Texas Property Tax Appeals

Texas Property Tax AppealsSteps to Protesting anddistrict office. It typically lasts 15 minutes. At its
Reducing Your Property Value Annuallyconclusion the appraiser will either indicate he cannot
Step 1. File a Protestmake an adjustment, or he will offer to settle by
Texas property tax appeals can be filed using theestablishing lower assessment. In Texas, most
form provided by the appraisal district, or the formresidential property tax appeals are resolved at the
available on in the property tax section (see Usefulinformal hearing.
Forms Forms in the left column). Otherwise send a- Appraisal Review Board Hearing
short letter to the chief appraiser at the centralThis is sometimes called a formal or ARB hearing.
appraisal district stating that you are protesting yourParticipants include three members of the appraisal
property taxes. You should indicate the basis is bothreview board, a staff appraiser from the appraisal
assessed value over market value and equal appraisal.district, a hearing clerk (at some counties) and the
The deadline to file a protest is May 31, or 30 daysproperty owner or their agent. The property owner
after notice of your assessed value is mailed to you,or his agent and the district's appraiser will separately
whichever is later. Protest annually to minimize yourpresent the evidence to support their opinions of the
property taxes.market value and unequal appraisal for the subject
Step 2. Research the Central Appraisal District'sproperty. Afterward, the board members will
Record Cardannounce its conclusion, which is not subject to
The appraisal district in your county has a record cardnegotiation. However, their decision can be appealed
for each property it assesses. This card containsin a Texas district court if a lawsuit is filed against the
information such as lot size, building size, amenities,county appraisal district to further appeal the
and much more. You will need to go to the districtproperty taxes .
office to obtain the complete record card and there- Litigation
may be a nominal charge. However, you can probablyWhile the results of informal hearings are final for the
review much of the basic information on the appraisaltax year and cannot be appealed through a lawsuit,
district's website. Ask the staff if you have questionsthe results determined at the appraisal review board
about the information. Errors in the record card are ahearing can be appealed to district court. Before
sound basis for a protest. It is impossible to maintainmaking a decision to do so, the owner should
correct data for every property in the county.consider the amounts of any potential tax savings,
Step 3. Establish Property Valuelegal costs and expert witness costs. In Texas, most
Texas appraisal districts typically recognize one ofjudicial appeals of property tax assessments are
three different approaches to determine marketsuccessful.
value when granting reductions in property taxOr you can select O'Connor & Associates to be
assessments. Those approaches are Salesyour agent.
Comparison Approach, Income Approach, and CostO'Connor & Associates is a national provider of
Approach. In addition, recent court rulings have pavedcommercial property real estate consulting services
the way to encourage more districts to alsoincluding property tax, market research, highest and
recognize the Uniform and Equal Approach (unequalbest use analysis, commercial real estate
appraisal) to valuing the property as provided in theappraisal,property appraisal, & lease audits.
Texas Property Tax Code. Analyze both marketOur services benefit owners of all commercial
value and unequal appraisal when preparing for yourproperty types including multi-family housing, retail
Texas property tax appeal.stores, hospitals, hotels, industrial properties,
Step 4. Journey through the Legal Avenuesmanufacturing facilities, medical offices, commercial
- Informal Hearingoffices, restaurants, self-storage units, shopping malls,
After filing a protest you will be notified of a dateshopping plazas & warehouse/distribution
and time to attend a hearing. This meeting iscenters.
conducted with a staff appraiser at the appraisal