How to protest your Texas property tax appraisal, step by step

You can protest a Texas property tax appraisal yourself

Every year your county appraisal district (CAD) mails a notice of appraised value. If you think it is too high, you have the right to protest it, and nothing about the process legally requires hiring a property tax consultant. It does require organizing evidence and showing up (in person, by phone, or by written affidavit, depending on your CAD's current options) to an informal review or a formal Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hearing.

This is general information, not legal or appraisal advice, and not a substitute for a licensed property tax consultant if you want representation. Deadlines and forms are set by state law and your CAD; confirm the exact date on your own notice and current form requirements on your CAD's website or the Texas Comptroller's comptroller.texas.gov before relying on any date mentioned here.

Know your deadline before you do anything else

The deadline to file a protest is printed on your notice of appraised value and is generally discussed as May 15 or 30 days after the notice was mailed, whichever is later, but this is a general rule and your CAD's exact deadline for the current year should always be confirmed against the date printed on your own notice. Missing the deadline generally forfeits your right to protest for that tax year, so treat this as the first thing you check, not the last.

Filing the protest

• File using Form 50-132 (Notice of Protest) or your CAD's own online protest portal if it offers one
• State your reason for protesting: the appraised value is too high (market value), unequal appraisal compared to similar properties, or both
• Keep a copy of what you filed and the date you filed it

Most CADs now accept online protest filing, which is usually the fastest way to get a confirmation on record.

Building your evidence

Comparable sales and equity comps

Pull recent sales of similar properties in your neighborhood, ideally similar in size, age and condition, that sold for less than your noticed value. Many CADs publish comparable-property data you can search directly on their site. An "equity" argument compares your appraised value per square foot to similar nearby properties' appraised values, which is a separate and often stronger argument than market-value comps alone.

Condition issues

Foundation problems, roof damage, flooding history, or deferred maintenance that the CAD's records do not reflect all support a lower value. Photograph each issue and note whether it is reflected anywhere in your CAD's condition rating for the property.

Recent purchase price

If you bought the property recently for less than the noticed value, that sale price itself is strong evidence, especially if the sale was arm's length and close in time to the appraisal date.

Step by step: from notice to hearing

1. Read your notice and confirm the exact protest deadline printed on it
2. Decide your argument: market value too high, unequal appraisal, or both
3. Pull comparable sales and equity comps from your CAD's public data
4. Document condition issues with photos and, if you have them, repair estimates
5. File Form 50-132 or your CAD's online protest before the deadline
6. Request an informal review first if your CAD offers one; many protests resolve here without a full ARB hearing
7. If unresolved, prepare a one-page summary and attend your scheduled ARB hearing
8. Bring printed copies of your evidence; some ARB panels do not accept evidence submitted only electronically on the day of the hearing

Self-filing versus hiring a consultant

	Self-file	Property tax consultant
Cost	Your own time	Often a percentage of your first-year tax savings
Who presents at the hearing	You	The consultant, on your behalf
Licensing	Not required	Texas licenses property tax consultants separately

A short hearing script to work from

ARB hearings are typically brief, often well under fifteen minutes. A simple structure works better than reading a long statement:

• State the account number and your opinion of value
• Present your strongest one or two comps first
• Point out any specific condition issue not reflected in the CAD's record
• State your requested value clearly and stop; do not oversell the argument

Why the informal review is worth requesting first

Many CADs offer an informal meeting with an appraiser before your case ever reaches a formal ARB hearing. It tends to be faster, less structured, and is often where a well-documented protest gets resolved without needing a full hearing at all. Bring the same comps and condition evidence you would bring to the ARB; there is no reason to hold your best evidence back for a later stage.

If the informal review does not reach an agreement you're satisfied with, you keep your right to the formal ARB hearing, so requesting the informal meeting first generally costs you nothing but a little time.

After the hearing

The ARB's decision will state the value it set. If you still disagree, Texas law provides further appeal paths (including binding arbitration for certain value ranges and judicial appeal), each with its own deadline that starts running from the date of the ARB's order. Confirm which paths apply to your situation and their exact deadlines with your CAD or the Texas Comptroller's office rather than assuming a general timeline applies to your case.