A house in University Park appraised at $1.76 million in 2023.
Shafkat Anowar/Staff Photographer
As homeowners across Texas continue to contend with notoriously high property taxes, Hearst Newspapers is launching a new property tax protest tool, TX Tax, in the major markets of Austin, San Antonio and Houston as well as Dallas.
The April 16 launch represents the statewide expansion of a property tax protest guide produced last year by the Houston Chronicle, which offered a set of tools for Harris County homeowners looking to challenge their assessments.
Article continues below this ad
That tool was nominated for Best Innovation by the International News Media Association, Hearst Newspapers noted in a news release, and found a receptive audience among homeowners in the region.
“Property taxes are a reality for Texas homeowners, but the process of reviewing and protesting assessments can feel daunting. TX Tax is designed to make that process clearer and more accessible,” said Nancy Meyer, president and publisher of the Houston Chronicle, in a statement announcing the launch. “By putting powerful data and AI directly in readers’ hands, homeowners have better information about their property assessments.”
TX TAX: A smarter way to protest — get what you need to build a strong case
Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.
Add Preferred Source
While Texas is considered a low-tax state, it has one of the highest effective property tax rates in the United States, according to the Tax Foundation. There is no state income tax in Texas, meaning the state relies heavily on sales taxes and property taxes, which are levied locally, to fund basic services such as infrastructure and public education.
Article continues below this ad
In addition to that, Texas’ biggest cities have seen home values skyrocket over the past 10 years, and many rapidly growing communities have raised property taxes to cover new or expanded services. These dynamics have sent property-tax assessments soaring, particularly in the state’s major metro areas.
A successful protest to a property tax appraisal has the effect of lowering a homeowner’s property tax burden, but the protest process itself can be difficult to navigate. The Houston Chronicle’s tool proved to be “a major subscription driver” after it launched last year, Hearst Newspapers said.
TX Tax will use data from county appraisal districts and information about comparable properties to help homeowners understand their property tax
assessments and customize arguments for challenges they might file, with a script-builder powered by generative AI. Covered counties will include Fort Bend, Montgomery, Bexar, Travis and Dallas as well as Harris.
Article continues below this ad
PROPERTY TAXES: What is a property tax appraisal protest?
Hearst Newspapers is a division of The Hearst Corp., a privately held media and information company headquartered in New York, and the parent company of newspapers including the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News. Hearst’s portfolio in the state expanded significantly in
2025 with the acquisitions of the Austin American-Statesman and The Dallas Morning News.
“The TX Tax tool is a great example of the type of portfolio expansion we envision now that we are a part of Hearst Newspapers,” said Dallas Morning News president and publisher Grant Moise.
Article continues below this ad
“Our goal with this product is to help North Texans feel empowered to and equipped to handle the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives.”
By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy.
The expansion of TX Tax also represents a milestone for Hearst Newspapers, the company noted, as one of its first Texas-wide product initiatives. TX Tax will be a standalone subscription product, with a discounted rate available to current subscribers of the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-
News, Dallas Morning News and Austin American-Statesman.
Article continues below this ad
“It’s a natural extension of our journalism and a clear example of how we’re evolving to meet the needs of our subscribers in new ways,” Meyer said.
The TX Tax property tax guide will help you build a strong case and file a property tax protest with confidence.
The Dallas Morning News