taxesProperty Tax Assistance

Appraisal Review Board (ARB) Protests Frequently Asked Questions


What is an ARB?

An ARB is a group of citizens authorized to resolve disputes between taxpayers and the appraisal district. The ARB hears taxpayer protests. The ARB also hears issues that a taxing unit may challenge about the appraisal district's actions. In taxpayer protests, it listens to both the taxpayer and the chief appraiser. ARB decisions are binding only for the tax year in question. ARB hearings begin around May 1. The ARB should complete most of the hearings by July 20. In the largest counties, this deadline may be later.

How are ARB members chosen?

The local administrative district judge in the county in which the appraisal district is located appoints ARB members.

To be eligible to serve on the ARB, an individual must be a resident of the appraisal district for two or more years before taking office. No special requirements are necessary.

An individual cannot serve if he or she:

  • is related within the second degree by blood or marriage to a person engaged in appraising property for property tax purposes or a tax agent paid to represent property owners in proceedings at the appraisal district;
  • owes delinquent property taxes to a taxing unit for more than 60 days after the date the delinquency is known or should have been known, unless it is being paid under a delinquent tax installment agreement or has been deferred or abated;
  • is related within the third degree by blood or second degree by marriage to an appraisal district board member or an ARB member;
  • is an appraisal district board member, officer or employee, a taxing unit governing body member, officer or employee or a Comptroller employee; or
  • has a contract or has a substantial interest in a business that has a contract with the appraisal district or with a taxing unit served by the appraisal district.

In counties with a population of more than 120,000, an individual cannot serve if he or she:

  • is a former appraisal district board of director member, officer or employee;
  • served as a taxing unit governing body member or officer (until the fourth anniversary of the date the person ceased to serve as a member or officer);
  • appeared before the ARB for compensation in the previous two years;
  • served all or part of three previous terms as an ARB board member or auxiliary member;

The Texas Constitution prohibits a person from holding more than one paid public office. Because ARB members are paid per diem, they cannot hold public office.

Should I protest?

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 the effective date of the exemption 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 or modified the assessment rating of a temporary exemption due to damage by disaster.

    If you disagree with the damage assessment rating determined by the chief appraiser, take evidence showing the interior of the property and repair estimates. The appraisal district may have used one damage assessment rating for a neighborhood based on its age and building structures which don't take into account unique features that are specific to your property.

    The chart below illustrates the different levels of damage that may be applicable in counties where the governor has made a disaster declaration:

    LEVEL DAMAGE ASSESSMENT DAMAGE DESCRIPTION EXEMPTION
    Level I 15%<30% minimal, may continue to be used as intended 15%
    Level II 30%<60% nonstructural damage and waterline <18" off floor 30%
    Level III 60%<100% significant structural damage & waterline 18"+ 60%
    Level IV 100% total loss; repair is not feasible 100%

  • 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.

How do I file a protest?

The chief appraiser must publicize annually the right to and methods for protesting before the ARB, in a manner designed to effectively notify all appraisal district residents. However, try to discuss your protest issue with the appraisal office in advance. You may be able to work out a satisfactory solution without appearing before the ARB by requesting an informal conference with the appraisal district.

  • File a written protest.The appraisal district has protest forms available, but you need not use one. A notice of protest is sufficient if it identifies the owner, the property that is the subject of the protest and indicates that you are dissatisfied with a decision made by the appraisal district.
  • File your notice of protest by May 15 or no later than 30 days after the appraisal district mailed a notice of appraised value to you, whichever date is later. Note that it is 30 days after mailing the notice, not its receipt. If you are an off-shore worker or on full-time military duty, you may be entitled to file a late protest.
  • If the chief appraiser sends you a notice that your land is no longer in agricultural use, you must file your protest within 30 days of the date upon which the chief appraiser mailed the notice. The chief appraiser sends this notice by certified mail.
  • If you file a notice of protest before the ARB approves the appraisal records, you are entitled to a hearing only if the ARB decides that you had good reason for failing to meet the deadline.
  • If you do not file a notice of protest before the ARB approves the appraisal records, you may lose your right to protest. You also lose the right to file a lawsuit about the taxable value of your property.
  • If your protest is late because the chief appraiser or ARB failed to mail a required notice of appraised value or a denial of exemption or agricultural appraisal, you may file your protest any time before the taxes become delinquent or no later than the 125th day after the date you claim you received a tax bill from one or more of the taxing units that tax your property. You must pay some current taxes before the delinquency date to be entitled to this type of hearing. A notice of appraised value is not always required.
  • In some cases, you may file with the ARB to correct an error even after these deadlines. Contact your appraisal district if you have questions about clerical errors, substantial value errors, double taxing or other possible errors.
When will the ARB notify me about the protest hearing?

