To protest property taxes in Texas, file a written Notice of Protest with your county’s central appraisal district by May 15 or within 30 days of the date on your appraisal notice, whichever is later, then back up your challenge with comparable sales, photos of condition issues, and the district’s own evidence packet at an informal meeting and, if needed, a formal hearing before the Appraisal Review Board. Most protests settle at the informal stage. The homeowners who get the biggest reductions are the ones who show up with organized data and know a few procedural rules the district would rather you didn’t.
File on Time and Check Both Boxes
Texas Tax Code Section 41.44 sets the window. For most properties you have until May 15, or 30 days after the appraisal district mails your notice of appraised value, whichever is later. Look at the date printed on your notice, count forward 30 days, and use the later of the two. Miss the deadline and you lose your right to contest the value for that tax year.1State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.44
In counties over 120,000 people, the standard filing document is Comptroller Form 50-132. Smaller counties use a close variant, and every district posts the correct form on its website.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Owner’s Notice of Protest for Counties with Populations Greater than 120,000 Form 50-132
When you fill it out, check both boxes: “Value is over market value” and “Value is unequal compared with other properties.” These are two separate legal arguments. The first says your home wouldn’t actually sell for what the district claims. The second says you’re assessed higher than comparable homes nearby, regardless of what any of them would fetch. Checking both at filing preserves both arguments for the hearing; you don’t have to pick one until you present.
Most districts offer online portals that give you an instant confirmation. If you file on paper, send it certified mail with a return receipt so you have proof it arrived. After processing, the district mails a Notice of Hearing with your scheduled date and time.
If you’d rather not handle it yourself, Texas Tax Code Section 1.111 lets you authorize an agent in writing on a Comptroller-prescribed form. That’s how property tax consultants represent homeowners.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 1-111 – Representation of Property Owner
Know Which Number You’re Actually Fighting
Your appraisal notice shows two figures: market value and appraised value. Market value is what the district thinks your home would sell for. Appraised value is the number that drives your taxes.4Texas Comptroller. Valuing Property
If you have a homestead exemption, Texas caps how fast the appraised value can rise: no more than 10 percent per year plus the value of new construction. So the appraised number may already be well below market. Protesting still pays off, because the inflated market value becomes the starting point for next year’s cap calculation. Pull the market value down now and you keep the capped value from ratcheting up later. Without a homestead exemption, there’s no cap at all and your taxes track market value directly, which makes protesting even more valuable.
To qualify for the homestead cap in the first place, file Form 50-114 with your appraisal district by April 30 of the tax year. The cap takes effect the January 1 after you first qualify.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Application for Residence Homestead Exemption Form 50-114
Build Evidence the Panel Actually Responds To
Appraisers and ARB panels decide on data, not frustration about high taxes. Three categories of evidence do the work.
Comparable Sales
Find homes similar to yours, in the same neighborhood or close by, that sold for less than your appraised value. “Similar” means close in square footage, age, lot size, and features. Aim for sales that closed within the past year, ideally before January 1 of the current tax year, because that’s the valuation date. Real estate websites, your county clerk’s records, and local real estate agents are all workable sources.
Condition Problems
If your home has issues the district doesn’t know about, document them. Foundation problems, roof damage, outdated plumbing or electrical, deferred maintenance. Photographs plus written contractor estimates with specific dollar amounts. A $15,000 foundation repair estimate is concrete evidence for a reduction. A vague complaint about cracks in the wall is not.
The District’s Own Evidence Packet
Under Texas Tax Code Section 41.461, the chief appraiser must tell you at least 14 days before your hearing that you can request copies of the data, schedules, formulas, and other information the district plans to use against you. Request it immediately.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41-461 – Notice of Certain Matters Before Hearing; Delivery of Requested Information Their packet reveals which comparables the district picked and how it calculated your value, so you can walk in with specific rebuttals showing where their comparables are larger, newer, or more updated than your house.
Shifting the Burden of Proof
For properties the district values at $1 million or less, there’s a tool most homeowners never hear about. Hire a licensed appraiser to produce a USPAP-compliant appraisal and deliver it to both the chief appraiser and the ARB at least 14 days before your hearing. The appraisal must be performed within 180 days of the hearing. Do that, and the burden flips: the district now has to prove its value by clear and convincing evidence, a much higher legal bar. If it can’t, the ARB must rule in your favor.7Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Informational Guide to Model Hearing Procedures for Appraisal Review Boards
A professional appraisal costs money, but for a valuable property facing a big jump, the tax savings often dwarf the fee. It also signals that you’ve done serious homework, which sometimes produces a better offer at the informal stage.
