What is the Texas 25.25(d) substantial-error (one-third) correction motion?
What is the Texas 25.25(d) substantial-error (one-third) correction motion?
A 25.25(d) motion lets you correct a current-year value that is more than one-third too high even after the protest deadline, filed before taxes go delinquent — but a late correction carries a penalty equal to 10% of the tax on the corrected value.
When your value is dramatically too high and the protest window has closed, Texas offers a substantial-error remedy under 25.25(d).
The threshold. Under Tex. Tax Code §25.25(d), a property owner (or the chief appraiser) may file a motion with the Appraisal Review Board to correct an error that resulted in an appraised value that exceeds by more than one-third the correct appraised value. The popular nickname "one-fourth rule" is imprecise — the statutory test is a value overstated by more than one-third (i.e., the assessed value is more than 1.333× the correct value).
The timing. The motion may be filed at any time before the date the taxes on the property become delinquent — which gives you a window well past the May 15 protest deadline. This makes it a genuine safety valve for a homeowner who missed the protest or whose value is wildly off.
The catch — a penalty. A correction under §25.25(d) is not free of consequence. If the ARB grants the motion, the property is subject to a late-correction penalty equal to 10% of the amount of taxes calculated on the basis of the corrected appraised value. So the remedy reduces your value substantially but adds a penalty on the corrected tax — weigh that before relying on it instead of a timely protest.
When to use which remedy:
- Timely protest (by May 15) under §41.41 — always the first choice; no penalty, any grounds.
- §25.25(c) correction — for clerical errors, double appraisals, or non-existent property, up to five years back, no one-third threshold.
- §25.25(d) substantial-error motion — when the only path left is a current-year value overstated by more than one-third and you accept the 10% penalty.
How to file: submit a written motion to the ARB identifying the property, the current appraised value, the value you contend is correct, and evidence (appraisal, comparable sales) showing the overstatement exceeds one-third. The Texas Comptroller lists the §25.25 motions among the remedies available outside the ordinary protest. Do the math first: confirm the overstatement clears the one-third bar, since a smaller error won't qualify.