How to Protest Property Taxes in Texas: The Complete Guide

Every spring, Texas appraisal districts mail out several million Notices of Appraised Value, and every year the majority of owners who protest those values get them reduced. The process is genuinely open to homeowners: no lawyer is required, filing is free, and the hearings are built for ordinary people. The catch is that most homeowners never file, and many who do show up without the evidence that actually moves a value.

This guide walks through the whole thing in order, from the notice in your mailbox to the options after a hearing, with the Tax Code sections that back each step. It applies to every Texas county; our Harris County guide covers HCAD's iFile and iSettle systems in particular, and our Texas property tax guide covers how the system fits together.

Step 1: Read your Notice of Appraised Value

Appraisal districts mail notices in April, and the notice starts your clock. Under Tax Code Section 25.19, it must show last year's appraised value, this year's appraised value, your exemptions, the protest deadline, and how to file. Three things to check the moment it arrives:

• The appraised value. This is the district's opinion of what your home would have sold for on January 1. It is the number you can protest.
• The exemptions. If your homestead exemption is missing, fix that separately; it is not part of the protest but it is often worth more.
• The deadline. It is printed on the notice. Do not assume it is May 15 without looking.

If you do not receive a notice and your value went up, you can still protest; Tax Code Section 41.411 covers failure to deliver notice.

Step 2: Know your deadline (May 15, or 30 days after the notice)

Section 41.44 sets the deadline: May 15, or the 30th day after the notice was delivered, whichever is later. If May 15 falls on a weekend, the deadline moves to the next business day. There are narrow exceptions for late protests with good cause, which we cover in the deadline guide, but the practical rule is to file before May 15 and not test the exceptions.

Step 3: File the protest

You have two ways to file, and both are free.

Online, through your appraisal district. Every major Texas district has a portal, and it is the fastest route. Log in with the owner ID and PIN printed on your notice.

By form. Download Comptroller Form 50-132, Notice of Protest, fill in your account number, and mail or hand-deliver it to the appraisal district. If you mail it, allow for postmark delays; a protest is timely if it is postmarked by the deadline.

Check the right boxes. The two grounds that matter for most homes are:

• Value is over market value (Section 41.41(a)(1)): the district's number is higher than what the home would sell for.
• Value is unequal compared with other properties (Section 41.41(a)(2) and Section 42.26): similar homes are appraised lower than yours.

Check both. They are argued with different evidence, and the ARB can grant a reduction on either.

Step 4: Request the district's evidence

Under Section 41.461, you are entitled to see the information the appraisal district plans to use at your hearing, including the comparable sales it relied on. Request it as soon as you file; the district must provide it at least 14 days before the hearing. Most districts deliver it through the online portal. Read it carefully: the district's own comparables are often the best source of homes that support a lower value, and errors in your property record (square footage, condition, year built) show up here.

Step 5: Build your evidence file

This is where protests are won. In order of persuasiveness for a typical home:

1. A recent purchase. If you bought the home within the last year or so, the closing statement is close to unbeatable evidence of market value.
2. Comparable sales. Three to five sales of similar homes (size, age, quality, neighborhood) in the months around January 1 that sold for less than your appraised value. Adjust for obvious differences and show the math per square foot. Ask a real estate agent for an MLS printout, or use the district's own comparables from Step 4.
3. Condition evidence. Photos of foundation cracks, roof damage, flooding history, deferred maintenance, or outdated interiors, paired with contractor estimates. Appraisal districts value homes as average-condition unless told otherwise.
4. Unequal appraisal comparison. A short table of nearby similar homes showing their appraised value per square foot next to yours. If the median of the comparables is meaningfully lower, Section 42.26 supports reducing yours to match.
5. An independent appraisal. Optional for most homes; useful when the value is high or the case is unusual.

Keep the packet to a few pages with a one-line conclusion at the top: "Requested value: $X, based on the attached sales." ARB panels see dozens of cases a day and reward clarity.

Step 6: The informal meeting

Most districts offer an informal review before the formal hearing, either in person, by phone, or through an online settlement system (Harris County's iSettle is the best known). An appraiser reviews your evidence and can offer a reduced value on the spot. A large share of protests settle here.

Accept an informal offer if it is close to your target; it ends the process, and the result is the same as an ARB win. Decline it if the offer ignores your strongest evidence, because declining costs you nothing except a hearing date.

Step 7: The Appraisal Review Board hearing

If there is no settlement, you get a hearing before a panel of the Appraisal Review Board, citizens appointed to hear protests and independent of the district's appraisers (Section 41.45). What to expect:

• Length: 15 to 20 minutes.
• Format: You present first (or the appraiser does, depending on the district), then the other side, then questions, then a decision, often announced immediately.
• Attendance: In person, by phone or videoconference, or by affidavit with your evidence attached if you cannot attend. You may also send an agent with a signed appointment of agent form.
• Tone: Stick to value. The panel cannot change tax rates or your bill directly, and complaints about taxes being too high do not move the number. "Here are four sales at $X per square foot, and my home is appraised at $Y" does.

State the exact value you are asking for. Panels split differences; anchor the discussion with your number.

Step 8: After the decision

The ARB mails or emails a written order. If the value dropped, you are done; the tax office bills the new amount. If it did not, or did not drop enough, you have three routes, each with a short deadline after the order:

• Binding arbitration (Chapter 41A): file with the Comptroller within 60 days, with a deposit that starts at $450 for a homestead and is refunded (less a $50 fee) if the arbitrator's value is closer to yours than to the ARB's. Suited to homes and small commercial properties.
• District court appeal (Chapter 42): a lawsuit, filed within 60 days. Practical mainly for high-value property.
• State Office of Administrative Hearings: available for property valued over $1 million.

Whatever you choose, you must pay the undisputed portion of your taxes by the delinquency date to keep the appeal alive (Section 42.08).

Should you do it yourself or hire someone?

Do it yourself when the case is simple: a recent purchase below the appraised value, an obvious square-footage error, or a clear set of comparable sales. The process is designed for that.

Hire a licensed property tax consultant when you do not have time to build the evidence, the value is high enough that a few percent matters, or you have lost before. Texas consultants must be registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and the standard arrangement is contingency: a percentage of the first-year savings, nothing if the protest fails. That is how our service works, at 20% of the savings, and in the 2026 season 96% of the protests we filed won a reduction.

Protest every year

A protest only affects the current tax year, and appraisal districts reset values annually. The homeowners who pay the least over a decade are the ones who check the number every spring and protest when it is high. If you skip a year, the district's value stands, and next year's 10% homestead cap compounds from it. Put the notice date and May 15 on the calendar now.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Procedures vary slightly by appraisal district; confirm details with your county.