How to Protest Your Property Taxes in Texas (2027 Guide)
To protest your Texas property taxes, file a written notice of protest with your county appraisal district's Appraisal Review Board (ARB) by May 15, or 30 days after the district mails your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later (Texas Tax Code 41.44). In 2027 May 15 falls on a Saturday, so the standard deadline moves to Monday, May 17, 2027 (Tax Code 1.06). If your notice is mailed late, your deadline moves with it.
You protest the appraised value the district assigned. You cannot protest the tax rate. Neither the ARB nor the appraisal district sets it, and the board cannot weigh your personal finances (Texas Comptroller).
This guide covers the 2027 tax year. Notices have not gone out yet, so there is nothing to file today. The months before the notice are the time to collect evidence.
The Texas protest calendar
- January 1. Texas appraises taxable property at its market value as of this date (Tax Code 23.01).
- By April 1 (homesteads) or May 1 (other property), or soon after. The chief appraiser must deliver a Notice of Appraised Value when the value rose, the property is new to the roll, or an exemption was cancelled or reduced (Tax Code 25.19).
- May 15, or 30 days after the district mails your notice, whichever is later. Last day to file a protest. The Comptroller notes the 30 days run from the date the district mails the notice (Texas Comptroller).
- After you file. You get written notice of your hearing date, and you can ask for an informal conference with the district first.
Each appraisal district runs its own website and filing portal. Our county guides cover the Texas districts most homeowners deal with: Harris (HCAD), Dallas (DCAD), Tarrant (TAD), Travis (TCAD), Bexar (BCAD), Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston and more on the Texas page.
Step 1: Read your notice
The notice shows the market value, the appraised value, and for homesteads usually both numbers. Check the property description first: square footage, number of bathrooms, a garage or pool that is not there, wrong condition. Errors in the record are the easiest protests to win.
Step 2: Decide what you are protesting
Texas's official protest form, Form 50-132, has a separate box for each reason, and it warns that skipping the box for a reason may stop you from raising that issue at the hearing (Form 50-132). The boxes homeowners use most:
- Incorrect appraised (market) value and/or value is unequal compared with other properties. One box covers both arguments.
- Exemption was denied, modified or canceled. Homestead, over-65, disability.
- Property description is incorrect.
- Failure to send a required notice.
Tick every box that applies. You are not required to use Form 50-132, and a written notice that identifies the property, the owner and a subject that shows you are dissatisfied also works (Texas Comptroller). The form is the safest way to cover all your reasons.
Step 3: Gather evidence
The Comptroller lists what helps: property photographs (yours and comparables), receipts or estimates for repairs, sales documentation such as listings and closing statements, calculations of the median level of appraisal if you are protesting unequal appraisal, deed records and surveys (Texas Comptroller). It also says plainly that you cannot go to the hearing and just say the appraisal district is wrong.
For most homeowners the core file is:
- Three to five recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood, close to January 1.
- Your property record, with any errors marked.
- Photos and repair estimates for anything the record does not reflect.
Step 4: File your protest
File with the appraisal district in the county where the property is located, not with the Comptroller (Form 50-132). Many districts take protests through an online portal; your notice and your district's website say how. File before the deadline and keep the confirmation.
Step 5: The informal conference and the ARB hearing
After you file, you can ask for an informal conference with the district to try to settle. If you do not settle, you continue to the formal ARB hearing (Texas Comptroller).
For the hearing, the ARB must send you notice of the date, time, place and subject at least 15 days ahead. You can appear in person, by telephone or videoconference, or file a written affidavit. Both you and the district present evidence, and you choose whether to go first or second. Treat it with the respect you would give a court, stick to the property's value, and leave out the argument that your taxes are too high.
The ARB's decision binds only for that tax year. You receive the written order by email or certified mail, and if you win and you already paid, the taxing units refund the difference (Texas Comptroller).
How the 10% homestead cap changes the math
If your home is your residence homestead, the district generally cannot raise its appraised value more than 10% a year over the prior year's appraised value, plus the value of new improvements. The cap starts the January 1 after the first year you qualify for the homestead exemption (Tax Code 23.23). Your notice may show both a market value and a lower capped appraised value.
That matters for a protest. A drop in market value lowers your tax bill only if it takes the market value below your capped appraised value. If the cap already holds your taxed value below market, winning a reduction in market value may not change the amount you pay this year. It can still matter later, because appraised value cannot exceed market value, so a lower market value limits how high the taxed value can climb in the years after. Check both numbers on your notice before you decide how hard to push.
If you have not claimed the homestead exemption, read our Texas homestead exemption guide. The exemption and the cap apply every year, so check them before you protest.
A worked example
These numbers are made up for illustration, so use your own. Say the district values your home at $400,000 and comparable sales support $360,000. If your taxed value follows market value, a $40,000 reduction at a combined rate of $2.00 per $100 of taxable value saves $800 for the year. For a homestead the savings can be smaller, or zero this year, if the 10% cap is already holding your taxed value below market value, as described above.
Late protests and fixes after the deadline
The ARB can hear a late protest when the owner shows good cause, but failing to show good cause or filing after the ARB approves the appraisal records can cost you the right to protest (Texas Comptroller). Other options exist in narrow cases: a protest for failing to receive a required notice (filed before the tax delinquency date), and a motion to correct a residence homestead appraised at least one-fourth higher than its correct value (filed with payment of the undisputed taxes before the delinquency date).
If the ARB says no
You have two main routes, and each has its own deadline (Texas Comptroller):
- District court. File a petition for review within 60 days of receiving the ARB's written order. You generally must also pay the taxes not in dispute before the delinquency date. Talk to an attorney first.
- Regular binding arbitration. Available for a residence homestead of any value, or for property appraised at $5 million or less. Request it with the Comptroller within 60 days of the notice of the order, with a deposit.
Next steps
- Look up your district's page in our Texas county guides.
- Run the free over-assessment check to see how your appraised value compares with recent sales nearby.
- If you want the evidence and documents prepared, the $50 Appeal Case does that. You review, sign and file it yourself, and we are not attorneys or a tax firm.
Quick answers
When is the property tax protest deadline in Texas?
May 15, or 30 days after the appraisal district mails your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later (Tax Code 41.44). In 2027 the standard date is Monday, May 17, because May 15 is a Saturday (Tax Code 1.06).
Does it cost anything to protest?
The Comptroller's protest page lists no filing fee. Check your own district's page to confirm.
Do I need a lawyer or a protest company?
No. The owner or a designated agent can file the form, and a written notice that identifies the property and the owner and shows your dissatisfaction is enough (Texas Comptroller). Owners can appoint an agent on Form 50-162 if they want one.
Can I protest every year?
Yes. The ARB's decision binds only for the tax year in question, so each year's notice starts a new protest window.
What if I bought the house after January 1?
Texas appraises property at its market value as of January 1 (Tax Code 23.01). Your purchase price is still useful evidence of what the home was worth near that date.
Texas deadlines and county pages: Texas guide hub. Other states: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Washington, Arizona.
