After the Hearing

The written order

The ARB determines a protest by written order, delivered by certified mail or electronically if you have elected electronic communications. The order states the appraised value as finally determined, alongside the value the chief appraiser submitted. The ARB must issue the order within 30 days after the hearing concludes in most counties (45 days in counties with four million or more people).

What the order changes

If the ARB finds the appraisal records incorrect on an issue you raised, it corrects them. When the ARB rules in your favor, it instructs the chief appraiser to notify the taxing units of the change, and your tax bills for that year are computed on the corrected value. If you already paid taxes based on the higher value, the taxing units refund the difference resulting from the change. The ARB's decision binds only for the tax year in question — next year's assessment starts fresh.

If the order is not what you wanted

You still have options, on a clock: a petition for review in district court within 60 days of receiving the final order, or arbitration routes in qualifying cases. See appeal options. The order itself must prominently state your appeal rights and deadlines.

Late remedies, narrowly defined

Texas law provides a few ways to act after the normal protest window, each with strict conditions:

• Good-cause late protest. The ARB may hear a late-filed protest before it approves the appraisal records if you show good cause.
• Failure-to-receive-notice protest. You may protest the failure to deliver a notice you were entitled to; that protest must be filed before the taxes become delinquent.
• Motion for correction (over-appraisal). If a residence homestead was appraised at least one-fourth above its correct value (or non-homestead property at least one-third above), you may file a motion to correct — before the delinquency date, and after paying the taxes on the undisputed portion. Not available if the property was subject to a protest that year.
• Clerical errors and ownership errors. Motions to correct clerical errors, multiple appraisals, or ownership errors can reach the current year and the five preceding years. Chief appraisers and owners can also jointly move to correct by agreement.

Worked example: reading the order and the refund arithmetic (illustrative)

Illustrative scenario with made-up numbers — actual refunds depend on each taxing unit's rate and your payment timing.

1. Scenario: the ARB's order reduces your value from $520,000 to $480,000, and you had already paid taxes computed on $520,000 at an (illustrative) combined rate of $2.10 per $100.
2. Step — check the order's two values: the order shows the ARB's determination alongside the chief appraiser's submitted value. Confirm the $480,000 appears as the determination for the correct tax year, and note the appeal-rights block the order must state prominently.
3. Step — what happens mechanically: the ARB instructs the chief appraiser to notify the taxing units; the corrected value flows into your bill. Taxing units refund the difference resulting from the change if you already paid.
4. Step — the arithmetic behind the refund: the $40,000 reduction is worth $40,000 × 2.10 / 100 = $840at this rate — but only units' actual adopted rates determine your real refund, and only for this tax year.

What this tells you: a $40,000 reduction is not a $40,000 refund — the value change, the rate, and the tax year are three different numbers, and the order's binding effect ends with the year in question.

What it does not tell you: when your refund arrives (units and collector practices vary), or whether the late remedies above could still reach a different year's problem.