Frequently Asked Questions

A DIY property tax protest tool for Texas homeowners. We compile comparable property data from public county appraisal records, format it into a hearing-ready evidence packet, and pre-fill the official Texas protest forms. You review the data, decide whether to protest, file it yourself, and keep every dollar of any savings. We prepare the documents — you make the decisions.

No. TaxProtestTx is a document preparation service that provides public data analysis and pre-filled forms. We are not a licensed property tax consultant, appraiser, or law firm. We do not represent property owners before appraisal districts or the ARB.

Montgomery County (MCAD), Harris County (HCAD), Dallas County (DCAD), and Travis County (TCAD). Each county has a dedicated data pipeline that pulls from that county's appraisal district records.

We use public data from each county's appraisal district (MCAD, HCAD, DCAD, TCAD), ArcGIS, FEMA flood maps, and MLS sold records. All comparable property data is sourced from official appraisal records and public sales data.

No. Nothing on this website or in our reports constitutes legal, tax, or professional advice. Our service provides publicly available data organized for your convenience. If you need legal advice about your property tax protest, consult a licensed Texas attorney.

Texas law (Tax Code Sec. 41.71) generally prohibits the appraisal district from raising your appraised value solely because you filed a protest. In practice, the vast majority of protesters see their value reduced or unchanged. This is general information, not legal advice — consult a licensed attorney if you have questions about your specific situation.

May 15, or 30 days after you receive your Notice of Appraised Value — whichever is later. If you miss this deadline, late filing options are very limited. Filing on time is strongly recommended.

Not necessarily. You can request a phone hearing, attend in person at your county's appraisal district office, or submit your evidence in writing using Form 50-283 (included in your packet). Most counties also offer online hearings.

Yes. Property values are re-appraised each year. Many homeowners choose to review their appraisal annually.

Your county's appraisal district will schedule an informal hearing. Timing varies, but it is typically scheduled within a few weeks of filing. You present your evidence, and the appraiser may agree to a reduction. If not, you can proceed to a formal hearing with the Appraisal Review Board (ARB).

Under Texas law, your value generally cannot be raised solely because you filed a protest. If the ARB does not reduce your value, you have further appeal options (district court, binding arbitration, or SOAH), each with its own deadlines and costs. Consult a licensed attorney for guidance on post-ARB appeals.

Yes, but a recent purchase price close to or above your appraised value makes it harder to argue the value is too high. Our tool will flag this and show you how your purchase price compares to the appraised value and nearby comparable properties, so you can make an informed decision.

Our tool checks the current filing deadline and will notify you if the standard deadline has passed. Limited late-filing options may exist under Texas law, but we cannot advise on those. Contact your county's appraisal district directly or consult a licensed attorney.

Yes. Under Texas Tax Code §41.461, the appraisal district must deliver the evidence they plan to use at your hearing — their comparable properties, the schedules, the math behind their value, and any other information they intend to introduce — at least 14 days before the hearing date. You must request it in writing, which most counties accept either as a checkbox on Form 50-132 or as a separate written request.

Most Texas appraisal districts now deliver the §41.461 packet through their online protest portal rather than by mail. After you file your protest, log in to your county's online portal and turn on evidence-delivery or hearing-notification alerts in your account preferences — labels vary by county. Then check the portal every few days starting 14 days before your hearing, because some districts post the packet without sending an email. The 14-day delivery window is a statutory right; the portal opt-in is the practical step most counties use to deliver it. Full guide to reading the district's evidence →

An ARB hearing typically runs about 15 minutes total. The chair handles the preamble (~5 minutes), the appraisal district presents its evidence first (~3–5 minutes), and you have 7–10 minutes after that to present your evidence and address what the district said. The panel decides on a single question: what was your property's market value on January 1 of this tax year. Full hearing-day guide →

No, generally. Under Tex. Tax Code §41.71, the appraisal district cannot raise your appraised value solely because you filed a protest. Limited statutory exceptions apply (new construction discovered during the protest, omitted property, §25.25 corrections). For most homeowners, the only outcomes are no change or a reduction.

Panels weigh sales evidence when available (recent arms-length sales of comparable properties), equity evidence (the median of adjusted appraised values for comparable properties under Tex. Tax Code §42.26(a)(3)), and condition rebuttals when the district raises a specific claim. Panels tend to give little weight to raw appraisal-district data dumps reproduced in the packet, photo galleries with no rebuttal target, and tax-rate or hardship arguments. What the panel weighs and ignores →

It depends entirely on your property, your evidence, and the hearing. Audited population data shows residential ARB outcomes cluster around a 5–7% median reduction, with about 1 in 8 informal protests resulting in no reduction. We present a range, not a point estimate, and never guarantee an outcome. How we calculate your reference value →

$50 per property for the current tax year. That covers the evidence report, pre-filled Form 50-132, Form 50-283, and step-by-step filing directions.

Property tax firms represent you at hearings and typically charge 25-40% of your first-year savings (some firms charge up to 50%). We compile comparable property data and pre-fill your protest forms for a flat $50. You file the protest yourself, present your own data at the hearing, and keep every dollar of any reduction. We use the same public county appraisal records. Firms offer hearing representation, which is a different service — if that matters to you, a firm may be the right choice.

Consider professional representation if your property is valued over $2M, has highly unusual features (commercial mixed-use, large acreage, waterfront), or if your informal hearing is unsuccessful and you want to escalate to a formal ARB hearing. You can always start with our $50 packet for the informal hearing and hire a firm later if needed — the two approaches are not mutually exclusive.

Hire a %-based firm. They appear at the hearing on your behalf, present evidence, and negotiate — all the work transfers to them. Most Texas firms charge 25–40% of your first-year tax savings, billed only if they obtain a reduction. If you can't take a half-day off work for the hearing, a firm is by far the better option than not protesting at all. If you can attend the hearing yourself, our $50 packet is built for that case — you get the comparable-property evidence and pre-filled forms, you keep 100% of any reduction, and your time spent is the hearing plus reading the packet. Full comparison of the three options →

All purchases are final because packets are generated instantly upon payment. If you experience a technical issue (missing pages, corrupted download), contact support@taxprotesttx.com and we will regenerate your packet at no charge. If our tool determines there isn't enough comparable data to build a case, we'll tell you before you pay.

An evidence report with comparable property analysis, pre-filled Form 50-132 (Notice of Protest), Form 50-283 (Property Owner Affidavit), a reference guide with general information about the protest process, and step-by-step filing directions for online, mail, and in-person filing.

Yes — and you should. Filing Form 50-132 directly with your county appraisal district is free; we do not sell access to it. Under Tex. Tax Code §41.71 your appraised value generally cannot be raised solely because you filed a protest (limited statutory exceptions apply — new construction, omitted property, §25.25 corrections). The single biggest mistake Texas homeowners make is not filing at all. Even if you skip our packet entirely, please file before the May 15 deadline. The free 6-step path to filing without us →

Our estimates are based on real county appraisal data and recent sales. However, actual results depend on your hearing and the appraisal district's review. We provide the data — the final determination is made by the appraisal review board. Not every protest results in a reduction.

Comparable properties are selected by similar size, age, and location in your subdivision. Occasionally a property may have features (renovation, damage, etc.) not reflected in MCAD records. You can note this at your hearing.