How do I fix an error on a prior-year Texas appraisal (25.25(c) correction)?
How do I fix an error on a prior-year Texas appraisal (25.25(c) correction)?
Even after the May 15 protest deadline, Texas lets you file a 25.25(c) motion to correct certain factual errors — like wrong square footage, a property that doesn't exist, or a property taxed twice — for any of the five preceding tax years.
If you missed the protest deadline or discover a factual error in a past year, Texas has a back door: the 25.25(c) correction motion.
What it covers. Under Tex. Tax Code §25.25(c), the Appraisal Review Board, on a motion by the chief appraiser or by a property owner, may order changes to the appraisal roll for any of the five preceding years to correct:
- a clerical error;
- multiple appraisals of the same property (taxed twice);
- the inclusion of property that does not exist in the location or form described; or
- an ownership error showing the property in the wrong name.
Why it's valuable. Unlike a regular protest, a 25.25(c) motion is not bound by the May 15 deadline and reaches back up to five years. It is ideal for objective record problems — your property record card lists 2,500 square feet when the home is 2,000, shows a bathroom or outbuilding you don't have, or describes land you don't own. These are factual, high-success corrections.
What it does NOT cover. Section 25.25(c) is for the specific errors listed above — it is not a way to re-argue market value or unequal appraisal after the fact. A simple disagreement about value belongs in a timely protest under Tex. Tax Code §41.41, or, for a very large overvaluation, in a 25.25(d) substantial-error motion.
How to file: 1. Get your property record from your appraisal district and identify the specific factual error. 2. File a written motion with the ARB (many districts provide a correction-motion form) describing the error and the years affected. 3. Attach proof — a survey, builder plans, an appraisal, or photos establishing the correct facts. 4. Attend the hearing the ARB sets on your motion and present your evidence.
The Texas Comptroller describes these correction remedies as available in addition to the ordinary protest. If the error inflated your value, a correction can also produce a refund of overpaid taxes for the corrected years.