Texas Form 50-283 is the Property Owner’s Affidavit of Evidence, a sworn and notarized document that lets you submit your case to the Appraisal Review Board in writing instead of showing up to your protest hearing. You use it after you have already filed a protest and received a hearing date. The ARB panel reads your affidavit and attached evidence alongside whatever the appraisal district presents, and decides the protest without you being in the room.
The form is authorized by Tax Code Section 41.45, which gives property owners the right to participate in an ARB hearing by telephone conference call, videoconference, or written affidavit.
What Form 50-283 Is and Is Not
Form 50-283 has one job: to carry your evidence and arguments into a protest hearing you are not attending in person. It does not start a protest, and it does not apply for any exemption. Two other Comptroller forms handle those separate steps, and they get confused with 50-283 often enough to be worth naming.
- Form 50-132, the Notice of Protest, is what actually initiates the protest with the ARB. Without it, there is no hearing and no reason to file an affidavit.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Form 50-132 – Property Owner’s Notice of Protest
- Form 50-114, the Residence Homestead Exemption Application, reduces your home’s taxable value. It is unrelated to protesting an appraisal and follows its own eligibility rules and deadlines.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
All three forms are available from the Texas Comptroller’s website and from local county appraisal district offices.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Forms Filing the wrong one accomplishes nothing.
When to Use Form 50-283
You need this form only after you have filed a protest and been given a hearing date. If you plan to appear in person, you do not need it. In fact, the form’s instructions state that if you show up at the hearing in person, the affidavit cannot be used. You are choosing one path or the other.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Form 50-283 – Property Owner’s Affidavit of Evidence
You can, however, submit the affidavit and still appear by telephone or videoconference. The affidavit puts your evidence in the record, and the phone or video appearance lets you answer questions and respond to the appraisal district’s presentation.
One detail matters for timing. If you mark on the form that you do not intend to appear at all, and you do not select telephone or videoconference, the ARB is not required to consider your affidavit at your regularly scheduled hearing. It may instead process your affidavit at a separate session set aside for that purpose. You will not necessarily know when that review happens.
How to Fill Out Form 50-283
The form has seven numbered sections plus a header. Work through them in order.
- Header: tax year, appraisal district name, and your appraisal district account number. The account number is on your notice of appraised value and on prior tax statements.
- Section 1, Property Owner or Lessee: full legal name, mailing address, phone, and email.
- Section 2, Property Description: the physical address. If there is no street address, use the legal description from your deed or tax statement. For a manufactured home, include make, model, and identification number.
- Section 3, Reasons for Protest: check the boxes matching your grounds. Options include incorrect appraised value, unequal appraisal, denied exemption, and incorrect property description. These should match what you selected on your Form 50-132; failing to check a ground on the original protest can prevent you from raising that issue now.
- Section 4, Evidence: state the total number of pages or images attached.
- Section 5, Statement of Facts or Arguments: explain in plain language why the appraisal is wrong and what your evidence shows.
- Section 6, Hearing Type: indicate whether you will appear in person, by telephone, or by videoconference. If you select none of these, the ARB may handle the affidavit outside the regular hearing schedule.
- Section 7, Signature: sign under oath. The affidavit must be notarized.
The completed affidavit and all attached evidence must reach the ARB before your scheduled hearing begins. There is no grace period once the hearing starts.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Form 50-283 – Property Owner’s Affidavit of Evidence
What Evidence to Attach
An affidavit with nothing attached gives the ARB nothing to weigh against the appraisal district. The strength of a 50-283 filing lives in the exhibits. Four categories carry the most weight.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals
Comparable Sales
Recent sales of similar homes near your property are the most persuasive evidence in a value protest. Look for properties with comparable square footage, age, lot size, and condition that sold within the past six to twelve months. Note the differences: if a comparable has a pool or a recent renovation and yours does not, its sale price overstates your property’s value, and you should say so. County appraisal district websites and real estate databases are useful starting points.
Property Condition
Damage or deferred maintenance the appraisal ignores can justify a lower value. Photographs of foundation cracks, roof damage, or flood history carry real weight, especially when paired with contractor estimates or repair receipts that put a dollar figure on the problem.
Record Errors
Pull your property record card from the appraisal district and check the basics: square footage, bedroom and bathroom counts, lot size, and features like a finished garage or pool. Errors in these fields inflate the valuation, and correcting them is usually the cleanest argument to win.
Your Purchase Price
If you recently bought the property in an arm’s-length transaction at a price below the appraised value, your closing statement is direct evidence of market value.
Filing the Protest That Comes First
Because 50-283 only makes sense inside an active protest, a quick note on the step before it. Your county appraisal district mails a notice of appraised value in April or early May. To protest, you file Form 50-132 with the ARB by May 15, or 30 days after the district mailed the notice, whichever is later.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.44 – Notice of Protest A late protest is possible before the ARB approves the appraisal records, but you have to show good cause.
You will then receive written notice of your hearing date, time, and location at least 15 days in advance, and the appraisal district must make its evidence available to you at least 14 days before the hearing.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals That notice is the trigger for deciding whether to appear or to file Form 50-283.
What Happens After You Submit
Formal ARB hearings in most Texas counties run from June through August. Hearings typically last 15 to 20 minutes.7Travis Central Appraisal District. ARB Hearings If you filed an affidavit and chose not to appear, the panel reviews your written case alongside the appraisal district’s presentation and decides.
If you fail to appear and did not submit a valid affidavit, the ARB dismisses your protest. You can ask the ARB Chairperson in writing to reopen the hearing within four days by showing good cause, but that window is narrow and the outcome is not guaranteed.
After the decision, you receive a Notice of Final Order by certified mail, generally within three to four weeks. If the ARB reduces your appraised value, the chief appraiser adjusts the appraisal roll and the taxing units refund the difference on taxes you already paid.
If You Disagree With the Decision
An unfavorable ARB order is not final. You have 60 days from receipt of the order to pursue either binding arbitration through the Comptroller’s office or a petition for review in the district court where the property sits. Choosing one waives the other for that tax year. Arbitration is generally cheaper and faster; district court is a full lawsuit and tends to make financial sense only when the potential tax savings justify the cost.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41A.03 – Request for Arbitration