Texas Property Tax Protest: How the System Works

Your tax bill is roughly taxable value × tax rate for each taxing unit. A protest works on the first half of that equation. Exemptions such as the homestead exemption also reduce taxable value, through a separate application.

• The market value is higher than your home would sell for.
• Your home is appraised unequally compared with similar properties.
• The district's description of your property is wrong.
• An exemption or special appraisal was denied, reduced or not applied.
• Other district actions that adversely affect you, such as the property being listed under the wrong owner.

You can't protest a tax rate, and the ARB can't lower a value because taxes are hard to afford. See reasons to protest for the evidence each ground needs.

Filing a protest and attending the informal review and ARB hearing are free. Your real cost is time, and the choice is how much of the work you want to do:

• Do it yourself. Free, using your district's property search and public sales information.
• Do it yourself with a kit. Our Protest Kit ($59, one time) assembles comparable homes, an adjustment grid, a hearing script and a print-ready evidence packet. You keep all of your savings.
• Hire a protest company. Most charge a percentage of the tax you save, often every year. See DIY vs. protest companies.

Most homeowners who protest get a reduction. Results vary from home to home, and even a modest reduction lowers every tax on the bill. Because an ARB decision applies only to the year you protested, homeowners who check their value every year tend to benefit most.

If you have a homestead exemption, remember the homestead cap: your appraised value can generally rise no more than 10% a year. If your capped value is already well below market value, a protest has to bring the value below the capped figure to change this year's bill, though a lower market value can still limit future increases. How much you can save explains the math.