Texas property tax answers · Updated June 2026
What is unequal appraisal in Texas?
The short answer
Unequal appraisal is the protest ground in Texas Tax Code Section 41.43(b)(3): your property is appraised above the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties, appropriately adjusted. It compares assessed values, not sale prices, so it works in a non-disclosure state like Texas where sales aren't public. For most homeowners it's the most practical way to win.
The statute, in plain English
Texas law gives you more than one way to protest. The familiar one is market value under Section 41.41(a)(1): my house isn't worth what you say it's worth. Unequal appraisal under Section 41.43(b)(3) is different and often stronger: even if my value is defensible in isolation, it's higher than the median of comparable properties, adjusted for differences. Texas requires appraisal to be equal and uniform, so being assessed above the adjusted median of your true comparables is itself grounds for a reduction.
The test is mechanical. Take a reasonable number of comparable properties, adjust their appraised values for differences in size, age, and features, find the median, and compare your appraised value to it. Above the median, you have a case for a reduction to that median.
Why it's the practical ground for DIY filers
Texas is a non-disclosure state: residential sale prices are not public record. That kneecaps the market-value argument for anyone without access to paid sales data, and it should make you skeptical of any service waving sales comps without naming a source. Unequal appraisal sidesteps the problem entirely. The evidence is the county's own appraisal roll, public, free, and checkable by you, the appraiser, and the ARB panel alike.
It also fits how protests actually resolve. Most settle at the informal review (in Harris County, only about 16% of 2024 protests reached a formal ARB determination), and an appraiser staring at their own district's numbers showing your home assessed above the median of its true peers has a short path to saying yes. How comps are chosen determines how strong that table is.
This is the packet's core argument
The $99 AppealMyTax packet is built around exactly this ground. We pull comparable parcels from your county's actual appraisal roll (13 Texas counties, including Harris and Dallas), run the per-square-foot median math, and write the Section 41.43(b)(3) argument with your numbers filled in. Every comp is a real parcel you can verify before you pay, starting with the free check, and you keep 100% of whatever you save. If you'd rather hire a firm to handle it, compare what they charge 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.