues (clay soil foundation issues, condition, MUD-area context), and build unequal-appraisal arguments β especially powerful in mixed Burleson developments where new master-planned homes inflate comps for older subdivisions.
Step 3: We File With JCAD Before May 15 β We submit your formal protest electronically through the True Prodigy Taxpayer Portal, ensuring all paperwork is correct and on time. You'll never touch a form.
Step 4: We Negotiate Informally First β Many Johnson protests settle informally before any formal hearing. We push for the largest reduction possible without forcing an ARB hearing.
Step 5: We Represent You at ARB If Needed β When informal offers fall short, we go to the Appraisal Review Board on your behalf. JCAD's 2026 organizational audit indicates more transparent ARB processes β a win for property owners. You don't attend. We present, you save.
Step 6: You Save. We Get Paid 25%. β JCAD finalizes your reduced assessment. Your tax bill reflects the savings. We invoice 25% of what we won you. If we didn't win a reduction, you owe nothing.
2026 Johnson County Stats
2026 Filing Deadlines
JCAD Contact
Cities Served
The deadline to file a property tax protest in Johnson County for 2026 is May 15, 2026, or 30 days after the date your Notice of Appraised Value was mailed by JCAD β whichever is later. Notices typically arrive in April. The deadline is strictly enforced under Texas Property Tax Code; missing it locks you into your 2026 valuation for the entire year. TaxDrop accepts signups right up to the deadline and can file same-day in urgent cases.
Johnson County homeowners who win their protest typically save $1,000β$3,500 annually, with the 2024 county-wide average savings hitting $1,307 per protested account. On a $332,000 home β Johnson's median value β that's $700β$2,500 in real savings every year. Keene homeowners often see the biggest dollar reductions because Keene's 2.58% combined rate amplifies every assessment dollar reduced.
In 2024, over 22,000 protests were filed with JCAD, with an average savings of $1,307 per client. JCAD also commissioned an independent organizational audit in 2026 to evaluate operations and governance β a transparency review that typically signals systemic concerns. The high success rate of informal and formal appeals tends to indicate that systemic overvaluation problems persist.
Keene carries the highest combined tax rate in Johnson County at 2.58%. Cresson has the lowest at just 0.82%. The difference comes from city, school district, and special-district rates layered on top of the base county rate. For Keene homeowners, this makes protesting especially valuable: every dollar of assessment reduction we win compounds at a higher rate than in lower-rate Johnson cities.
Following voter approval of Proposition 13 in November 2025, the Texas school district homestead exemption increased to $140,000 (up from $100,000). For Johnson homeowners, that's an automatic $700β$1,800 in annual school tax savings β but only on the value JCAD assigns. If JCAD overstates your home's value, you lose meaningful exemption benefit. Winning a protest stacks on top of the exemption: you reduce the assessed value first, then the exemption applies, multiplying your total savings.
TaxDrop charges 25% of the actual tax savings we win you β half what most national competitors charge. There's no upfront fee, no enrollment cost, no subscription. If we don't reduce your assessment, you owe nothing. For comparison, O'Connor charges 50% of first-year savings. On a typical $1,307 Johnson reduction (the 2024 county-wide average), that's an extra $327 in your pocket every year.
Yes β and Johnson County investors are some of our highest-savings clients. Burleson is one of the fastest-growing Tarrant spillover markets, which means rapid value growth and aggressive JCAD assessments β but no homestead cap to limit them on rentals. We handle protests for single-family rentals, duplexes, fourplexes, and small multifamily across Cleburne, Burleson, Joshua, Keene, Alvarado, and Godley. See our portfolio service for Texas landlords β
Yes. Visit johnsoncad.com or esearch.johnsoncad.com and search by your property address to view JCAD's current appraised value, exemptions, and tax history. Or enter your address into TaxDrop and we'll pull the assessment, run a comparable-sales analysis, and show you your estimated savings instantly β at no cost.
Most Johnson County protests resolve in 60β150 days from filing to final decision. Most settle through informal negotiations with JCAD before formal hearings. Cases that proceed to the Appraisal Review Board typically take 90β180 days, with hearings concentrated between May and August. You'll never have to attend a hearing yourself β TaxDrop's licensed consultants handle every step.
All of them. We file JCAD protests for properties in Cleburne, Burleson, Joshua, Keene, Alvarado, Godley, Grandview, Venus, Cresson, and every unincorporated area in the county. Whether your property is in a master-planned Burleson community or a historic Cleburne neighborhood, we represent you with the same licensed-consultant team and 25% contingency fee.