Property tax answers · Updated June 2026
How much does a property tax appeal cost?
The short answer
Filing the appeal yourself is free or nearly free: no fee in Texas, New York, and Colorado, $15 in Florida, a modest fee scaled to assessed value in New Jersey. Paid help is where real cost enters. Contingency firms take 25 to 50 percent of your savings, recurring every year they win. Flat-fee options charge once: TaxLasso about $199, our protest kit $49, and you keep 100 percent of the savings.
Doing it yourself: free, or close to it
The appeal itself is cheap by design, because the right to challenge your assessment is meant to be accessible. Filing carries no fee in Texas, New York, and Colorado, $15 per parcel in Florida, and in New Jersey a filing fee scaled to your assessed value (confirm the exact amount with your County Board of Taxation). The only other DIY cost is your time, an hour or two to assemble comparables and attend a short hearing.
Paid help: the two models, and the math
The fee table below assumes a $1,500 annual tax saving, a realistic outcome for a meaningfully over-assessed home. The number that matters is not the headline percentage, it is that contingency fees recur, you pay them every year the reduction holds, while a flat fee is paid once.
| Option | Fee model | Of $1,500 saved, you keep |
|---|---|---|
| File it yourself | $0 to a small filing fee | About $1,500, minus your time |
| AppealMyTax | $49 flat, one time | $1,451 in year one, then 100% every year |
| TaxLasso | About $199 flat | About $1,301, then 100% every year |
| Ownwell | Contingency from 25% of savings per year | About $1,125 per year |
| Typical NJ attorney | Flat $500-$1,500, or 25-33% contingency | Varies; often worth it above ~$500K value |
| O'Connor & Associates | Roughly 50% of first-year savings | About $750 in year one |
How to think about it
Two rules cut through the noise. First, no-win-no-fee is not the same as free: win rates are high (94.66% of Hays County, Texas informal protesters won in 2024), so a contingency almost always triggers, and over five years a recurring 25 to 40 percent cut dwarfs any one-time fee. Second, what you are paying for is evidence and convenience, not legal firepower, since residential appeals rarely need an attorney. That is the logic behind a flat fee: the $49 protest kit gives you the comparable evidence a firm would bring, pre-filled and ready to sign and submit, you file it yourself, and you keep every dollar. Texas-specific firm fees are broken down further on our fee comparison page, and the free check tells you whether you even have a case before you spend anything.
See if your home is over-assessed, free
Search your address and see how your assessment compares against similar properties from the public assessment roll. Free, no signup, about 30 seconds. If the record shows a gap, the $49 protest kit comes pre-filled with your comparable evidence and the filing steps for your jurisdiction, you sign and submit, and you keep 100% of the savings. No contingency, ever.
Check my address · FreeFlat $49, one time. Filing your own appeal is free in every state; what you're buying is the evidence and the steps, done.