The Texas Constitution mandates that your property be taxed based on fair market value.  This means that the assessment of your property, whether it is your home or your business, should reflect accurate market conditions, not an arbitrary amount that is not indicative of the value of your property.  Additionally, the people of Texas voted in November, 2009, to amend our Constitution to mandate that administrative and judicial enforcement of uniform standards and procedures for the appraisal of property “shall be prescribed by general law” and shall not originate in individual counties.  This means that there has to be uniform standards for fairness according to Texas law, and not according to a particular county’s determination.

The Appeal Process:

• So, what should you do? If you think your property is overvalued, you should file a written protest. You can get a form from your local appraisal district, but you do not need to use an official form. A protest satisfies the filing requirement if it identifies the owner, the property that is the subject of the protest, and states that you do not agree with the value determined by the appraisal district.
• There are time delays for filing your appeal, so do not postpone talking to someone to see if an appeal is appropriate. You need to file your notice of protest by May 31 or no later than 30 days after the appraisal district delivers a notice of appraised value to you, whichever date is later. However, if the Appraisal Review Board ordered a change in your property's records, you must file your notice of protest within 30 days of the date on which the ARB delivered to you a notice of the change.
• It is important to know that you need to file a notice of protest before the Appraisal Review Board approves the appraisal records. Typically, if you do not file a notice of protest before the Appraisal Review Board approves the appraisal records, you lose your right to protest. However, you may be entitled to a hearing if the Appraisal review Board decides that you had good reason for failing to meet the deadline. Filing a timely protest is also important to protect your right to file a lawsuit later, if you are not satisfied with the decision of the Appraisal Review Board.
• However, if your protest is late because the chief appraiser or Appraisal Review Board did not mail your notice of appraised value, you do have the right to file your protest any time before the taxes become delinquent.
• In certain situations, you may file a protest with the Appraisal Review Board to correct an error even after these deadlines. If you have concerns about clerical errors, substantial value errors, excessive or double taxation, you should contact someone to see what your rights are. The Law Office of Deborah L. Crain can help you with all of these questions, including the filing of an appeal.