Property Tax Resources · Cherokee County, Texas
Cherokee County
Property Taxes
Deep East Texas timber and poultry country — where a 2.1% effective rate and rising values are pressing families in Jacksonville and Rusk.
Property Tax Resources · Cherokee County, Texas
Deep East Texas timber and poultry country — where a 2.1% effective rate and rising values are pressing families in Jacksonville and Rusk.
Source: County debt — Texas Bond Review Board, FY2025 (no outstanding county bond debt reported).
🔴 2026
Cherokee County covers 1,052 square miles of rolling East Texas pine forest, with Rusk as the county seat and Jacksonville as the largest city. Timber operations, poultry production, and a growing retirement and recreational property market have shaped appraisal patterns here for decades. The county borders Smith, Rusk, Angelina, Nacogdoches, Houston, Anderson, and Henderson counties — a crossroads of rural East Texas where property values have been moving in ways that deserve an annual second look.
In 2023, Cherokee County property owners who filed formal protests achieved reductions in about 3.9% of cases, with total savings around $1.96 million. Informal hearings before the ARB produced additional savings. The protest rate has been climbing steadily toward 3% of all parcels. If you’re not protesting, you may be paying more than your property is worth.
Official CAD site — appraisal notices, exemption applications, and district contact information.
Search your property record at Cherokee CAD, view current appraised value, and verify exemption status.
Cherokee CAD accepts protest filings. Find protest procedures and forms on the official site.
Every taxing entity’s proposed rate, adopted rate, and public hearing schedule for Cherokee County.
Enter the date your Notice of Appraised Value was mailed to find your exact filing deadline.
Every taxing unit in Cherokee County — Jacksonville ISD, Rusk ISD, Alto ISD, the county, and cities — must publish its proposed rate and hold a public hearing before adopting any rate exceeding the no-new-revenue rate. These meetings are open. Your voice is on the record.
View Cherokee County Tax Rates →Photo: Cherokee County Courthouse, Rusk, Texas. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.
| Taxing Entity | Type | Rate (2025 adopted) |
|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County | County | $0.4900/$100 |
| Alto ISD | School District | $1.0569/$100 |
| Bullard ISD | School District | $1.2469/$100 |
| Carlisle ISD | School District | $1.1151/$100 |
| Jacksonville ISD | School District | $1.0619/$100 |
| New Summerfield ISD | School District | $1.0203/$100 |
| Rusk ISD | School District | $0.7817/$100 |
| Troup ISD | School District | $0.8324/$100 |
| Wells ISD | School District | $0.9119/$100 |
2025 adopted rates per Texas Comptroller Tax Rates & Levies (source). City, MUD, college and other special-district rates may also apply depending on your parcel. Your total depends on which districts your property falls in — verify current rates at your county appraisal district.
What your Notice means and exactly what to do — and by when — after it arrives.
How the Texas homestead exemption lowers your taxable value, including recent changes.
When a property tax consultant is worth it for protesting your appraisal.
Lesser-known special valuations that can cut the taxable value of qualifying land.
The state office that oversees appraisal districts and protects taxpayers.
Who sets your county’s values and why that role matters to your bill.
Search your account at cherokeecad.com. Know your Notice of Appraised Value and the deadline printed on it.
File online, by mail, or in person: Cherokee Central Appraisal District, 107 East Sixth Street, Rusk, TX 75785. Deadline: May 15, 2026 or 30 days after your notice.
Recent comparable sales, your purchase price, photos of condition issues, and repair estimates all strengthen your case.
Before your ARB hearing, a CAD appraiser may offer to settle. Review any offer carefully before accepting.
The Appraisal Review Board is independent of the CAD. Present your evidence clearly. Most hearings run 15–30 minutes.
Disagree with the ARB ruling? You may appeal to district court, binding arbitration, or SOAH (properties over $1 million).
“No person’s particular services shall be demanded, nor property taken or applied to public use, unless by the consent of himself or his representative, without just compensation being made therefor.”
— Section 13, Declaration of Rights, Republic of Texas, 1836The people of Cherokee County — in Jacksonville, Rusk, Alto, and the scattered timber-country communities between — built something real on this East Texas land. When the appraisal district assigns a value that doesn’t reflect reality, the remedy is the same as the founders intended: show up, present the evidence, and insist on fairness. The protest process belongs to you. Use it. Look up your value. File your protest. Attend the hearings. The people setting these rates work for you — as long as you hold them to it.