The Informal Meeting
Before any formal hearing, you’ll usually sit down one-on-one with a staff appraiser. This is a negotiation, not a hearing. Staff appraisers can adjust values on the spot if your data is solid, and this is where most protests actually get resolved.
Bring organized copies of everything: your comparable sales printed cleanly, your photographs, your repair estimates, and the district’s evidence packet with your notes on it. Walk the appraiser through your strongest points. If their comparables are significantly larger, newer, or more updated than your home, say so plainly.
If you agree on a number, you’ll sign a settlement and waiver, that value becomes final for the year, and you give up the right to go further. If the offer feels low, you’re free to decline. Declining just moves your case to the ARB, where a fresh panel takes a new look. Don’t let the convenience of settling push you into a value your evidence can beat.
The ARB Hearing
Cases that don’t settle go to the Appraisal Review Board, a panel of local citizens independent of the appraisal district. Everyone is sworn in. You and the district representative each present evidence and can question each other. Hearings are typically scheduled for about 15 minutes, so every minute counts.8BEXAR APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD. 2023 ARB Hearing Procedures
Lead with your best evidence. If you have three strong comparable sales, put those front and center. If the district’s comparables don’t match your property, explain exactly how. If you filed an independent appraisal to shift the burden, remind the panel that the district now has to meet the clear-and-convincing standard. State your opinion of value at the end.
After both sides finish, the panel deliberates and issues an Order of Determination with your final appraised value, delivered by certified mail or email. If you win, the chief appraiser notifies the taxing units and your bill adjusts.9Texas Comptroller. Appraisal Protests and Appeals
Keep Paying While You Protest
Filing a protest does not pause your tax bill. The delinquency date stays the same. Texas law requires you to pay taxes on the undisputed portion of your value by that date, or you can forfeit your right to continue the protest or appeal.10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 42.08 – Forfeiture of Remedy for Nonpayment of Taxes
Say the district values your home at $400,000 and you argue for $350,000. Pay taxes on at least $350,000 by the deadline. If you genuinely can’t afford to pay, you can file an oath of inability to pay, and if the ARB or court finds that prepayment would unreasonably restrict your access to the process, you may be excused. That’s an exception, not the default. The safer move is to pay the undisputed amount on time and claim a refund if you win.
If You Lose at the ARB
You have two further options after the ARB’s order: binding arbitration and district court.
Binding arbitration is the lighter-weight path. You file a request with the Comptroller’s office and post a deposit that runs from $450 to $1,550 depending on whether the property is a homestead and what it’s worth.11Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Arbitration Deposit and Arbitrator Fee Schedule An independent arbitrator picks the value closer to either your number or the ARB’s. Win and your deposit comes back less a $50 administrative fee. Lose and the arbitrator’s fee is paid from your deposit.
A separate track, limited binding arbitration, exists if the district or ARB violated its own procedures: failing to deliver your requested evidence 14 days ahead, not following adopted hearing procedures, or refusing to let you present evidence or cross-examine. The deposit is $450 for homesteads valued at $500,000 or less and $550 for other properties.12Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Limited Binding Arbitration Deposit and Arbitrator Fee Schedule
District court is the heavier option. You have 60 days from the date you receive the ARB’s Order of Determination to file. It’s more expensive and slower than arbitration, but it allows full discovery and expert testimony, which can be worth it for high-value properties.13Texas Comptroller. Property Tax Protest and Appeal Procedures
If a protest or appeal reduces your value after you’ve paid taxes on the higher one, the taxing units refund the overpayment. If a taxing unit doesn’t pay the refund within 60 days of the liability arising, it owes you 12 percent annual interest until it does.14Texas Comptroller. Property Tax Payment Refunds
Do It Yourself or Hire a Consultant?
Many Texas homeowners hire property tax consultants on contingency: no reduction, no fee. Rates generally run 25 to 50 percent of your first-year tax savings, so a $2,000 reduction costs you roughly $500 to $1,000. Consultants do this daily, know the local appraisers, and know which arguments carry weight with specific panels.
The trade-off is giving up part of the savings. For a straightforward case where you have good comparable sales and a few hours to prepare, handling it yourself costs nothing. The process is less intimidating than most people expect once you have your evidence in order, and the data is doing most of the talking.