Prior year value is your property's assessed value from last year, shown on your current Notice of Appraised Value for comparison. It helps you see how much your assessment changed and understand your homestead cap calculation.
Comparing current to prior year value reveals the year-over-year increase driving your tax change. A large jump might signal an error or aggressive valuation worth protesting. A small change might mean your value is already reasonable.
In Texas, the prior year value is also the basis for calculating your 10% homestead cap limit.
Your prior year value tells a story. Use it to evaluate whether your current value makes sense:
Big increase (15%+):
• Did your home really appreciate that much?
• Were there errors last year that are "corrected" now?
• Is the county catching up after undervaluing?
• Strong protest opportunity if market didn't rise accordingly
Small increase (0-5%):
• Value may already be reasonable
• Less urgent to protest
• Still worth checking against market data
Decrease:
• County acknowledged market decline
• Verify the new value is accurate
• No protest needed unless still too high
Reading prior year value on your notice:
Prior year assessed value: $380,000
Current market value: $450,000
Change: +$70,000 (18.4% increase)
10% cap calculation:
$380,000 × 1.10 = $418,000 maximum capped value
Current capped value: $418,000
(You're protected from the full $70,000 increase)
Taxable value: $318,000
(After $100,000 homestead exemption)
Without the cap, you'd be taxed on $350,000. The cap saves you from $32,000 in taxable value this year.
Several reasons: rising market values in your area, the county correcting prior undervaluation, new improvements or permits, or errors in current records. Large increases are worth investigating—and often worth protesting.
Yes. The size of the increase doesn't determine whether you're overassessed. Even a small increase could put you above market value. Compare your current assessed value to actual comparable sales, not just to last year's number.
Last year's value is finalized—you can't change it now. But if it was too low, the county may be "correcting" it this year with a big increase. Focus your protest on whether the CURRENT value exceeds market value, regardless of history.