The ARB must notify you 15 days before your hearing of the date, time, place and subject matter of the hearing and of your right to a postponement.

At least 14 days before the ARB hearing, the appraisal district must send you copies of Property Taxpayer Remedies and the ARB hearing procedures and notify you about your right to copy and inspect documentation and information the appraisal district will use at the hearing.

Must I appear in person to present a protest?

When protesting, you or your agent may appear in person, offer evidence or argument by affidavit without appearing in person, or you may appear by telephone conference call or videoconference to offer argument and offer evidence by affidavit.

If you send someone in your place, you must give written authorization to the person to represent you before the ARB. You may use the Comptroller’s Appointment of Agent for Property Taxes (PDF) form to notify the appraisal district that you authorize someone to appear on your behalf. No form is necessary if you are designating an attorney, mortgage lender, employee, or a person who is simply acting as a courier.

You may contact the appraisal district or the Comptroller’s office for an Affidavit of Evidence to the Appraisal Review Board (PDF), but you do not have to use this form. If your letter contains all the information required, you may have your letter notarized and send it to the ARB.

Are hearings held at night or on weekends?

The ARB must provide hearing times for protests on a Saturday or weekday evening after 5 p.m. A hearing on a weekday evening cannot begin after 7 p.m. You should contact the appraisal district to see when these hearing times are available.

Can I request a postponement of an ARB hearing?

If you have not designated an agent to represent you before the ARB, you are entitled to one postponement without showing cause. You can also request a one-time postponement for additional time to prepare for your hearing.

The ARB may grant additional postponements if you can show reasonable cause or the chief appraiser can agree to a postponement.

The ARB must postpone a hearing upon request if the hearing starts two hours or more after its scheduled start time or if the protest is reassigned to a different ARB panel.

What are some helpful hints when protesting to the ARB?

Below are suggestions to prepare for your protest before the ARB.

  • Ask one of the appraisal district's appraisers to explain the appraisal.
  • Check the appraisal to make sure the property description and measurements of your property are correct.
  • Check the appraisal to see if it accounts for hidden defects — for example, a cracked foundation or inadequate plumbing. Evidence of a hidden defect could be a photograph, or a statement from a builder or independent appraiser.
  • Ask the appraisal district for the appraisal records on similar properties in the area to learn if similar properties are treated equally.
  • Consider using an independent appraisal by a real estate appraiser. Insurance records are often helpful.
  • Get documents or sworn statements from any person providing any sales information.
  • Use sales of properties that are similar to the subject property in size, age, location, and type of construction.
  • Use sales that occurred closest to Jan. 1.
  • Obtain documents or sworn statements from the person providing the sales information.
  • Use sales of properties similar to yours in size, age, location and type of construction.
  • Use recent sales.
  • Weigh the costs of preparing a protest against the potential tax savings. Preparing a protest may not be worth the time and expense if it results in only a small tax savings.
  • Ask the appraisal district for all information it used to set the value of your property. The appraisal district must give you the copies of the data, even if the information would normally be considered confidential.
  • Ask for a copy of the data, schedules, formulas, and any other information that the appraisal district plans to introduce at the hearing. The appraisal district must deliver this information during the 14 days before the protest hearing.
What happens at an ARB hearing?

The ARB's hearing procedures must be adopted and posted in a prominent place in the room in which hearings are held and published on the appraisal district's website. An ARB typically meets at the appraisal office. Generally, an ARB does not have its own staff or office. It may, however, employ legal counsel or use the services of the county attorney. An ARB may also retain an appraiser certified by the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board for instruction in valuation.

  • Do not contact ARB members outside the hearing.

    ARB members cannot discuss your case with anyone outside of the hearing. Generally, protest hearings are open to the public and anyone can sit in and listen to the case. A closed hearing is allowed on the joint motion of you and the chief appraiser if either intends to disclose proprietary or confidential information at the hearing.

