Protests with Written ARB DeterminationSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Thousands | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Total protests | 275.033 | 300.249 | 329.647 | 359.045 | 419.306 | 502.710 | 561.581 | 694.030 | 835.242 | 929.504 | |
| Protests single family residential | 185.081 | 192.326 | 205.826 | 219.325 | 272.847 | 322.468 | 344.065 | 480.981 | 573.387 | 630.039 | |
| Protests with all other | 89.952 | 107.923 | 123.821 | 139.720 | 146.459 | 180.242 | 217.516 | 213.049 | 261.855 | 299.465 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Hearing results depend on the appraiser assigned or the ARB; results vary widely. You do not know the appraiser or ARB panel prior to appealing.
Texas Protests with Written ARB Determination
Texas property owners have the right to appeal their property taxes to their county Appraisal Review Board in Texas annually. It does not matter if the value increased, was unchanged or was reduced. You can protest based on market value and unequal appraisal. There is no cost to file a property tax protest and the ARB cannot raise your value at the hearing.
The graphs illustrate both residential and commercial (other) volumes.
Texas homeowners appealed 322,000 accounts to their county appraisal review board (ARB) in 2019. Almost 50,000 more accounts than 2018’s total for single family homeowners.
State of Texas Protests by Property Type
Appraisal districts in Texas are typical in that they have more residential than commercial ARB hearings. This is because such a large portion of the parcels are homes. While the county ARB hearings in Texas are about two-thirds residential, about two-thirds of the savings are commercial.
In other words, though there are more residential protests, commercial property protests generate larger property tax savings. There are two reasons for this: 1) commercial properties tend to have a higher value and 2) the percentage reduction for commercial is higher since valuation of commercial properties is more subjective than valuation of homes.
Texas ARB Decisions with a ReductionSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Thousands | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Total | 191.883 | 206.115 | 205.103 | 204.090 | 205.776 | 328.546 | 343.347 | 377.391 | 477.257 | 647.384 | |
| Single Family Residential | 133.553 | 140.074 | 133.076 | 126.077 | 122.205 | 224.308 | 228.146 | 270.650 | 347.743 | 471.358 | |
| Commercial / All Other | 58.330 | 66.041 | 72.027 | 78.013 | 83.571 | 104.238 | 115.201 | 106.741 | 129.514 | 176.026 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since An annual appeal is an insurance policy to avoid major increases.
Texas ARB Decisions with a Reduction
Texas has more successful ARB hearings for residential than for commercial. This is because of the prevalence of residential accounts. About half of ARB appeals are successful, depending on the county.
In 2018, 59.3% of property appeals with ARB decisions were single family residential properties.
Percent That Resulted in A ReductionSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Percent | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Total Reduction | 70% | 69% | 62% | 57% | 49% | 65% | 61% | 54% | 57% | 70% | |
| Single Family Residential | 72% | 73% | 65% | 57% | 45% | 70% | 66% | 56% | 61% | 75% | |
| Commercial / All Other | 65% | 61% | 58% | 56% | 57% | 58% | 53% | 50% | 49% | 59% | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since To ensure their property taxes are at the lowest possible level.
Percent That Resulted in A Reduction
Here is a graph of the Texas ARB decisions for residential and commercial showing what percent resulted in a reduction.
In 2019, single family residential properties were successful in reducing their property taxes 44% of the time. Which is 5% less than the entire average of properties across Texas.
Value Reduction From Written ARB DeterminationsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Billions of $ | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Total $ Reduction | 21.547 | 35.533 | 33.610 | 50.651 | 47.873 | 62.381 | 60.523 | 58.131 | 98.175 | 131.641 | |
| Single Family Residential | 3.319 | 4.451 | 3.665 | 5.161 | 4.191 | 8.542 | 7.328 | 9.606 | 27.273 | 28.482 | |
| Commercial / All Other | 18.228 | 31.082 | 29.945 | 45.490 | 43.682 | 53.839 | 53.194 | 48.525 | 70.902 | 103.159 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Unequal appraisal allows protests based on neighbors having a better tax assessment.
State of Texas Dollar Value Reduction from ARB Hearings
Assessment reduction at the appraisal review board was substantial for Texas homeowners in 2019. Homeowners reduced the assessed value of their houses by $8.5 million at county appraisal review boards in 2019.