Texas property tax answers · Updated June 2026
Can I protest my property taxes myself in Texas?
The short answer
Yes. Texas Tax Code Section 41.41 gives every property owner the right to protest, filing is free, and major counties take it online in about 10 minutes. The data says DIY works: 94.66 percent of Hays County homeowners who protested informally in 2024 won a reduction. What decides the outcome is the evidence you attach, not who files the form.
The right, and the track record
Texas Tax Code Section 41.41 gives every property owner the right to protest their appraised value, no lawyer, no agent, no firm required. Filing is free, and the major districts all take protests online: HCAD's iFile in Harris County, DCAD's uFile in Dallas County, and similar portals across the state. Budget about 10 minutes.
And self-represented homeowners win, constantly. Texas Comptroller data for Hays County shows 94.66% of homeowners who protested informally in 2024 won a reduction, 99.63% in 2023, and 100% in 2021 and 2022. Most protests settle at the informal review without ever reaching a hearing; in Harris County only about 16% of 2024 protests went to a formal ARB determination. The contingency firms charging 25 to 50 percent of your savings are filing the same free form into the same process.
The DIY sequence
- File by May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice was mailed, whichever is later (Tax Code Section 41.44).
- Check both grounds on the form: over market value (41.41(a)(1)) and unequal appraisal (41.43(b)(3)).
- Build your evidence: a table of 5 or more similar homes from your county's appraisal roll, compared per square foot, plus condition photos and repair bids if relevant.
- Attend the informal review and present the table. Most cases end here with a reduction.
- If it doesn't settle, take the same evidence to the ARB hearing. It's a 15 to 30 minute panel session, and our free hearing kit gives you the script.
Where the packet fits: the evidence shortcut
The one genuinely time-consuming step is the comp table, and that's the part we sell. The $99 packet pulls real comparable parcels from your county's own appraisal roll for your specific property, does the median per-square-foot math, writes the Section 41.43(b)(3) argument with your numbers, and includes your county's filing steps. You stay the filer, you keep the record, and you keep 100% of the savings. Start with the free check: your exact over-assessment and a real comp, 30 seconds, no signup. If you'd rather compare hiring options first, the ranked company list is honest about when a firm is worth it.
See your over-assessment free, in 30 seconds
Search your address and see your exact over-assessment plus a real comparable from your county's appraisal roll. Free, no signup, no email. If the record shows a case, the $99 packet gives you the full comp table, the Section 41.43(b)(3) unequal-appraisal argument, and step-by-step filing instructions for your county. You file it yourself and keep 100% of the savings.
Check my address · FreeFlat $99, one time, no contingency. Every comp is a real, verifiable parcel from your county's public appraisal roll.