AssessCheck

The Texas Property Tax Protest Process

One of a Texas property owner's most important rights is the right to protest to the appraisal review board (ARB). You may protest if you disagree with the appraisal district's value or any of its actions concerning your property.

The process at a glance

  1. Your notice arrives. The appraisal district sends a notice of appraised value when your value rises (by April 1 for most homesteads, May 1 otherwise). Read the value and the property description on it — both are protestable.
  2. Decide whether to protest. Compare the value with your own knowledge of the property and genuinely similar properties. The assessment checker organizes this first pass.
  3. File on time. Generally May 15 or 30 days after the notice was delivered — whichever is later (see deadlines, how to file).
  4. Prepare your evidence. Photographs, estimates, sales documents, comparable data — whatever supports your specific case (evidence section).
  5. Informal conference, then hearing. Many protests settle informally with the appraisal district; otherwise an ARB panel hears both sides and issues a written order later ( the hearing).
  6. After the order. The order sets the value for the year; appeal routes exist if you disagree with it ( after the hearing, appeal options).

Worked example: the decision in one pass (illustrative)

Illustrative scenario — not advice on your specific situation.

  1. The notice says $520,000, up 18%. First question: is the description right? The living area shows 150 sq ft more than your floor plan — a factual error worth fixing on its own.
  2. Second question: what does your evidence say? A comparable sale at $455,000 from last year supports a lower market value; your equal-quality neighbor at $455,000 supports an unequal-appraisal argument. You decide to protest on both grounds.
  3. Third question: are you inside the window? The notice arrived April 10; May 15 is later than 30 days out, so that is your deadline. You file a letter-style notice (no fee), keep a dated copy, and request the informal conference.
  4. Outcome branches: settle informally at a value your evidence supports, or continue to the ARB hearing — and if the order disappoints, appeal routes remain for 60 days.

What this tells you: the process is a chain of dated, documented decisions — description, evidence, deadline, forum — and every step has a dedicated page in this section.

What it does not tell you: whether your county's practice differs in scheduling, or what your evidence actually supports — that is the work of the evidence section and the assessment checker.

The section in detail

Sources