The Texas Homeowner's Protest Playbook

How to use this site, and how to file a property-tax protest with your county appraisal district — find your deadline, file your protest, build your evidence, and walk into a hearing knowing what to expect. Written for neighbors, not lawyers.

1. How to use this site

Three steps: find your home, read your verdict, get your one-page filing statement.

AppealTexasTax is a free, independent, statewide tool that shows whether your county appraisal district (CAD) over-assessed your home for the current tax year — and, if so, hands you a ready-to-file statement. It is not affiliated with any appraisal district and is not legal advice. One click takes you from the map to a personalized report.

① Find your home

On the map, type your address in the search box at the top, or pan and zoom to your house and tap its pin. Every residential parcel in the counties we cover is on the map.

② Read your verdict

Each pin's color reports how your appraisal compares to the median of 5 comparable neighbors. We figure that median two ways — per square foot and raw dollars — and color the pin by the stronger of the two: you have a case if either measure shows you over. (More on why both matter in the FAQ.)

Strong case — more than 7% over the median on at least one measure.
Marginal case — 2–7% over the median. A reduction is possible but not guaranteed.
Weak case — neither measure shows a meaningful over-assessment. Filing is unlikely to change the value.
No case — you're more than 5% under the median on both measures. Filing won't lower your value — and the review board cannot raise it (Tex. Tax Code §41.47(c), per SB 2 of 2019). Other grounds (the homestead cap, condition, damage) may still apply.
Review by hand — fewer than 5 comparable homes matched the filters (unusually old, new, large, or atypical homes). You can still file; you'll just pick your own comps.

Two badges can appear on a pin:

Orange ring — the home is a residence homestead and its appraised value jumped more than 10% in a year, triggering a possible Tex. Tax Code §23.23 cap claim.
“methods differ” — the per-sqft and raw-dollar measures point opposite ways. The report's methodology note explains which to use and whether to take it through an informal settlement or a formal hearing.

③ Open your report

Tap a pin and hit View report. The report opens with your verdict, then shows your home's facts, the 5 comparable homes that drove it, the fair-value math, and a single number to ask for. Hit Get my one-page statement to produce a clean, print/PDF-ready Owner's Opinion of Value you can upload or bring with you.

The report is a preparation aid, not your filed evidence. It tells you which comps to use and how the math works; your actual evidence is each comp's record printed from your appraisal district's website, plus your own short written statement. See how to file below.

2. How to file your protest

Find your deadline, file your protest, bring the right evidence.

Find your deadline — it's on your notice. Under Tex. Tax Code §41.44(a), your protest is due by May 15, or 30 days after your Notice of Appraised Value was delivered to you — whichever is later. If that date lands on a weekend or holiday, §1.06 bumps it to the next business day. Your appraisal district mails one notice per year (usually April–May); the delivery date on it is what starts your 30-day clock. Read the deadline off your notice and don't cut it close — miss it and you generally wait a year.

Three ways to file

Online (fastest). Most appraisal districts run an online protest portal (names vary by county — “online protest,” “eFile,” “uFile,” etc.). Go to your county appraisal district's website, find “File a Protest,” log in with the account number from your notice, and follow the wizard. You'll get an instant confirmation — save it.
By mail. Send the Texas Comptroller's Form 50-132 (Notice of Protest) — it works in every county — to the protest mailing address printed on your notice. Use certified mail with return receipt, postmarked by your deadline.
In person. Bring Form 50-132 and your evidence to your appraisal district's office during business hours and ask for a stamped-received copy. The office address is on your notice.

Which grounds to check: select “value is unequal compared with other properties” — the equal-and-uniform ground (Tex. Tax Code §41.43(b)(3)) this tool supports. If your report also flagged a §23.23 homestead cap claim, note that too.

What wins an equal-and-uniform case

Important: the appraisal review board wants records from authoritative sources. The report on this site is your roadmap; you assemble the actual packet from your appraisal district's own website and your own files.