    ARB members are prohibited from communicating with other persons about a property under protest. Each ARB member must sign an affidavit stating that he or she has not discussed your case with anyone. An ARB member who discusses your case outside the hearing must remove himself or herself from your hearing. An ARB member who communicates on specific evidence, argument, facts or the merits of a protest with the chief appraiser, appraisal district staff, a member of the appraisal district board of directors, or a property tax consultant or attorney representing a party to the proceeding outside the hearing commits a criminal offense (Class A misdemeanor).

  • Be on time and prepared for your hearing.

    The ARB may place time limits on hearings.

  • Stick to the facts of your presentation.

    The ARB has no control over the appraisal district's operations or budget, tax rates for local taxing units, inflation or local politics; addressing these topics in your presentation wastes time and will not help your case.

  • Present a simple and well-organized protest.

    Stress key facts and figures. Write them down in logical order and give copies to each ARB member. You are required to give a copy of your evidence to the appraisal district staff at or before the hearing. Photographs and other documents are useful evidence.

  • Recognize that the ARB acts as an independent judge.

    The ARB listens to both you and chief appraiser before making a decision. It is not a case of you against the ARB and the chief appraiser.

    Appraisal district staff must take an oath to tell the truth. The ARB will ask you to take an oath as well before you present evidence. All testimony must be given under oath.

    The chief appraiser has the burden of proving your property's value by a preponderance of the evidence presented at the ARB hearing. If he or she fails to meet the burden of proof, the ARB must determine in your favor. Additionally, if the owner of a property under protest with a market or appraised value of $1 million or less submits a properly conducted, recently completed and certified appraisal of property value to the appraisal district at least 14 days before the hearing, the appraisal district must provide evidence which clearly refutes the independent appraisal. If the appraisal district fails to do so, the ARB is required to rule in your favor.

    The appraisal district has the burden of proving your property's value by clear and convincing evidence if your property's appraised value was lowered in the preceding tax year; your property's appraised value in the preceding tax year was not established by written agreement between you, your agent and the appraisal district; and you file information sufficient to demonstrate the appraised or market value of your property and that it was unequally appraised. If the appraisal district fails to meet the burden of proof, the ARB must rule in your favor.

What about errors found after the filing deadline?

The Tax Code provides for late ARB hearings to correct errors, including residence homesteads appraised at one-fourth over the correct value and non-residence homesteads appraised at one-third over the correct value. You must file a written request and meet certain requirements for the ARB to grant a late hearing on an approved value.

For the current and previous five tax years, the ARB may correct a clerical error; multiple appraisals of a property; inclusion of nonexistent property on the appraisal roll; or an error in which property is shown as owned by a person who did not own the property on Jan. 1 of that tax year. A clerical error is a mistake in writing, copying, transcribing or entering data, but not in reasoning or judging a value. Multiple appraisals, also called double taxation, refer to taxing the same property more than once in the same tax year. Nonexistent property is property that does not exist at the location or in the form described in the appraisal roll.

For the current tax year, the ARB may grant late hearings to correct certain over appraisals; correct values based on a joint motion of you and the chief appraiser; and hear from owners who were not sent required notices. Such late hearings require you to file written requests before the delinquency date of Feb. 1.

Before an ARB decision on a late hearing can take place, the owner must pay some of the current taxes due; usually those not in dispute. The owner may file an oath of inability to pay the undisputed taxes, and the ARB will decide if prepayment of the taxes will be an unreasonable restraint on the owner's right of access to the ARB.

If you win a value reduction in a late ARB hearing, the taxing units will refund the difference in the tax payment and the correct amount of taxes. For an over appraisal hearing to take place, the property must not have been the subject of an ARB hearing and determination earlier in the year.

If a property owner proves that the value is in error by less than one-fourth for a residence homestead or less than one-third for a non-residence homestead property, the ARB may not order a correction. If the ARB orders a correction of an over-appraisal error, the property owner will pay a 10 percent penalty for the late filing based on the taxes for the correct value. On joint motion of the property owner and chief appraiser, the ARB must correct an error that resulted in an incorrect appraised value for the owner's property.

Following rules adopted by the ARB, the chief appraiser may change the appraisal roll at any time to correct any inaccuracy that does not increase the amount of tax liability.