Property tax bills make up a significant amount of money that Texas homeowners have to pay every year.
Although property taxes cannot be eliminated, as they’re necessary for funding local government, homeowners do have the right to protest their property tax assessments. Many homeowners protest their property tax every year to keep their property tax bills stable and manageable from year to year.
In this article, you will learn the step-by-step process of protesting your property tax assessment in Texas. Many homeowners are concerned about their property tax bill, but unsure of how to approach the protest. If this sounds like you, keep reading!
How to file a property tax protest in Texas
1. Review your appraisal notice and understand the process
The whole process of protesting your property tax begins with receiving an appraisal notice from your county's appraisal district. This notice will have your property's preliminary appraised value. The first step you need to take once you receive this notice is to familiarize yourself with your local district's rules, deadlines, and the steps you must take to file a protest.
Generally, there are some common steps we will be discussing in this article. It's advisable to thoroughly understand these steps, as protests are more likely to be successful when they’re based on accurate information and adherence to the procedures.
2. Gather evidence
Once you have reviewed the steps of the filing process, start gathering evidence that can potentially help you succeed in your property tax protest.
Here are some examples of evidence you can collect:
- Sales data analysis of similar homes that have been sold in your area for a lower price.
- Pictures of property damage or any such relevant information that has not been taken into consideration by the appraisal district.
- A recent appraisal from a qualified appraiser was lower than the current property tax bill.
3. Preparing your protest
You can start preparing your protest once you're armed with solid evidence to prove your fair property value. This step includes writing a well-structured statement that outlines your reasons for disagreeing with the assessment and why you believe your property's value is lower than the appraised value.
With this statement, share the required documents and provide the evidence you collected. A concise and impactfully written argument will be more likely to make the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) take notice of your case and rule favorably.
4. File a notice of protest
Once you've prepared your protest statement, documents, and evidence, you need to file it with the ARB at your local appraisal district. You can complete this process in person, online, or by mail. Make sure you file it with the appropriate authorities and meet the deadlines (typically 30 days from the date the preliminary notice was mailed). Also, keep a record of your submission for future reference.
5. Attend an informal meeting
After filing the protest, you may attend an informal meeting with an appraisal district employee to discuss the case. Depending on the district, you may be able to attend this meeting in person or by phone.
This informal meeting is a chance for homeowners to present their evidence and potentially reach a positive conclusion with the appraisal district. Value reductions due to objective property data such as inaccurate building size, property condition, and removal of previous improvements such as fireplaces can often be acquired during an informal meeting.
6. Prepare for the formal hearing
If the homeowner and the appraiser do not reach an agreement during this informal meeting, the homeowners must appear for a formal hearing before the ARB. For this stage, you need to be fully prepared to present and justify your evidence against the proposed property assessment.
If you aren't confident or lack guidance, it's best to ask for support from property tax consultants like Bezit, who will protest your property assessment on your behalf without making a big dent in your wallet.
7. Get ARB's decision on your case:
You will be told the ARB's decision before you leave your formal hearing and you will receive a written notice within approximately 30 days. If the decision is in your favor, your property's appraised value and the property tax bill will be reduced. However, if the ARB disagrees with your claims of a lower property value, you can challenge this decision via binding arbitration.
How companies providing tax protest services can help you?
Although protesting property tax isn't rocket science, we all know how legal things work. No matter how easy the process looks, there are tons of nitty-gritty details within the government and legal processes that need to be done right and strategically.
As a regular person with no prior experience dealing with property tax protests, you may not be equipped with the best practices to navigate this challenging process.
That's when companies providing tax protest guidance and services can step in! Property tax protest service providers are professionals who know the ins and outs of property tax protests.
Trusted by 500+ Texan homeowners, Bezit is an online tax protest consultant and service provider. It helps you at every step of the process, from helping you understand the property tax protest process clearly and gathering evidence to preparing and filing the protest and getting you ready for the ARB hearing.
All the advice and guidelines shared by Team Bezit are backed by their experience of working across eight counties to help over 500 Texas homeowners save at least $1,200 on their property tax bill.
In addition to money, consultants at Bezit also help you conserve your precious time and energy by completing all the complex legal formalities on your behalf.
If you're a homeowner or a real estate investor who wants to successfully protest property tax in Texas in 2024, Bezit would love to help. And best of all, we’ll do it for an affordable and reasonable fee!