Property Tax Notice Hearing 41.46

Property Tax Protest Hearing Notice Shall Include Day, Time, Location, Issue Appealed and Option to Reschedule

Section 41.46 – Notice of Property Tax Protest Hearing

The appraisal review board must give the owner written notice of the date, time and place for the property tax appeal hearing. Notice must be delivered at least 15 days before the date of the hearing. Delivered, in this sense, means placed in the mail with first-class postage. It is not the date of receipt by the property owner.

While this provision seems simple and straightforward, there are several problems with how many appraisal districts handle the process. The most serious problem is mass scheduling of hundreds of hearings for one date and time. For example, Dallas County Appraisal District often schedules 500 or more hearings for a single time on one day. In most cases, the appraisal district handles timely mailing of hearing notices even though the appraisal review board should.

Sec. 41.46. Notice of Protest Hearing.

(a) The appraisal review board before which a protest hearing is scheduled shall deliver written notice to the property owner initiating a protest not later than the 15th day before the date of the hearing. The notice must include:

(1) the date, time, and place of the hearing;

(2) a description of the subject matter of the hearing that is sufficient to identify the specific action being protested, such as:

(A) the determination of the appraised value of the property owner’s property;

(B) the denial to the property owner in whole or in part of a partial exemption; or

(C) the determination that the property owner’s land does not qualify for appraisal as provided by Subchapter C, D, E, or H, Chapter 23; and

(3) a statement that the property owner is entitled to a postponement of the hearing as provided by Section 41.45 unless the property owner waives in writing notice of the hearing.

(b) The board shall give the chief appraiser advance notice of the date, time, place, and subject matter of each protest hearing.

(c) If the protest relates to a taxable leasehold or other possessory interest in real property that is owned by this state or a political subdivision of this state, the board shall deliver notice of the hearing as provided by Subsection (a) to:

(1) the attorney general and the state agency that owns the real property, in the case of real property owned by this state; or

(2) the governing body of the political subdivision, in the case of real property owned by a political subdivision.

(d) The appraisal review board shall deliver notice of the hearing by certified mail if, in the notice of protest under Section 41.44, the property owner requests delivery by certified mail. The board may require the property owner to pay the cost of postage under this subsection.

(e) Notwithstanding Section 1.085, the appraisal review board shall deliver notice of the hearing by electronic mail if, in the notice of protest under Section 41.44, the property owner requests delivery by electronic mail and provides a valid electronic mail address.

(f) This subsection applies only to the appraisal review board of an appraisal district established in a county with a population of 120,000 or more. In addition to the notice required by Subsection (a), on written request of the property owner initiating the protest, the appraisal review board shall deliver to the property owner an electronic reminder stating the date, time, and place of the protest hearing that is the subject of the notice. The property owner may request that delivery of the electronic reminder be made by e-mail or text message. The property owner must provide in the request the e-mail address or telephone number, as applicable, to which the appraisal review board must send the reminder. The appraisal review board must deliver the electronic reminder to the property owner not earlier than the seventh day after the date the appraisal review board delivers the notice required by Subsection (a) and not later than the day before the date of the hearing. Failure to deliver the electronic reminder required by this subsection is not considered a failure to provide or deliver notice under Section 41.411.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2306, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., 1st C.S., p. 172, ch. 13, Sec. 139, eff. Jan. 1, 1982; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1039, Sec. 39, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 416, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 626 (H.B. 538), Sec. 3, eff. January 1, 2008.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 753 (H.B. 1060), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2019.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 (S.B. 2), Sec. 63, eff. January 1, 2020.

Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 533 (S.B. 63), Sec. 18, eff. September 1, 2021.

Cross References:
Delivery of notice, see Sec. 1.07.
Protest of failure to deliver notice, see Sec. 41.411.

Notes:
In establishing a detailed timeline associated with the protest process, an appraisal review board has no authority to schedule a hearing on a protest before receiving the property owner’s notice of protest or to notify a property owner of a prescheduled hearing, nor can such authority be implied. An appraisal review board lacks authority before a property owner has filed a written notice of protest to schedule a hearing on a property tax appraisal protest and to notify the property owner about the hearing time. Op. Tex. Att’y Gen. GA-0311 (2005).
These codes affect property owners across the state, in both larger and smaller cities including:

• East Columbia
• Hutchins
• Sunset Valley
• Sugar Land
• Stagecoach
• Converse
• Bacliff
• Splendora
• Oak Ridge North
• Texas City
• Montgomery
• Magnolia
• Willis
• Needville
• Fairchilds
• Windcrest
• Beasley
• Westminster
• Double Oak
• Brookside

The Texas Property Tax Code applies to all property types in Texas including:

• Office building
• Truck stop
• Night club
• Retail
• Country club
• Daycare center
• Power center
• Restaurant
• Auto service garage
• Mini-warehouse

O’Connor & Associates offers property tax services to all property owners of all land uses across Texas.

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