Every year, tens of thousands of Texas homeowners are surprised by high property tax bills. Many want to protest but don’t know how, and many others are eligible for property tax exemptions but don’t apply for them. As part of our effort to close this gap in knowledge and resources, SALSA has partnered with the City of San Antonio (NHSD) and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid to hold 14 Property Tax Protest & Exemption Workshops throughout the city.
These free sessions will provide a direct service for residents who want to challenge their property appraisals and apply for a homestead exemption before the deadline. Each event will consist of two parts: first, an educational presentation by experts on challenging appraisals—the who, when, and how of filing and winning a protest—and second, a hands-on workshop where legal volunteers will assist attendees in completing and submitting exemption forms on the spot – including homestead, disabled veteran, 65+, disability exemptions, and even tax deferral applications.
Additionally, city staff will be present to answer any questions community members may have and provide them with necessary resources from the city on a broad range of topics – from city-funded home repair programs to historic preservation. There will be at least one workshop in each city council district in an effort to provide this service to the entire community.
SALSA will be presenting on the following dates and locations:
- 2/13 Carver Library – Monday, 5 – 7 pm
- 2/20 Mission Branch – Monday, 4 –6 pm
- 2/27 Maverick Library – Monday, 4 –6 pm
- 3/6 McCreless Library – Monday, 5 –7 pm
- 3/20 San Antonio Food Bank – Monday, 4 – 6 pm
- 3/27 Ron Darner Park HQ – Monday, 4 – 7pm
- 4/3 Bibliotech EDU – Monday, 4 – 6pm
- 4/10 Cody Library, Monday, 4 – 6pm
- 4/17 Alamodome, Monday, 4 – 7pm
- 4/24 Walker Ranch Senior Center, Monday, 4 – 6pm
If you are an attorney, paralegal, or law student looking pro bono hours or to help the community, we need your help! You can volunteer to assist families with exemption applications at any one or more of these workshops by signing up for individual events on SALSA’s event calendar: www.sa-lsa.org/events. A training will be presented online on February 8th for anyone who is already signed up to volunteer, and it will be recorded and shared with anyone who signs up to volunteer after that. You will also have the assistance of mentors on site, notary services, and the help of SALSA staff to make it an easy volunteer experience.