Property Owner Rights in Texas

Constitutional foundations

The Texas Constitution sets out five basic rules for property taxes: taxation must be equal and uniform; property generally must be taxed at market value (with defined exceptions such as productivity valuation); each property in a county has a single appraised value used by all taxing units; all property is taxable unless federal or state law exempts it; and property owners are entitled to reasonable notice of increases in their property's appraised value.

The right to protest

Texas Tax Code § 41.41 entitles a property owner to protest before the ARB a range of actions, including the determination of the property's appraised value, unequal appraisal, inclusion of the property on the appraisal records, denial in whole or in part of a partial exemption, determination that land does not qualify for special appraisal, and any other action of the chief appraiser, appraisal district, or ARB that applies to and adversely affects the owner. The law also prohibits an appraisal district or ARB from charging a fee to file a protest.

Notice rights

You are entitled to reasonable notice of increases in your property's appraised value. The notice of appraised value and its required contents are covered on our property tax notice page.

Representation

Property owners may appoint an agent to represent them in property tax matters using the Comptroller's Appointment of Agent form (50-162), and may represent themselves if they prefer. Lessees who are contractually responsible for the owner's taxes have their own protest rights under specified conditions.

Exercising these rights

Rights come with deadlines: the protest filing window is generally May 15 or 30 days after the notice was delivered, whichever is later. See the protest process and deadlines pages.

Worked example: mapping one disagreement to the right ground (illustrative)

Illustrative scenario — not advice on what to file in your situation.

1. Scenario: your notice shows appraised value $520,000, up 18% from last year, and your identical-floor-plan neighbor is appraised at $455,000.
2. Right — equal and uniform taxation: if your property is appraised higher than comparable properties for no reason rooted in the property itself, that is the unequal-appraisal ground under § 41.41 — supported by a median level of appraisal comparison, not just the neighbor's number.
3. Right — market value: independently, if recent comparable sales show a buyer would pay materially less than $520,000, that is the market-value ground — supported by sales documentation. The two grounds are separate and you can protest on both.
4. Right — notice: the 18% increase triggered your right to reasonable notice; the notice itself and its required contents start the deadline clock (generally May 15 or 30 days after delivery, whichever is later).
5. Cost check: filing the protest itself carries no fee — districts and ARBs cannot charge one — though an appointed agent works under their own fee arrangement.

What this tells you: the rights are not abstract — each maps to a specific protest ground with its own evidence, and picking the ground first determines the evidence you need.

What it does not tell you: how your ARB weighs each ground in practice, or whether your situation fits a ground not described here (the statute covers other adverse actions too).