Ellis County
Property Tax Protest
77.1% Client Success Rate and $1,580 Average Savings, Serving Waxahachie, Midlothian, Ennis, Red Oak & all of Ellis County
Protest Deadline: May 15, 2026If you own a home in Ellis County, whether in Waxahachie, Midlothian, Ennis, Red Oak, or anywhere across one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas, your property tax bill is almost certainly higher than it needs to be. Protesting your Ellis County property taxes with a professional agent is the most effective way to reduce what you owe. With median home values near $418,000 and an average combined tax rate around 1.84%, the average Ellis County homeowner pays roughly $7,700 per year in property taxes. Even a modest $30,000 overvaluation costs you ~$550 every year, and that overpayment compounds each year you don’t challenge it.
Resolute serves Ellis County and in 2025 delivered an 77.1% success rate with average savings of $1,580 per client. Those aren’t projections, those are actual results from actual homeowners.
Meet Your North Texas Team
Ellis County is one of the most dynamic markets we work in right now. Population has grown over 66% since 2010, and the combination of massive new construction in Midlothian and Waxahachie, agricultural land converting to subdivisions, and DFW spillover pushing prices higher creates a perfect storm for overvaluations. ECAD is trying to keep up, but when you’re mass-appraising a county that’s adding thousands of new homes a year, individual property accuracy is the first thing to suffer. That’s where our team makes the difference.
Colby Riggs leads Resolute’s North Texas residential team, which serves Ellis County alongside Collin, Denton, Rockwall, and the broader DFW corridor. David Myre’s 15 years of property tax consulting experience and Matt Heaton’s decade inside Dallas CAD give the team deep institutional knowledge of how appraisal districts south of Dallas operate. Resolute’s proprietary data platform and comparable sales databases are particularly valuable in fast-growth counties like Ellis where new construction and agricultural conversions make accurate individual valuations difficult.
What Ellis Central Appraisal District Gets Wrong
ECAD uses mass appraisal models to value every property in the county. These models are designed for efficiency, not accuracy at the individual property level. Here’s where they consistently fall short:
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New construction comparable inflation Ellis County has over 150 new home communities actively building. Builders routinely offer incentives, rate buydowns, and closing cost credits that inflate reported sale prices. ECAD applies these builder-inflated sales as comparables for existing homes without adequately backing out the incentive value, systematically overvaluing established neighborhoods in Waxahachie, Midlothian, and Red Oak.
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Agricultural-to-residential transition zones As Ellis County’s agricultural land converts to master-planned communities at a rapid pace, ECAD struggles to draw accurate neighborhood boundaries. Properties at the edges of new developments are frequently grouped with newer, higher-value homes rather than compared against similar existing properties, creating significant overvaluations for established homeowners near conversion zones.
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Growth-rate modeling errors Ellis County’s population has surged 66% since 2010, with cities like Midlothian doubling every decade and Palmer more than doubling since 2010. ECAD’s mass appraisal models apply growth assumptions that sometimes outpace actual market conditions in specific neighborhoods, particularly in areas where infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with development.
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North-south valuation disparities Northern Ellis County cities like Midlothian and Red Oak, closer to DFW, carry significantly higher values than southern communities like Italy, Maypearl, and Ennis. ECAD’s models sometimes fail to adequately differentiate between these distinct micro-markets, applying DFW-influenced appreciation rates to areas where the actual pace of growth and demand is considerably different.
Ellis County is one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas, and ECAD is under enormous pressure to keep values in line with a market that’s adding thousands of new homes every year. The problem is that mass appraisal models are blunt instruments. When a county is growing this fast, with this much new construction, the models tend to pull existing home values up toward new-build prices without accounting for the age, condition, and lot differences that make those comparisons inaccurate.
We see it constantly in Midlothian and Waxahachie, where 10 to 15-year-old homes are being valued against brand-new construction with builder incentives baked in. Our team knows exactly how to break those comps apart and get our clients a fair value.
– Colby Riggs, North Texas Residential Lead at ResoluteWhy Resolute, We’re Not an Algorithm
Transparency matters, and our 77.1% success rate with $1,580 in average savings speaks for itself.
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We analyze your property individually using proprietary data and technology. Our agents build a case specific to your home and your neighborhood. No mass-processing. No cookie-cutter approaches.
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We file all the paperwork with ECAD and schedule your hearing. You don’t touch a single form.
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We show up for you meeting with the district on your behalf, presenting your case, and fighting for the highest reduction possible. Informal review, ARB hearing, and beyond.
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You only pay if we save you money. No reduction, no fee. That’s our promise.
Ellis County Property Tax Rates (2025)
Ellis County property taxes are calculated by multiplying your property’s taxable value by the combined rate of all applicable taxing entities. Every property in Ellis County is subject to multiple overlapping taxing jurisdictions including the county itself, your municipality, and your school district. Additional entities such as community college districts and special districts may also apply depending on your location.
| Taxing Entity | 2025 Rate (per $100) |
|---|---|
| Ellis County | $0.2740 |
| City of Waxahachie | $0.6100 |
| City of Midlothian | $0.6500 |
| City of Ennis | $0.6807 |
| City of Red Oak | Varies |
| Waxahachie ISD | $1.1681 |
| Midlothian ISD | $1.1069 |
| Red Oak ISD | $1.1033 |
| Ferris ISD | $1.1408 |
| Italy ISD | $1.0737 |
| Maypearl ISD | $0.9766 |
The combined tax rate for most Ellis County homeowners falls approximately 1.3% to 1.9% of assessed value, depending on which entities apply to your specific property. Northern Ellis County cities like Midlothian and Red Oak tend to carry higher combined rates due to their proximity to DFW and the infrastructure investments accompanying rapid growth. Southern communities like Italy, Maypearl, and Ennis generally see lower combined rates. View official Ellis County tax rates here.
