HOW TO PROTEST PROPERTY TAXES

Did the ground fall out from under you when you opened your property tax bill....again?

What to do? Protest Protest Protest

Especially now with online protests permitted statewide, it’s easier than ever.

The two important numbers are the market value (which is an appraiser’s guess at a sale price) and the appraised value, which is what is multiplied by the various taxing governments to get your tax bill.

There’s a 10 percent cap on the annual increase of your house’s taxable appraised (not market) value, but only for those homeowners with a homestead exemption. That’s why many this year will see a 9.9 percent increase. Appraisers want to go higher, but computer software knocks it down to the cap. Love the cap.

How to protest

File a protest well before the May 15 deadline in case of computer glitches. One popular method is to get comparable sales numbers from a Realtor or from the appraisal district (some will give if you ask). Then show their numbers are out of whack. See below options from Alicia.

Another more time consuming method is to find someone in your neighborhood with the exact same house plan. Check their numbers on the appraisal district’s website. If their numbers are lower, show that in a protest. Bring photos and copies of their tax records (available for free on an appraisal district’s website). You win.

Or if you have house problems like a hail-damaged roof or foundation cracks that need fixing, get estimates and show those to prove your home’s value should be lower.

You can even hire an outside company to protest. More information about those on my Protest Cheat Sheet.

To view the details of the process from collin county click here to see their Press Release.

Filing a protest

Texans have a legal right to equal and uniform taxes. But the system is set up so the property owner must appeal to protest an assessed value.
An online protest is the first step. If you have a eFile number in the top right hand side of your notice then you can file electronically! See cheat sheet below steps.

Texas Comptroller how to video.
Collin Arbitration Board https://www.collinarb.org/faq

Alicia's How To Video

Deadline will be on notice and is 30 days after they mail it. Typically you'll receive on April 15th so deadline will be May 15th.

Appraisal notices are mailed by late April. Not everyone receives one (only those facing an increase are required to get them), so look yours up online or call the appraisal district. Even if there’s no increase, you can still protest.

Learn more at www.window.state. tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/

Evidence Tips-

Pictures are worth a thousand words – Take pictures of any disrepair on your property and of any “negative influences” surrounding your property. Qualified negative influences could be busy streets, water tower looming over your house, sewer plant nearby, commercial property bordering your residential, etc. Your noisy neighbor’s junked out car and overgrown grass probably will not qualify!

Google Earth is a wonderful thing. I would recommend printing a satellite view of your property and the surrounding area. Probably 85% of the time you can find something negative to talk about on the image! It could be anything. Get creative and add support to the rest of your presentation.

For more tips print or download our Protest Cheat Sheet.

3 ways to get a list of your properties sold comparables:

Look up tax values by the appropriate county link below.
Contact Alicia for a list to be emailed to you. Please Include in the Notes section your address, square feet, pool and subdivision name. AND/OR
Enroll Free for my Your Neighborhood Market Alerts (below) to get monthly or quarterly reports of your areas activity including sold information. Make sure you go back the days to Jan 1 of the previous year (so 450ish days).

How To Setup Your Neighborhood Page

April 2018 Dallas Morning News posted this article explaining a new website that will show the chances you have of winning a protest. Not sure if accurate but see screenshot below mine said weak. It's free unless you want the comparable report but you can already get that free from the above Your Neighborhood page on my site.

County by County

Dallas County: DallasCAD.org

Notices are mailed April 30. The property tax notices use a new style this year, spokeswoman Cheryl Jordan says. Previously, Dallas’ forms were difficult to understand. The district declined to show The Watchdog the new form.

Collin County: CollinCAD.org

Notices are mailed April 29. The county’s entire taxable value is expected to jump 10 percent, Chief Appraiser Bo Daffin says.

Denton County: DentonCAD.com

Notices are mailed April 29. For the third year, the county will offer a satellite site in Lewisville to handle overflow of protest hearings in June, chief appraiser Rudy Durham says.

Tarrant County: TAD.org

Difficulties continue for chief appraiser Jeff Law, whose department has struggled with computer and software changes that have snarled the appraisal district’s operations in recent years. This year, some complain that the district put the wrong protest deadline date on some tax notices. Law is the only chief appraiser who declined to talk to The Watchdog.

Rockwall County: RockwallCAD.com

Notices were mailed April 22. “We’re excited the market is increasing even though that does mean an increase in values,” chief appraiser Patricia Davis says.
by Dave Lieber, The Dallas Morning News

Formal Protest Flowchart

Property owner submits a timely filed protest with Collin Appraisal Review Board (ARB)

Protest must be postmarked or hand-delivered by May 15^th, of the current year or by the protest deadline on the Notice of Appraised Value. (If May 15^th falls on a weekend or legal state or national holiday, the deadline will be the next business day.)

Appraisal Review Board will schedule a formal hearing

Property owner will be notified 15 days in advance

Appraisal Review Board will mail a Notice of Hearing to the property owner

Property owner will begin collecting evidence for a hearing before the Collin Appraisal Review Board

Prior to attending hearing:

Property owner should finalize evidence
Property owner makes 1 copy of evidence for ARB
If you are not the property owner according to the district's record, you will be required to provide:

Proof of ownership, power of attorney, probated will, etc,

If the owner hires a person who will be compensated to represent them, the Comptroller's Appointment of Agent for Property Taxes (Form 50-162) must be used.
If the owner has their spouse, family member or friend representing them at the hearing, please use the Appointment of Non-Agent Representation Form.

Day of hearing:

Bring evidence to hearing
Arrive on time (first come first serve)
Check in at Appraisal Review Board desk

In hearing panel:

Panel chairman will ask owner/district to state name
Both parties swear the evidence presenting is true and correct
Owner/district will have 5 minutes to present evidence
Owner/district will have a few minutes for rebuttal
Panel chairman will close hearing. The three-member ARB panel will discuss the evidence presented and render a decision.

After hearing:

In approximately 10 days, the ARB will send a final order by certified mail to the property owner.
Property owner may seek further remedies, if dissatisfied with the ARB decision. See additional information included in the final order.

Wishing us all good luck! Feel free to call me with any quesions!
Alicia Duffy 214-682-5009

In the news......

Most of the increase in Texas homeowners' tax bills in recent years has come from higher property valuations, not an increase in the tax rate.

Median home prices in the D-FW area are at a record high and are 50 percent ahead of a decade ago.

Share this page for a chance to win!