Texas property tax answers · Updated June 2026
How do I protest my property taxes in Dallas County?
The short answer
File with the Dallas Central Appraisal District by May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice was mailed, whichever is later. DCAD's uFile portal handles the whole protest online for free. Check both market value and unequal appraisal as grounds, attach comparable assessments from DCAD's own roll, and try to settle at the informal review before any formal hearing.
The Dallas County playbook
- Pull your account number from your Notice of Appraised Value or search your address at dallascad.org.
- File through DCAD's uFile portal before May 15, or 30 days after your notice was mailed, whichever is later (Tax Code Section 41.44). Filing is free.
- Check both protest grounds: over market value (Section 41.41(a)(1)) and unequal appraisal (Section 41.43(b)(3)). You can drop a ground later, but you can't add one after the deadline.
- Attach evidence with the filing: a comparable table built from DCAD's own assessed values, compared per square foot, plus photos or repair estimates if condition matters.
- File early in April if you can. DCAD handles enormous volume, and early filers get the better informal hearing slots before the deadline crush.
Why the informal stage is the real game
Texas protest data shows the formal hearing is the exception, not the rule. In Harris County, the state's biggest district, only about 16% of 2024 protests reached a formal ARB determination, and the informal-first pattern holds across major Texas districts including DCAD. An appraiser looks at your evidence and offers a number. Bring a verifiable comp table and that number moves.
The win rates for homeowners who just show up are striking. Texas Comptroller data for Hays County shows 94.66% of homeowners who protested informally in 2024 won a reduction. Protesting works in Texas, and what decides the size of the cut is the quality of your comparables.
Dallas County is one of the 13 counties in our statewide study, which found roughly 945,000 over-assessed homes across 4.6 million parcel records, overpaying about $1.4 billion a year. If you got a notice that felt high, the odds it actually is high are better than you'd think.
The shortcut, if you want it
You can build the comp table yourself from DCAD's public data. Or the $99 packet does it for you: real comparable parcels from DCAD's own roll for your specific account, the Section 41.43(b)(3) unequal-appraisal argument written out, and uFile filing steps. You file it, about 10 minutes, and every dollar of the savings stays yours. Start with the free check to see your exact over-assessment first.
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.