How Often Are Properties Reappraised?

Depending on your appraisal district in Texas, your property may be reappraised anywhere from every year to every three years. Most large districts such as those in Harris, Dallas, and Travis counties do so every year, while smaller districts will do so only every three years, which is the maximum time between assessments that statutes allow. The Tarrant County Appraisal District switched from annual appraisals to one every two years, though this was met with controversy. This even led to a bill going before the Texas House that would require all CADs in counties with over 75,000 people to perform appraisals annually. Appraisals must be done before January 1, as that is when the new tax year begins.

When Will I Know the Results of My Appraisal?

In Texas, appraisal notices are typically mailed out in April, and you should receive yours on or around April 15. Your CAD may have this information online earlier, so if you want to get a jump on things, it may be best to keep your attention focused there. Notices can be mailed late, which could lead to an extended timeframe to protest your taxes. You typically have 30 days after the notice is mailed to appeal. The date of mailing should be on your notice. The standard deadline for filing your property tax appeal is May 15, but this can be extended by a CAD if needed. You should check your CAD’s website to see if any extensions were announced.

Important Information to Check on Your Notice

Once you receive your notice, the clock on your appeal starts ticking, so you will want to familiarize yourself with your notice and look over it for any factual errors, while also minding what your new appraised value is. You will typically see a market value and an appraised value. The appraised value is what your taxes will be based on. You should also see what your property was appraised for in the previous year, so you can compare how things have changed. Lastly, any exemptions that you have will be listed. Ensure that you have every exemption that you are qualified for, as missing one can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. This is especially true with the enhanced homestead exemptions that were approved in Texas last year.

Preparing for Appeal Season

While you are waiting for your assessment notice, now is the perfect time to begin prepping for your tax appeal. There is only a 30-day window to understand your assessment, gather evidence, and file your property tax appeal. Getting evidence together ahead of time can make for a smoother appeal period, as it is the most time-consuming part of the process. Most of the evidence is not too difficult to put together and getting a jump on the situation can ease your burden and mind. If you are using more complex grounds for appeal, such as the income approach or utilizing sales records, you will want to get a head start on gathering that information and documents.

Taking Photographs of Your Property

One of the best pieces of evidence you can have is photos of your land and building. Be sure to take exterior shots from all four cardinal directions. You should also focus on issues that will lower your appraised value. Old roofs, cracked foundations, broken siding, and more are all excellent opportunities to help bring your appraised value down at protest time. All of these issues and more are considered deferred maintenance, and can be gamechangers when your property tax appeal is being held. Try to locate any issues that you can, as every little bit can help.

Get Bids to Enhance Claims of Deferred Maintenance

If you have any major issues on your property, you may want to contact companies or contractors to see how much it would cost to fix these issues. Even if you cannot fix them right away, be sure to get estimates or bids on how much the work would cost to get done. When paired with photographs, these documents can make for compelling and undeniable evidence. Tax protestors will often either have documentation or photos, but not both. Having the whole thing in your arsenal gives you an advantage. Even if your appraiser disagrees, such concise evidence is bound to impress the appraisal review board (ARB) if you go on to a formal hearing. Getting several bids is even better, as multiple estimates help prove the story you are trying to tell.

This can also be used to prove that any repairs or improvements are recent. Remember, the assessment you receive in 2026 is for the condition your property was in on January 1, 2026. If you got a new roof or installed a new swimming pool after January 1, then you will not be responsible for the increase in appraisal until the 2027 appraisal. Having photos and bids from before the construction and an invoice after it can show that your property was not improved upon until after the start of the year. This can get you a significant break on your assessment if you appeal.

Sales Records, Unequal Appraisal, and the Income Approach

This is the hardest evidence to gather. If you want to prove that your home is overvalued by comparing it with properties that sold in your area, you must provide sales records. This means finding properties in your vicinity with similar characteristics and conditions that sold recently. Finding these records can be difficult, but you can often consult realtors in your area. You can also look online for various websites that list homes for sale.

Appealing on unequal appraisal works in a similar manner, but you must be able to compare the assessed value of similar properties to your own, often backing it up with photos of the property to document the condition. These two approaches are the most complex to use and often require the aid of professionals. If you have a business property, you may instead want to use the income approach to prove a similar point. You provide evidence of your income and expenses, which demonstrates the value of your business property as an income generator compared to its assessed value. The income approach often requires the most evidence to be successful, so having your documentation ready early is a must.

We at O’Connor are Texas Property Appeal Experts

As you can see, it is never too late to be prepared. Property tax appeals are becoming more commonplace across Texas, with more taxpayers choosing to fight every year. While new exemption changes help property owners, appeals can enhance your savings even more. Gathering evidence can feel like a full-time job, but we at O’Connor are here to help. For over 50 years, we have been helping clients across the Lone Star State fight unequal and unfair taxes. School taxes in the state may have been reduced, but those for the county and MUDs are still as high as ever. A well-executed appeal can lower those as well, along with cutting your school taxes even further.

We can aid you by analyzing your assessment, which can help spot simple errors. We can also use our advanced databases to compare both home sales and appraisals in your area. This gives us a leg up in the most complex part of the evidence chain. Once we have all the evidence together, we will represent you in all of your hearings. If administrative appeals fail, we will even coordinate litigation on your behalf. Best of all, you will not be charged upfront for any of these services. Instead, we follow a contingency model. This means you will only pay if we are able to lower your taxes. Your taxes can never be raised by protesting your taxes, so you have nothing to lose by working with one of the nation’s top property tax firms.