Property Tax Protest and Exemption Resource
As a homeowner you have the right to have fair property taxes applied to your home. As your representative we have the experience and tools needed to protest your tax appraisal. We can provide comparable home sales supporting an accurate appraisal and possible lowering your tax burden.
We can save you wasted time and effort, we make sure that you are prepared to protest intelligently. We avoid arbitration, take care of it correctly the first time.
If your protest fails, you have the right to binding arbitration. The details are listed below.
Qualifiers
Not every dispute qualifies for binding arbitration. For example, real property must be valued at $1 million or less, and the arbitrator can consider only disputes concerning appraised values and market values.
Property owners cannot, for example, use arbitration to settle disputes over the designation of open-space land, or land used primarily for agricultural purposes, or to determine if the property qualifies for an exemption, such as a charitable organization exemption, Rose said.
Property owners submit the necessary paperwork for binding arbitration along with a $500 deposit to the appraisal district, and the appraisal district completes the form and sends everything to the Comptroller's office for processing. The deposit must be made by cashier's check or money order made payable to the Comptroller of Public Accounts. If it is not, the appraisal district, Rose said, has the authority to automatically reject the request.
A property owner must file the request for binding arbitration and deposit with the county appraisal district not later than the 45th day after the date the property owner receives notice of the order. A property owner must, however, choose binding arbitration or an appeal to district court. They may not do both.
An application and deposit are required for each ARB order, which may include a single piece of property or multiple properties, and only the property owner or an owner's agent may request binding arbitration. People who lease property cannot request binding arbitration and agents must have written authority from the property owner.
Agent representation
Agents may represent property owners requesting arbitration and can represent them in arbitration proceedings. In order to serve as an agent, a person must be an attorney licensed by the state of Texas, a registered real estate broker or salesperson, a real estate appraiser, a certified public accountant or a property tax consultant.
Williamson County Binding Arbitration (PDF)
Williamson County Homestead (PDF)
Williamson County Appraisal District
Travis County Appraisal District