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You should file your written protest with the appraisal district by May 31 or no later than 30 days after the appraisal district mailed you a notice of appraised value, whichever is later. The appraisal district will schedule an appointment for you.
(The information below was obtained from the “Taxpayer Rights & Remedies” January 2005 Edition)
How to File a Protest
1. 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.
2. File your notice of protest by May 31 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 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; the mailing date appears on the “green card” you will receive.
If you file a notice of protest before the ARB approves the appraisal records, you are entitled to a hearing only if the board decides that you had good reason for failing to meet the deadline.
If you don’t file a notice of protest before the ARB approves the appraisal records, you 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. 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 or the Comptroller’s office if you have questions about clerical errors, substantial value errors, double taxing or other possible errors.
Do I Have To Attend The Formal ARB Hearing in Order to Resolve my Protest?
No, you may be able to resolve your protest informally with an appraiser or other staff member of the appraisal district prior to attending the formal hearing with the ARB. You should bring the appropriate documentation to the informal meeting so it may be reviewed. You may need to bring a copy of your closing statement, fee appraisal or other related documents if you have recently purchased your home. Depending upon your situation, you may want to provide sales and comparables, repair estimates, and/or photographs of the specific evidence that supports your position. (For commercial properties, you should provide appropriate documentations for values that were based on sales, income approach, cost approach, or market approach) If you are unable to resolve your protest informally, you will need to attend a hearing with the ARB.
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