DIY vs Hiring a Firm
Three honest options — and the one variable that picks for you is whether you have time to attend the ARB hearing. Here’s how each path actually shakes out.
Your Three Options
If you can’t attend
Hire a firm
25–40% of first-year tax savings, billed only on a reduction.
The firm files, attends, and negotiates. You sign one form and wait for the outcome.
When a firm fits →If you’ll attend the hearing
Our $50 packet
Flat fee. You file, attend the hearing, and keep 100% of any reduction.
We compile the comparable-property evidence and pre-fill the forms. You bring the packet to your hearing.
Generate your packet →If you want to start simple
Just file for free
$0. Form 50-132 from the Texas Comptroller. We’ll show you how.
Filing is your right under Texas law. Even with no formal evidence, many informal protests result in a reduction.
Free 6-step guide →All three are legitimate. The right choice is the one that fits your time and risk tolerance — not the one that maximizes anyone’s revenue.
If You Don’t Have Time, Hire a Firm
This is the clearest call in the matrix. If you can’t take a half-day off work to attend an ARB hearing, hiring a %-based firm is by far the better option. They appear on your behalf, present evidence, and negotiate — all the work transfers to them. You sign one engagement letter and get an outcome notice in the mail.
Consider professional representation when any of these apply:
- You can’t take time off for the informal meeting and possible follow-up ARB hearing
- Your property is valued over $2M — the math on contingent fees usually works in your favor at that level
- Your property has highly unusual features (commercial mixed-use, large acreage, waterfront with no comparable sales, custom construction)
- Your informal hearing was unsuccessful and you want to escalate to a formal ARB hearing with someone else carrying the conversation
- You simply don’t want to present your own case — that’s a valid preference
A firm taking 25–40% of your first-year savings is fair pricing for representation. If you don’t have the time to attend, that’s the cost of someone else doing the work.
If You Have Time, Our $50 Packet Saves the Research Hours
For owners who can attend their own hearing, the comparable-property research and form preparation is the time sink — not the hearing itself. A typical informal meeting runs 15–30 minutes; a formal ARB hearing about 15 minutes.
What the $50 packet includes:
- Comparable-property evidence (10 equity comps + sales comps from public records)
- Land-size and square-footage adjustments applied to each comp
- Pre-filled Form 50-132 (Notice of Protest) and Form 50-283 (Affidavit of Evidence)
- Step-by-step per-county filing directions (online, mail, in person)
- A one-page hearing note card you talk from at the meeting
You file the protest yourself, present your own evidence, and keep 100% of any reduction. See the methodology in detail →
If You Want to Start Simple, Just File
If $50 feels like too much friction, or you’d rather see how the informal meeting goes before investing in formal evidence, you can file Form 50-132 directly with your county appraisal district. The form is free and filing is your right. If you request an informal meeting on the form, it is a chance to discuss your value with the district.
The whole reason this page exists is to point out that filing costs you nothing but time — whichever path you pick, and whether you file at all, is your decision.
What We Are, What We Aren’t
TaxProtestTx is a document preparation service. We compile public county appraisal data and pre-fill the official Texas protest forms. The owner reviews the data, decides whether to file, files the protest themselves, and presents their own evidence at the hearing.
We are not a property tax consultant, agent, attorney, or hearing representative. We do not appear before appraisal districts or the ARB on anyone’s behalf. Tex. Occ. Code Chapter 1152 distinguishes document preparation from licensed property tax consulting; we sit on the document-preparation side of that line by design.
The trade-off is time. A firm’s model asks very little of the owner’s time. Our $50 packet’s value proposition is the opposite trade-off: for the hours you’d spend researching comps from scratch, we hand you a pre-filled evidence document formatted for the hearing, for a flat fee, and you keep 100% of any reduction.
That distinction is why this page recommends a firm — not us — for owners who can’t attend their hearing. Hearing representation is a real service that has real value; we just don’t provide it.
Why We’re Telling You All of This
TaxProtestTx exists to help Texas homeowners get a fair shake on equity valuation — not to win a referral race against firms. The process can feel intimidating, and many people assume it costs money to file. It does not.
The form is free. The hearing is free. Filing is your right. The only resource you spend is time — and if you don’t have time, a firm is an option.
We built this because the friction of researching comparable properties was the single biggest reason owners who could attend their hearing didn’t bother filing. The $50 packet collapses that research into a flat-fee artifact. It’s one of three legitimate paths — pick the one that fits.
For Owners Who Can Attend the Hearing — Get Your Packet
$50 flat fee, no percentage of savings, you keep every dollar of any reduction. Results vary; many protests result in no reduction.
Montgomery, Harris, Dallas & Travis counties. $50 flat fee if you purchase a protest packet.