Three things go in your packet:

Your one-page statement from this site (the Owner's Opinion of Value — subject facts, the 5 comps, the median math, and the value you're requesting).
Each comp's record printed from your appraisal district's public Property Search (address, appraised value, living area, year built). This proves the comps are real and verified by the district's own data. Verify each one still matches your home's size, age, and grade before you file.
Anything that lowers your value the district's data can't see — photos of deferred maintenance, flood or storm damage, failing systems or foundation issues, contractor estimates, or a recent below-appraisal closing statement. Keep it brief and factual.

Per square foot vs. raw dollars: the per-square-foot median is the size-adjusted (“appropriately adjusted”) figure that holds up at a formal hearing or in court; the raw-dollar median is the number an informal/online settlement tends to work from. Your report names the lower, defensible figure to request and which venue fits. Don't escalate a raw-only case to a formal hearing, where the size-adjusted test would be applied.

Informal settlement vs. the formal hearing

After you file, many districts offer an informal settlement first (online or by phone — names vary; some counties skip straight to a hearing). A staff appraiser reviews your evidence and may offer a reduced value. If the offer matches or beats your requested value, accept it — you're done, no hearing needed. If it's short, decline and proceed to the formal hearing before the Appraisal Review Board (ARB), a panel of local residents.

Filing is safe. Under SB 2 of 2019 (Tex. Tax Code §41.47(c)), the board cannot raise your appraisal above the value on your notice during a protest — it can only lower it or leave it unchanged. So presenting your case carries no downside.

What NOT to argue

These are common and mostly lose:

“My taxes went up.” The board reviews your appraisal, not your tax bill. Rates are set separately by your city, school district, and other taxing units.
“I can't afford it.” Sympathetic, but not a legal ground.
“My neighbor pays less.” One neighbor isn't a median. Bring 5 appropriately-matched comps, not an anecdote.
“The market crashed” or emotional appeals. Stick to the comp median and your home's facts. Market opinion and hardship don't move an equal-and-uniform case.

The §23.23 homestead cap — a separate ground

If your report shows an orange ring, your home may have a Tex. Tax Code §23.23 claim independent of the comp test: a residence homestead's appraised value can't rise more than 10% a year (plus the value of any new improvements). If your district blew past that ceiling, ask the board to enforce the cap — even on a green or purple parcel. Your report shows the math.

Before you file, check: ☐ your deadline (off your notice) ☐ your 5 comps verified on your district's site ☐ your one-page statement ☐ any photos/estimates for condition issues.

3. After you file

Confirm it landed, show up (or settle), and read the outcome.

Confirm your protest was received

Online filings give an instant confirmation number — screenshot it. Mailed or in-person filings should produce a receipt or a mailed Notice of Protest Received. Keep whatever you get; it's your proof you filed on time. If nothing arrives within a couple of weeks, call your appraisal district to verify.

Your hearing (if it gets that far)

If you don't settle informally, the district schedules a formal hearing and mails a Notice of Hearing with the date, time, and format (in person, by phone, or video — this varies by county). Bring each comp's printout, your one-page statement, and your proof of timely filing. Hearings are short (often 5–20 minutes): state your claim, show your comps and the median, ask for your number. The panel votes and you get a written decision.

Read the outcome

The board mails an order determining protest with two numbers: the value originally on your notice, and the final value after the hearing. If the final value is lower, you won a reduction — it's what your taxes are figured on. Under SB 2 (§41.47(c)), the board can't raise you above the noticed value, so the worst case is “no change.” County-wide outcome history is on the Appeals & History page.

If you disagree with the outcome

You have limited, mostly-lawyer-territory options: binding arbitration (§41.49, where offered) or judicial review in district court (Chapter 42; §42.26(a)(3) bars the district from rebutting a median-of-comps showing with market-value evidence). These have tight deadlines and real costs — worth it only for large amounts, and usually with an attorney. For most homeowners, accept the result and refile next year.

