Top 10 reasons to protest your property taxes
(In fact, the only 10 reasons you can protest your taxes)

The ARB must base its decisions on evidence. It hears evidence from both you and the chief appraiser.

Protest issues that an ARB can consider include:

• The proposed value of your property too high.

  Ask one of the appraisal district’s appraisers to explain the appraisal. Verify that the appraisal reflects the correct property description, measurements for your home or business and lot, and any defects. Gather blueprints, deed records, photographs, a survey or your own measurements, statements from builders or independent appraisals to contest the appraiser’s decision. Collect evidence on recent sales of properties similar to yours from neighbors or real estate professionals. Ask the appraisal district for the sales that it used.

  If you protest the agricultural value of your farm or ranch, find out how the appraisal district calculated your value. Compare its information with that of local experts on agriculture, such as the county agricultural extension agent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture or other recognized agricultural sources. The Comptroller’s Manual for the Appraisal of Agricultural Land (PDF) may be helpful.

• Your property is valued unequally compared with other property in the appraisal district.

  Determine whether the property value is closer to market value than other, similar properties. Ask the appraisal district for appraisal records on similar properties in your area. Is there a big difference in their values? This comparison may show that your property was not treated equally. A ratio study or a comparison of a representative sample of properties, appropriately adjusted, for determining the median level of appraisal must be prepared to prove unequal appraisal.

• The chief appraiser denied an exemption.

  First, find out why the chief appraiser did so. If the chief appraiser denied your homestead exemption, for example, obtain evidence that you owned your home on Jan. 1 and used it as your principal residence on that date.

  If the chief appraiser denied a homestead exemption for part of the land around your home, show how much land is used as part of your residence.

  If the chief appraiser denied a homestead exemption for age 65 or older, disabled persons, disabled veteran’s, spouse of military member killed in action or spouse of a first responder killed or fatally injured in action, read about the qualifications for exemptions in the Comptroller’s Texas Property Tax Exemptions (PDF).

• The chief appraiser denied agricultural appraisal for your farm or ranch.

  Find out why the chief appraiser denied your application. Agricultural appraisal laws have specific requirements for property ownership and use. Prove that your property qualifies for special appraisal based on its productivity and intensity of use.

  Gather your ownership records and management records or obtain information from local agencies that provide services for farmers and ranchers.

• The chief appraiser determined that you took your land out of agricultural use.

  Is agricultural activity still taking place on your land? If you have taken only part of the land out of agricultural use, you may need to show which parts still qualify. If you are letting land lie fallow, show that the time it has been out of agricultural use is not excessive or is part of a typical crop or livestock rotation process for your county.

• The appraisal records show an incorrect owner.

  Provide records of deeds or deed transfers to prove ownership.

  If you acquired the property after Jan. 1, you may protest its value before the protest deadline. The law recognizes both the old and new owners as having an interest in the property’s taxes.

• Your property is being taxed by the wrong taxing units.

  An error of this sort often is simply a clerical error. For example, the appraisal records may show your property as located in one school district when it actually is in another.

• Is your property incorrectly included on the appraisal records?

  Some kinds of taxable personal property move from place to place quite regularly. Property is taxed at only one location in Texas. You can protest the inclusion of your property on the appraisal records if it should be taxed at another location in Texas or out of state.

• The chief appraiser or ARB failed to send you a notice that the law requires them to send.

  You have the right to protest if the chief appraiser or ARB fails to give you a required notice. Make sure that the appraisal district has your correct name and address.

  A notice is presumed delivered if sent by first-class mail with a correct name and last known address. In some instances, notices are sent certified mail, and the date of delivery is shown on the return receipt card. The timeliness of communications is determined by the post office cancellation mark, a receipt mark of a common or contract carrier or other proof it was deposited with the carrier. If you prove that you did not receive the notice, the appraisal district must prove that it mailed the notice properly.

  You cannot protest failure to give notice if the taxes on your property are delinquent. Before the delinquency date, you must pay a partial amount, usually the amount of taxes that are not in dispute. You may file an oath of inability to pay the undisputed taxes and the ARB will hold a hearing to determine if prepayment would constitute an unreasonable restraint on your right of access to the ARB.

• The appraisal district or ARB took any other action that affects you.

  You have the right to protest any appraisal district action affecting you and your property. For instance, the chief appraiser may claim your property was not taxed in a previous year. You may protest only those actions that affect your property.