How to Protest Your Property Tax in Texas
If your appraisal district (the local government body that sets your home's taxable value) has assessed your property higher than you think it's worth, you have the right to protest — and you can do it yourself, for free. This guide walks you through the Texas property tax protest process step by step, from checking your notice of value to walking into your Appraisal Review Board/ARB hearing.
1. Check Your Notice of Appraised Value
When your appraisal district mails or posts your notice online, check two things: the appraised value listed, and the protest deadline printed on the notice. If the value looks higher than what comparable homes in your neighborhood sold for recently, that's your cue to dig deeper.
2. Gather Your Evidence
Strong evidence wins protests. Use recent sales of comparable homes (comps) from the past year — available via public county records or your appraisal district's portal. Photos of deferred maintenance, repair estimates, or a recent independent appraisal support a market-value argument. For a uniformity protest, pull the district's records on nearby homes and show your assessed value per square foot is higher than theirs.
3. File Your Protest Form
Submit a Notice of Protest (Form 50-132, available from your appraisal district or the Texas Comptroller's website) before your deadline. You can file in person, by mail, or — in many districts — online through the appraisal district's portal. Keep a copy and, if mailing, use certified mail so you have a delivery record.
4. Try Informal Settlement First
Most appraisal districts schedule an informal meeting with a staff appraiser before your formal ARB hearing. Bring your evidence, stay factual, and ask what value they'd agree to. Many protests resolve here — if you're satisfied with the offer, you can accept and skip the formal hearing.
5. Attend Your ARB Hearing
If the informal meeting doesn't produce a satisfactory result, your protest goes to the Appraisal Review Board — an independent panel (not appraisal district employees) that hears evidence from both sides and decides the value. Present your comps and supporting documents calmly and factually. The ARB will mail you a written order with their decision. If you disagree with the ARB's ruling, further options exist, but those are more involved and typically warrant professional guidance.
Exemptions: A Separate Way to Lower Your Bill
Protesting your value and claiming exemptions are separate levers. The homestead exemption reduces your taxable value and caps annual appraisal increases — if you qualify and haven't filed, that alone may cut your bill. Check your appraisal district's site for the homestead application and any other exemptions (over-65, disabled veteran) you may be missing.
DIY vs. Hiring a Protest Company
Protest companies work on contingency — they take a percentage of your first-year savings if they win, nothing if they don't. With free public comps and a free ARB hearing, most homeowners can run a solid protest themselves; professional help makes more sense for complex properties. No reduction is guaranteed either way.
County Tax Rates Compared: The Ten Largest Texas Counties
Every figure here is taken from the Texas Comptroller's 2025 County Report of Property Value (data version January 28, 2026), which lists rates and values for all 254 Texas counties. The rank column places each county among those 254 by county tax rate, highest first. The last column is the county portion of the bill on $300,000 of taxable value — school district, city and special-district rates are charged separately on the same value and typically make up the larger share.
| County | County rate per $100 | Rate rank | Market value | County tax on $300,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris County | $0.38096 | 192 of 254 | $939.2 billion | $1,143 |
| Dallas County | $0.21550 | 246 of 254 | $600.7 billion | $646 |
| Tarrant County | $0.18620 | 248 of 254 | $400.0 billion | $559 |
| Bexar County | $0.30000 | 232 of 254 | $322.9 billion | $900 |
| Travis County | $0.37584 | 198 of 254 | $458.8 billion | $1,128 |
| Collin County | $0.14934 | 251 of 254 | $336.3 billion | $448 |
| Denton County | $0.18594 | 249 of 254 | $251.6 billion | $558 |
| Fort Bend County | $0.82400 | 20 of 254 | $178.1 billion | $2,472 |
| Williamson County | $0.41378 | 174 of 254 | $180.9 billion | $1,241 |
| Brazoria County | $0.30476 | 229 of 254 | $91.1 billion | $914 |
What the ranks show. Nine of these ten counties sit in the bottom half of the state by county tax rate, several near the very bottom: Collin ranks 251 of 254 at $0.14934, against a statewide median of $0.49285. The reason is scale — Harris County alone carries $939 billion in market value, the largest base in Texas, so a lower rate still funds the county. Fort Bend is the exception at $0.82400, rank 20, which is 5.5 times Collin's rate. Across all 254 counties the range runs from $0.01520 in Reagan County to $1.37350 in Jeff Davis County. A low county rate is no reason to skip a protest: the reduction you win applies to every rate levied on the same value, and the school district portion is where most of the money sits.
Protesting in Texas: Questions That Come Up Statewide
Is the protest deadline the same everywhere in Texas?
The statutory rule is the same statewide: May 15, or 30 days after the appraisal district mailed your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. What differs is the mailing date, so the deadline in practice varies by district and by year. The date printed on your notice is the one that counts.
Can I protest in a year when my appraised value did not rise?
Yes. The right to protest is not conditional on an increase. If the value exceeds market value, or sits high against comparable properties, the grounds exist regardless of what last year's number was.
What is unequal appraisal, and why does it matter so much in Texas?
Unequal appraisal argues that comparable properties are appraised lower per square foot than yours — not that the market value is wrong in absolute terms. Texas law allows a reduction on this ground alone, which makes it the stronger argument when sales data is thin but the appraisal district's own records show neighbours carried lower.
Does the homestead exemption replace protesting?
No, they work on different parts of the calculation. The exemption reduces the taxable value and caps how fast the assessed value of a homestead can rise. A protest challenges the appraised value the exemption is then applied to. Doing both compounds.
If I lose at the ARB, is that the end?
No. A determination by the Appraisal Review Board can be appealed to district court, to binding arbitration, or to the State Office of Administrative Hearings, depending on the property and the value at issue. Deadlines for these routes are short and run from the date the ARB order is delivered.
Will protesting affect my mortgage escrow?
A reduction lowers the tax your lender pays out of escrow, which normally shows up as a lower monthly payment at the next escrow analysis rather than immediately. The timing depends on your servicer's review cycle.