Olney Property Taxes Likely to Rise After First Reappraisal in Years

Olney homeowners could see their property taxes increase this year after the Young County Tax Assessor’s office reappraised all properties within the city limits for the first time in several years.

County Tax Appraiser Jesse Blackmon said the update was long overdue—and necessary to avoid state intervention.

“The County is supposed to reappraise property every two years,” Mr. Blackmon said. He added that if reappraisals -- and property valuations --fall too far behind, appraisers from the State of Texas will come and do it instead. If the County fails to update property values, the state can even withhold money from the school district, he said.

Mr. Blackmon said he suspected state inspectors would step in due to the lag in reappraisals, and he was right.

“I suspected they would be out there and they were,” he said.

While Olney had avoided the steep spikes in property valuations seen elsewhere in North Texas in recent years, this reappraisal means some longtime property owners will finally see their valuations rise to catch up with the market. Homes that haven’t changed hands in decades are likely to see the largest jumps, while recently sold properties will see little to no change, Blackmon said.

The new valuations reflect a significant increase: In 2024, Olney’s market value was $185.9 million with a taxable value of $135.5 million. This year, market value rose to $245.1 million, and taxable value to $147.9 million.

Still, Mr. Blackmon stressed that state law will limit the impact on tax bills. Homestead exemptions cap increases for individual homeowners at 10 percent per year, while commercial properties are capped at 20 percent.

State law also prohibits the City from collecting more than 3.5 percent more in total property tax revenue than the previous year, meaning Olney’s tax rate will likely drop even as valuations rise.

“Even though the taxable value saw a pretty substantial jump, it won’t increase anywhere near the market value,” Mr. Blackmon said.

He added that appeals are expected but noted, “Things were so low before, we weren’t even getting many appeals. Now, even those appealing are seeing their taxes rise because the gap was so large.”