What is a property tax appeal?

A property tax appeal (also called a protest in Texas, or a VAB petition in Florida) is a formal process where you challenge your county appraiser's assessed value of your home. You file with the county Appraisal Review Board (Texas) or Value Adjustment Board (Florida), present comparable-sales evidence that your home is overvalued, and the board issues a ruling.

When is the Florida property tax appeal deadline?

Florida property owners have 25 days from the date the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice is mailed to file a VAB petition (Form DR-486). TRIM notices typically mail mid-August, putting the petition deadline in early-to-mid September. The deadline varies by county and is printed on the TRIM notice itself.

When is the Texas property tax appeal deadline?

In Texas, the deadline to file a property tax protest is May 15 each year (or 30 days after your appraisal notice is mailed, whichever is later). The 2026 deadline has passed; the next protest window is April-May 2027.

How much can I save by appealing my property taxes?

Homeowners who appeal save an average of $774 per year in Texas and several hundred to several thousand dollars per year in Florida (Save Our Homes locks in the savings for 10+ years). Success rates range from 80-91% when you bring 3-5 comparable sales as evidence.

What's the difference between AppealMyTax and Ownwell?

AppealMyTax charges a flat $99, one time, for a complete personalized appeal packet you file yourself, or $199-$249 for our done-for-you filing service. You keep 100% of your savings every year. Ownwell keeps a 25-35% contingency on whatever you save and O'Connor keeps about half, meaning a $2,461 reduction costs you roughly $615-$1,230 every year forever. We charge $99 once and keep nothing.

Honest comparison · 2026

Should you hire a property tax protest company or do it yourself?

You have three real choices: hire a contingency firm and give up a cut of your savings, do it completely yourself for free, or buy a flat-fee packet that does the hard evidence-gathering and leaves the ten-minute filing to you. Here is the honest cost-and-effort comparison.

Service	Fee	You keep on a $3,000 saving	Comp data
AppealMyTax Filing-ready packet (you file) · 13 Texas counties + all of Florida	$99 flat, one time	$2,901	Real comparable parcels from your county's own appraisal roll, each one verifiable
Ownwell Done for you · About 7-8 states	25% of savings (35% in FL/CA/NY), every year	$2,250/yr	Their analysts assemble the evidence and file on your behalf
O'Connor & Associates Done for you · Texas + many states	50% of first-year savings	$1,500	Full-service firm; files and represents you (subject of a Texas AG lawsuit, allegations unproven)

$3,000is an illustrative annual saving. Fees are each provider's publicly listed pricing as of June 2026; verify on their sites.

The honest verdict

Pure DIY is free but you have to find and format the comparable sales yourself, which is where most protests fall apart. A firm removes all effort but takes 25-50% forever. A flat-fee packet is the middle: the evidence is done and verifiable, you keep 100%, and filing takes about ten minutes online.

More on why we are flat-fee and how to vet any appeal service on our honest comparison page, or run your own numbers in the fee calculator.

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