State Guide

How to Appeal Your Property Taxes in Texas (2026 Guide)

Published July 11, 2026

If you own a home in Texas, your county appraisal district sets an appraised value — what it thinks your property would sell for — and that number drives your tax bill. Texas gives every owner an annual window to protest that value before it's locked in, and that window generally closes in mid-May.

The Texas deadline: May 15 (or 30 days after your notice)

Texas's protest deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal district mailed your notice of appraised value — whichever is later — set by Tex. Tax Code §41.44. You file a protest with your county Appraisal Review Board (ARB), the independent panel that hears disputes with the appraisal district.

Because the deadline can key off your own notice date, the exact day varies: most owners work to May 15, but if your notice arrived late, you may have until 30 days after it was mailed. Always confirm the date printed on your notice. If you miss the window, you generally forfeit your protest for that year — so the practical move is to build your evidence before notices go out in the spring, then file the moment yours arrives. If the ARB's decision doesn't go your way, the next rungs are binding arbitration, an appeal to district court, or (for some owners) the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

How Texas assesses your home

Texas is a full-value state: your home is appraised at 100% of market value as of January 1 each year (the basis is Tex. Tax Code §23.01). Unlike states that assess at a fraction of market value, the number on your Texas notice is meant to be exactly what your home would sell for — which makes recent comparable sales the direct, natural evidence for a protest. If similar homes near you sold for less than your appraised value, you have a straightforward case.

Category	Texas
Assessment basis	100% of market value as of January 1 (Tex. Tax Code §23.01)
Protest deadline	May 15, or 30 days after your notice, whichever is later (§41.44)
Where you file	County Appraisal Review Board (ARB)
Assessment cap	Homestead: taxable value capped at +10%/yr (§23.23)
Can the board raise your value?	No — the appraisal district carries the burden at the ARB (§41.43)
Bonus angle	Equal-and-uniform: win if comparable properties are appraised lower (§41.43)

The 10% homestead cap — why a win may protect future years

Texas layers a homestead cap on top of market value: once you have a homestead exemption, your taxable (assessed) value can rise by no more than 10% a year, under Tex. Tax Code §23.23. If you've owned your home for a while in a hot market, that cap may already be holding your taxable value well below its true market value. When that's the case, a comparable-sales protest lowers the market value on your notice — but it only cuts this year's bill if your proven market value drops below your capped taxable value. Otherwise, the win is a lower baseline that limits how much your assessment can climb in future years — still worth doing, just not always an immediate cut. In your first homestead year, before the cap applies, a market-value reduction flows straight through to your bill.

Building your case — comps and equal-and-uniform

Because Texas assesses at full market value, the winning evidence is recent, nearby comparable sales — homes like yours that actually closed, similar in size, age, and condition — not listing prices or online "Zestimate"-style guesses. Texas gives you a second, distinctly Texan angle too: the equal-and-uniform claim. Under Tex. Tax Code §41.43, you can win a reduction if a representative sample of comparable properties, adjusted for differences, is appraised lower than yours — even if your own value isn't obviously above market. Uneven appraisal is itself grounds for relief, so a strong protest often runs both arguments: your home is worth less than the district says, and it's appraised higher than its neighbors.

What the ARB can and can't do

Here's the reassuring part: on your own protest, the ARB won't simply raise your value. In most protests Texas puts the burden of proof on the appraisal district to establish value by a preponderance of the evidence (Tex. Tax Code §41.43), and the board rules on whether the district's number is correct. (The burden can shift to you in narrower situations — for example, if you didn't respond to the district's request for information.) That's a friendlier posture than the states where a board can increase your assessment if it decides you're under-valued — but it's still no reason to walk in unprepared. The district shows up with its own model; you win by bringing cleaner, closer comps and, where it helps, an equal-and-uniform comparison.

Get your case built

PROppeal pulls licensed comparable sales for your address, checks them against your appraised value the way a Texas ARB protest is actually judged, factors in whether the 10% homestead cap changes your savings, and can surface an equal-and-uniform comparison — giving you a straight answer on whether your assessment is out of line, well before the May 15 window comes back around. Texas runs its appraisal cycle every year, so the best time to get ready is now.

Property tax rules and deadlines vary by jurisdiction and can change — verify with your county before relying on this.