How to protest your Texas property tax value
Step by step: check your notice and record, gather evidence, file, settle or go to a hearing, and what comes after.
Any Texas property owner can protest the value the appraisal district puts on their home. It's free, you don't need a lawyer or an agent, and most protests are settled without a hearing. Here is the whole process.
1. Read your appraisal notice
Appraisal districts post new values around April. Your notice shows the market value (house plus land), the appraised value after any homestead cap, and your exemptions. It also gives your protest deadline: May 15, or 30 days after the notice was mailed, whichever is later. More on the deadline.
2. Check the facts on your record
Errors are the easiest protests to win. Compare the district's record with your home: living area, year built, pool, quality class, lot size and exemptions. A pool you don't have or 300 extra square feet raises your value every year until someone corrects it. A missing homestead exemption costs more than any value protest; see the homestead guide.
3. Gather evidence
Texas allows two main arguments, and you can use both:
- Unequal appraisal: your value is higher than the median of comparable homes, appropriately adjusted (Tax Code §41.43(b)(3)). The district's own values are the evidence. How unequal appraisal works.
- Market value: your home would sell for less than the district says. Recent sales of similar homes, a recent appraisal, or a purchase price support it.
Condition evidence helps either argument: photos of foundation cracks, an old roof or a dated kitchen, and repair estimates. The district only sees your home from the street.
4. File the protest
File online through your appraisal district's portal (links are on each county page), or with Comptroller Form 50-132, Notice of Protest. Check the boxes for both "value is over market value" and "value is unequal compared with other properties". Filing is free.
5. Consider the settlement offer
Many districts offer a lower value online or in an informal meeting before any hearing. In Collin County, most protests that close without a hearing close with a value agreement. Accept it if it's at or below what your evidence supports; otherwise ask for a hearing.
6. The appraisal review board hearing
The appraisal review board (ARB) is a panel of local residents, separate from the appraisers. You get at least 15 days' notice. You can attend in person, by phone or video, or send your evidence with a sworn affidavit (Comptroller Form 50-283) instead of appearing. Bring copies of everything, keep it short, and point to numbers: "my house value is $31,000 above the median of these 15 similar homes".
7. After the ARB
If you disagree with the ARB's order, you can request binding arbitration through the Comptroller within 60 days (for any residence homestead, with a deposit), or file in district court within 60 days. Most homeowners stop at the ARB.
Next year
A reduction lowers this year's value only; next year starts over. Keep your evidence. If your home is a homestead, the 10% cap limits how fast its taxable value can rise after a reduction.