The assessment date (also called the appraisal date or valuation date) is the point in time when your property's value is legally established for tax purposes. Your assessed value reflects what your property was worth "as of" this date—not when you receive your notice or pay your taxes.
In Texas, the assessment date is January 1 of each year. Your 2024 property taxes are based on your property's value as of January 1, 2024, regardless of what happens to the market later in the year.
California uses a different system where the base year value (your purchase date) is the key date, increasing up to 2% annually under Prop 13.
Understanding the assessment date helps you build stronger protest arguments and know what evidence matters:
What counts:
• Sales data from around January 1
• Your property's condition on January 1
• Market conditions as of January 1
What doesn't count for THIS year:
• Improvements made after January 1
• Damage that occurred after January 1
• Market changes after January 1
If your roof leaked in March, that damage doesn't affect this year's assessment (it might affect next year's). But if it was leaking on January 1, document it for your protest.
How the January 1 assessment date works in Texas:
January 1, 2024: Legal "snapshot" of your property's condition and value
February-April: Appraisal district analyzes sales and sets values
April-May: You receive your Notice of Appraised Value
May-July: Protest period and hearings
October: Tax bills mailed (based on January 1 value)
January 31, 2025: Payment due
Even though you don't see your value until April and don't pay until the following January, the value is legally based on January 1 conditions.
Market declines after the assessment date don't affect the current year's value—only next year's assessment. You can only protest based on conditions and values as of January 1.
No. You can sell anytime. But the January 1 assessment determines who owes what in property taxes. Taxes are prorated at closing based on the assessed value, regardless of sale price.
Improvements completed after January 1 won't increase your assessment until the following year. However, permitted construction that was underway may be partially assessed. New construction may be assessed when completed.