Property tax protest · Texas
Protest your property taxes in Texas.
In Texas, the county appraisal district (CAD) sets your value and the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hears your case. Boards act on evidence of market value as of the assessment date, and a licensed, USPAP-compliant appraisal is that evidence.
$5, credited toward your appraisal.
Texas
31 county pages below
- Values your home
- County appraisal district (CAD)
- Hears your case
- Appraisal Review Board (ARB)
- Desktop appraisal
- $225
- $5 check credited
- Timing
- Confirmed with your order
Deadline
May 15, or 30 days after your Notice of Appraised Value is delivered — whichever is later. This one actually is statewide.
Confirm your filing window and recipient requirements before ordering. Service availability and delivery depend on the property, evidence and appraiser. You remain responsible for filing on time.
How it works
How to protest your property taxes in Texas.
- Step 1
Check your savings
Enter your address and pay $5. We check your Texas assessment against recent nearby sales.
- Step 2
Order the appraisal
A desktop appraisal valued as of your assessment date, with the $5 credited. Complex homes get one exact quote.
- Step 3
Show us your home
Walk through on your phone so the appraiser sees its condition. A desktop appraisal needs no visit.
- Step 4
File your protest
A state-licensed TX appraiser signs it, with a cover letter and filing steps. You file by your deadline, and the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hears your case.
The evidence
Boards act on value, not frustration.
However Texas labels the process, the case underneath is the same: show what your home was actually worth on the assessment date. A licensed, USPAP-compliant appraisal, with comparable sales, documented adjustments and a signed opinion of value, is that showing.
What the appraisal gives you
- Valued as of your assessment date, not today
- Comparable sales with adjustments and citations
- Signed by a state-licensed TX appraiser
- A phone walkthrough; a desktop appraisal needs no visit
Confirm before you file
- Your filing deadline, from your assessment notice
- Appraiser availability and delivery timing, before you order
The process
How Texas handles protests.
Every Texas county has an appraisal district that sets your appraised value each spring. To fight it, you file a protest with the district — most now accept online filing — and you’ll typically get an informal review with an appraiser first, where a large share of cases settle. If you don’t settle, you present evidence at a hearing before the Appraisal Review Board, a panel of citizens independent of the district. With no state income tax, Texas property tax rates are among the highest in the country, which is why protesting annually is practically a state sport.
Worth knowing in Texas
Texas has no statewide "assessment ratio" games — the CAD is supposed to appraise at full market value every year, so your evidence question is simple: what was the home really worth on January 1? A licensed appraisal as of the January 1 lien date is exactly that evidence. Homestead cap: if you have a homestead exemption, your taxable value can rise at most 10% per year — check whether your market value or your capped value is the number to fight.
FAQ
Texas questions
When is the property tax protest deadline in Texas?
May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice is delivered, whichever is later. Miss it and you generally wait until next year.
Should I protest every year in Texas?
Many Texas homeowners do — values reset annually and the process is designed for it. Whether it’s worth paying for professional evidence in a given year is exactly what the $5 savings check answers.
What evidence works at an ARB hearing?
Comparable sales as of January 1, adjusted for differences — which is precisely what a licensed appraisal contains. Photos of condition issues help too.
Texas counties
- Harris County
- Dallas County
- Tarrant County
- Bexar County
- Travis County
- Collin County
- Denton County
- Fort Bend County
- Williamson County
- Montgomery County
- El Paso County
- Hidalgo County
- Bell County
- Cameron County
- Brazoria County
- Galveston County
- Nueces County
- Lubbock County
- Hays County
- Webb County
- McLennan County
- Jefferson County
- Smith County
- Brazos County
- Ellis County
- Johnson County
- Comal County
- Guadalupe County
- Kaufman County
- Rockwall County
- Parker County
