Can my Texas appraised value be lowered below what I paid for the house?
Can my Texas appraised value be lowered below what I paid for the house?
Yes — Texas has no rule that ties your appraised value to your purchase price; if comparable homes are appraised lower, an equal-and-uniform protest can reduce your value below what you paid, because the law entitles you to the median of adjusted comparable values.
A common myth is that your purchase price sets a floor the appraisal district can't go under. In Texas, it doesn't.
No purchase-price floor in the statute. Texas law sets your appraised value at market value (Tex. Tax Code §23.01), and gives you a separate right to be appraised equally and uniformly with comparable property (Tex. Tax Code §41.43(b)(3)). Neither provision says your value cannot fall below what you paid. The price you negotiated is evidence of market value, but it is not a legal minimum.
How a value can drop below your purchase price. The key is the unequal-appraisal (equal and uniform) ground. Under §41.43(b)(3), your protest must be decided in your favor unless the appraisal district proves your appraised value is at or below the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties, appropriately adjusted. If near-identical neighbors are appraised lower than your purchase price implies, the median can be below what you paid — and you are entitled to that lower, uniform value.
Why this happens in practice:
- You may have paid a premium — a competitive bid, lot premium, builder upgrades, or buyer-specific incentives — that doesn't reflect typical market value.
- The neighborhood may be appraised conservatively relative to recent sales, so the uniform median sits below recent transaction prices.
- The district may be catching you up to market while your neighbors lag, which is exactly the inequity the equal-and-uniform ground corrects.
Building the case: 1. File on both grounds — over-market value and unequal appraisal — on Form 50-132. 2. Pull comparable accounts from your appraisal district and compute the adjusted median appraised value. 3. Request the district's evidence under §41.461 to see and rebut their comparables. 4. Present the median, not your purchase price, as your requested value if the equity argument is stronger.
Caveat: if you recently paid a price above the district's value, don't volunteer it as your opinion of value — lead with the equal-and-uniform median instead. The Texas Comptroller confirms unequal appraisal is a valid protest ground; it is the route to a value below purchase price.