Glossary

Appraisal district (CAD): The county office that sets the appraised value of your property each year. It's who you protest to — not your tax office, and not the same as the city or school district that sets tax rates.
Appraised value: The value used to calculate your property tax. After the §23.23 cap on a homestead, it may be lower than market value.
Market value: The district's estimate of what your home would sell for — the starting point for appraised value, before exemptions and caps.
Grade: The district's internal quality/construction rating. Comps must share your grade to be valid.
Neighborhood code: The district's internal grouping of similar homes for mass appraisal — not a real-world neighborhood name. The comp filter requires comps to share yours.
Per-sqft ($/sqft): Appraised value divided by living-area square footage — the size-normalized measure mass-appraisal models use. One of the two co-equal medians this site reports (the other is raw dollars).
Unequal appraisal: The ground at §41.43(b)(3): your appraisal is higher than the median of a reasonable number of appropriately-adjusted comparable properties.
Online protest / online settlement: Most appraisal districts let you file online and, often, settle informally online before a hearing. The product names differ by county.
ARB (Appraisal Review Board): The independent panel of local residents that hears protests. Its orders can be appealed to district court under Chapter 42.
Formal vs. informal: Informal = a review/offer by a single staff appraiser (often online); formal = a hearing before a three-member ARB panel, which issues the binding order.

FAQ

What is §41.43(b)(3)?

The provision of the Texas Tax Code that lets a homeowner lower an appraisal that sits above the median of “a reasonable number of appropriately-adjusted comparable properties.” Show that median and the burden shifts to the appraisal district to defend the higher value. This site computes that median per parcel from 5 matched neighbors (same neighborhood code and grade, ±15% living area, and within a year-built band) and surfaces it as your verdict. Full text: Tex. Tax Code §41.43 (capitol.texas.gov).

My pin is gray. What does that mean?

The automatic search couldn't find 5 sufficiently similar homes, even after widening the year band. Usually the home is unusually old, new, large, small, or oddly graded for its neighborhood. You can still file an unequal-appraisal protest — you'll just hand-pick your own comparable homes on your appraisal district's public Property Search first.

My pin is purple. What does “No case” mean?

Your appraisal is more than 5% under the median of your comps on both measures — per square foot and raw dollars. You're already appraised below your neighbors either way, so filing under §41.43(b)(3) won't reduce your value.

The good news: the review board cannot raise your value during a protest either. Under SB 2 of 2019 (§41.47(c)), it can only lower the noticed value or leave it unchanged. If you have other grounds — the §23.23 homestead cap, recent damage, or condition issues — those may still apply.

What's the difference between per-sqft and raw-dollar comparisons?

This site reports the comp median two co-equal ways. Per square foot = median $/sqft across the comps × your sqft; it's the size-normalized equity argument and the more defensible one at a formal hearing or in court. Raw dollars = the median appraised value of the 5 comps; it's the basis an informal/online settlement tends to offer on.

Neither §41.43(b)(3) nor §42.26(a)(3) requires a particular method, so your pin's color is the stronger of the two — you have a case if either puts you over. They usually agree, but can diverge when your home sits near the edge of its size band (the “methods differ” tag). If you're over on raw dollars but under per square foot, request the raw-dollar figure through an informal/online settlement rather than escalating to a formal hearing, where the size-adjusted test could be used to rebut you. SB 2 bars the panel from raising your value either way, so it carries no downside.

What if my home has features the comps don't (pool, big lot, add-on)?

The per-sqft test doesn't adjust for lot size, pools, patios, detached garages, condition, or recent renovations. Same grade gets you roughly in the right band, but features matter. Before filing, cross-check your top comps on your appraisal district's site — look at the sketch and attributes. If the comps have features yours doesn't, they're favorable to you; if yours has features they don't, marginal pins should proceed with care.

Do I need to hire a property tax agent to win?

No. Homeowners who file themselves win reductions about as often as agent-filed cases and walk away with roughly the same median dollar amount. Agents are convenient and take the paperwork off your hands; they typically charge 30–40% of the first-year tax savings. If your over-assessment is clear-cut, doing it yourself is rational.

I missed the deadline. Anything I can still do?

Usually not for the current year. There are narrow late-filing exceptions (e.g., §41.411 when a required notice wasn't delivered, and §25.25 motions to correct clerical or obvious errors), but they're tightly defined and not substitutes for a timely protest. Your best move: check back next spring as soon as your notice arrives, and file early.

How often does the data refresh?

The parcel data (appraisals, comps, verdicts) refreshes when your appraisal district publishes a new certified roll — typically once a year, in spring. Where we track hearing outcomes, those refresh through the protest season. The exact last-refresh date is on the About page.