First review your annual property tax appraisal letter. If you see any errors or something appears incorrect, you can file an informal appeal with your local appraisal district (CAD). You must gather together evidence that can prove your case, such as deeds, construction documentation, and bills from contractors. If you have evidence on your side, then the CAD may offer you a settlement. If you are unable to land a settlement, or it is below your expectations, you can then appeal to the appraisal review board (ARB) for a formal hearing. The ARB is an impartial three-person board that will rule on the evidence you provide vs. what the CAD claims. This takes more evidence than an informal appeal and can take a good bit of time.

Alternatively, you can sign up with an agent like O’Connor. We will analyze your appraisal letter, examine your documents and evidence, and represent you at informal appeals, formal hearings, as well as judicial appeals or binding arbitration where merited. This allows our experts to do the heavy lifting for you.

Property taxes are created by your local appraisal district. The standard formula is: Appraised value – exemptions X the tax rate = your tax bill.

For example, if your appraised value is $200,000 and your tax rate is 2%, then your tax would be calculated as $200,000 x .02 = $4,000.

We protest the appraised value of your property up to the appropriate stage. By reducing the taxable value of your property, we lower your tax burden. We cannot lower your tax rate itself, but rather the value the taxes are predicated on.

We handle them all! From homes, to businesses, to industrial. Generally, if you are responsible for taxes on a property, we can help you in lowering them. There is no such thing as a property that is too large or small for us to assist you with.

You will be informed by your local CAD if an informal appeal is successful right away. If you achieved a victory through the ARB, then you will be notified via certified mail. If we handle everything for you, then we will inform you ourselves. O’Connor clients have access to our secure portal where they are able to check the status of their protest, submit evidence, and make payments.

We charge you nothing upfront. We will contest your case to the highest appeal level necessary. If we are successful, then we will take a portion of your tax savings as a contingency fee. If we are unable to lower your taxes, then you owe us nothing.

Our fee is based on our level of success in representing you, our interests are aligned. Our fee includes all levels of appeal when appropriate. The fee is 50% of the current year tax savings, based on the initial appraisal district assessed value less the final value after the informal and appraisal review board, using last year’s tax rate. (This year’s tax rates are not typically known until October or November.)

What we charge for: Our fee is half the property tax savings for the current year, based on the initial value less the final assessed value after the administrative hearings, times the prior year tax rate (current year’s tax rates not available until October / November). Our service includes concierge visits to you at your property. Our services include proactive representation at all levels of appeal whenever financially feasible. Our service includes attending the appraisal review board if we do not receive an appropriate offer from the appraisal district.

We do not charge up frontor flat fees just to enroll for service. We do not charge for help with homestead exemptions. We do not charge market value reductions that do not actually reduce property taxes.

Victories in tax appeals have a cumulative effect, using each year’s victory as foundational evidence moving forward. This leads to a strong portfolio of evidence that can be used to achieve greater savings each year. Also, clients of O’Connor benefit from automatic protest filing and representation every year, you do not have to worry about deadlines or sudden property value spikes.

Yes, we can protest your taxes for the current year, even if your previous year’s values were not protested. While we usually cannot go back and protest your taxes once the deadline has passed, there are a few exceptions:

Texas property tax code section 25.25 (c) permits filing for correction on clerical errors where property details like size or age are incorrect

Texas property tax code section 25.25 (d) allows for protest prior to the time when taxes are delinquent when there is an error which causes the appraised value to be more than 25% over the correct value for homesteads

Or where the error causes the appraised value to be more than 33% higher than the correct value for non-homesteaded property

If you decide to enroll as a client with O’Connor, we will take care of this for you. If you are protesting on your own, your informal appeal will need to be filed with the Harris County Central Appraisal District (HCAD). After this step, if necessary, you can then appeal to the Harris County ARB.