Texas Property Tax Protest Deadlines

Texas uses a rolling deadline keyed to your notice of appraised value, not a single fixed date.

The rule. You must file a written Notice of Protest before the later of (1) May 15, or (2) the 30th day after the appraisal district delivered your notice of appraised value. This is set by Tex. Tax Code §41.44(a). The Texas Comptroller confirms the deadline runs "until May 15 or 30 days from the appraisal district notice's delivery date, whichever is later."

When notices mail. Under Tex. Tax Code §25.19, the chief appraiser sends the notice of appraised value by April 1 (or as soon thereafter as practicable) for a single-family residence, and by May 1 for other property. Because most residential notices arrive in late March or April, the May 15 date controls for the typical homeowner — but if your notice arrives late, the 30-day clock can extend your deadline past May 15.

Don't wait for the notice. You are not required to receive a notice to protest. If you believe your value is too high and haven't received a notice, you can still file. If the appraisal district failed to send a required notice, you may protest under Tex. Tax Code §41.411 (failure to give notice).

File the right form. File the Notice of Protest, Form 50-132, with your county Appraisal Review Board (ARB). Many appraisal districts also accept online filing.

If the deadline lands on a weekend or holiday, it rolls to the next business day. Confirm the current-year date and any county-specific instructions on your appraisal district's site, and file early — the ARB has limited authority to accept late protests, and only for good cause.

Select both grounds when filing. Under Tex. Tax Code §41.41(a), you may protest on the ground that your appraised value exceeds market value and on the ground of unequal appraisal. Check both boxes on Form 50-132 — the unequal-appraisal standard under §41.43 (specifically §41.43(b)(3), comparing your value to the median of comparable adjusted properties) is the path most Texas homeowners use to win a reduction, and you cannot add that ground after the deadline.

Evidence request under HB 1533 (2024). Once you file, request the appraisal district's evidence packet at least 14 days before your hearing. Under HB 1533, the CAD is required to provide it — knowing what they'll present lets you address their comparables directly, whether in an informal conference or at the formal ARB hearing.

Missing the May 15 protest deadline is not always the end of the road in Texas, but the late-filing options are narrow.

Good-cause late protest. Under Tex. Tax Code §41.44(c-3), the Appraisal Review Board shall accept and consider a late-filed protest if the owner files it before the ARB approves the appraisal records and shows good cause for missing the deadline. "Good cause" generally means a reason beyond your control — not simply forgetting. The Texas Comptroller confirms the ARB may grant a late hearing where the property owner shows good cause for missing the local protest deadline. Because the ARB approves records around mid-July in most districts, the practical window is short.

Failure-to-give-notice protest. A separate path applies if the appraisal district never sent you a notice it was required to send. Under Tex. Tax Code §41.411, you may protest the failure of the chief appraiser or ARB to provide a required notice. If you prevail, you generally get to protest the underlying value as if you had received timely notice — but you typically must act before the taxes become delinquent, and you may need to have paid the undisputed portion of the tax.

If those don't fit, use a correction motion. When you can't qualify for a late protest, the §25.25 correction remedies remain open:

• §25.25(c) for clerical errors, double appraisals, or non-existent property (up to five prior years, no deadline tied to May 15);
• §25.25(d) for a current-year value overstated by more than one-third, filed before delinquency (with a 10% penalty on the corrected tax).

Practical steps: 1. Act immediately — the good-cause window closes when the ARB approves records. 2. Document your good cause (hospitalization, military deployment, never receiving the notice). 3. If you got no notice, file a §41.411 protest and keep proof. 4. Otherwise pivot to a §25.25 motion that fits your facts.

The safest course is always to protest on time; treat these as fallbacks, not a plan.