Mission Statement of the Ellis Appraisal District

 To provide diligent stewardship in appraising property and administering the Texas Property Tax Code delivered through excellent service to the property owners of Ellis County performed by a well-trained and responsive team.

Welcome to the Ellis Appraisal District Website

The Board of Directors, Management and Staff welcome you to use the information on this website. We want you to be informed about the responsibilities of the appraisal district and your rights as a property owner.
Appraisal districts were created and are governed by the Texas Property Tax Code. The Property Tax Code was created in 1979 by legislation known as the Peveto bill. Prior to the creation of appraisal districts all taxing entities had their own appraisal staff. Properties were often listed on different taxing entities rolls at dramatically different appraised values and assessment ratios were also applied with no uniformity between entities. The Peveto bill created one appraisal district within each county to appraise properties for all taxing entities at 100% market value with fairness and equity and abolished assessment ratios. The plan was to create a level playing field where no one would be subject to paying taxes based on more or less than their fair share.

Market values change and because the appraisal district has the responsibility to reflect the market, we work diligently to accurately appraise properties fairly and equitably.

If you believe your property is appraised above your opinion of its market value and it is prior to the certification of the appraisal roll in late July, we want to talk to you to insure the accuracy of your market value. There are certain circumstances where changes to the roll can occur after certification, but they are limited. Please refer to the Topical Information button for a pamphlet on Property Taxpayer Remedies for a more thorough explanation.

The appraised value is only one component of your taxes. The other component is the tax rate. The taxing entities, once an appraisal roll is certified to them, go through a process to adopt a tax rate. It is important for you to understand that if values increase then there are more dollars for the entities to spread their budget over. Increases in value can mean decreases in rates. If overall values increase and the rate stays the same as last year, it is a tax increase. You may have a voice in rate adoption by attending the adoption hearings for your taxing entities. With both components, your value divided by $100 times the adopted tax rate, your taxes or levy is calculated.

We as the appraisal district have many responsibilities and must be good stewards making sure we do our jobs well. You as a property owner have many rights and it is important that you are involved in the process of both value and rate. With all of us, the appraisal district, taxing entities and you, working together we can accomplish the fair and equitable distribution of the taxes that fund our public education and community services.

In service to you,

Kathy Rodrigue
Chief Appraiser