How ECAD Calculates Your Assessed Value
The Ellis Central Appraisal District (ECAD) appraises all taxable property in Ellis County using a mass appraisal process. Rather than inspecting each property individually, ECAD uses statistical models to value properties simultaneously based on comparable sales, property characteristics, and neighborhood data. Your assessed value is intended to reflect the market value of your property as of January 1 of each tax year.
Two values matter on your notice: market value and assessed value. For homesteaded properties, Texas law caps the increase in assessed value at 10% per year regardless of how much market value rises. This cap is especially significant in a high-growth county like Ellis, where values in cities like Midlothian and Waxahachie have appreciated well above 10% annually in recent years. Non-homesteaded properties, including investment and rental properties, carry no such cap and can be reassessed at full market value each year.
Because ECAD is working with an exploding inventory of new construction sales, many with builder incentives that inflate reported prices, its models frequently overvalue existing homes by comparing them against new builds with very different cost structures. When your assessed value does not reflect your property’s true market value, or when comparable properties nearby are assessed lower than yours, you have grounds to protest.
Why Ellis County Assessments Keep Rising
Ellis County has been one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas for the past decade. The county’s population has surged 66% since 2010, from 150,000 to over 250,000 residents, driven by DFW’s southward expansion, relative affordability compared to Dallas and Collin Counties, strong school districts, and a wave of master-planned community development. Major employment anchors like the Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Waxahachie and the massive South Creek Dallas development in Ferris targeting 5,000 new homes continue to attract residents and push values higher.
For homesteaded properties, the 10% annual assessment cap provides some protection but does not prevent steady compounding year after year. For investment properties, new builds held as rentals, and non-homesteaded properties with no cap, the exposure is significantly greater. Protesting your assessed value annually is the only mechanism available to push back against this trend, and in a county growing this rapidly, the opportunity for a successful protest is substantial.
How to Pay Your Ellis County Property Taxes
Ellis County property tax bills are mailed in October each year and are due by January 31 of the following year without penalty. Richard Rozier, Ellis County Tax Assessor-Collector, administers tax collection for the county with offices in Waxahachie, Red Oak, Ennis, and Midlothian. Payments can be made in the following ways:
- Online: Pay at ellistaxoffice.com by credit card, debit card, or eCheck.
- By mail: Send a check payable to the Ellis County Tax Assessor-Collector to the address on your tax statement.
- In person: Visit any Ellis County Tax Office location in Waxahachie (302 N Monroe St), Red Oak, Ennis, or Midlothian. Bring your tax statement or property account number.
- Payment plans: Ellis County offers installment payment options for qualifying homesteaded properties. Contact the Tax Assessor-Collector’s office at (972) 825-5150 for details.
Taxes not paid by January 31 accrue penalty and interest beginning February 1, starting at 6% and increasing monthly to 12% by July. Delinquent accounts turned over to a collection attorney by July 1 will incur additional fees. If you are waiting on the outcome of a protest, you are still responsible for paying your taxes by the deadline to avoid penalties. Any overpayment resulting from a successful protest will be refunded.
Ellis County 2026 Protest Calendar
| Date | What Happens |
|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Valuation date, your property’s value is assessed as of this date |
| ~April 15, 2026 | ECAD expected to mail Notice of Appraised Value |
| April 30, 2026 | Deadline to file homestead exemption for 2026 |
| May 15, 2026 | Protest filing deadline (or 30 days after notice, whichever is later) |
| June, Oct 2026 | Informal reviews and ARB hearings (Resolute attends for you) |
Don’t Forget Your Exemptions
Exemptions and protests work together. Make sure you’ve filed for everything you qualify for:
General Homestead
$140,000 off school district taxes (new for 2026). File by April 30.
Over-65 / Disabled
Additional $60,000 off school taxes, plus a tax ceiling (freeze) on school district taxes.
Disabled Veteran
Partial or full exemption based on disability rating. 100% disabled veterans pay zero property tax.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the Ellis County property tax protest deadline for 2026?The Ellis County property tax protest deadline for 2026 is May 15, 2026, or 30 days after ECAD mails your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. ECAD typically begins mailing notices in April.
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How much does Resolute charge to protest in Ellis County?Resolute works on a contingency basis, you pay nothing upfront, and no fee at all unless we reduce your property tax bill. Our commission is a percentage of the actual savings we secure. If we don’t get a reduction, you owe nothing.
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Is there any risk in protesting my Ellis County property taxes?No. There is no risk to protesting your Ellis County property taxes. If ECAD does not grant a reduction, your appraisal simply remains at its current value. Your property value cannot increase as a result of filing a protest.
Let Colby’s Team Handle Your Ellis County Protest
77.1% success rate. $1,580 average savings. Real people who know your market.
No upfront fees • Only pay if you save