Two Separate Offices Handle Your Property Taxes

Two addresses on two different streets in Hempstead run your property taxes, and they don't do the same job. The Waller County Appraisal District, at 900 13th St., decides what your property is worth for tax purposes, and that's all it does. It never sends a bill or takes a dollar. If you think your value is too high, the WCAD is where you protest.

A few blocks over at 730 9th St., the Waller County Tax Assessor-Collector handles the money: the bills, the payments, and your vehicle registration. Your one bill actually stitches together rates from about 48 separate taxing units (school districts, cities, and utility districts), each of which sets its own rate. So a high bill isn't one office's doing; it's the sum of everyone who taxes your patch of ground. Protest the value at the WCAD; pay and ask about the bill at the tax office.