How to Protest Property Taxes in Austin (2026 Guide)

Every year, the Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) assesses the market value of every property in Travis County. If you think your assessment is too high — and statistically, many Austin homeowners are over-assessed — you have the legal right to file a protest.

The numbers are compelling: 60-80% of Texas property tax protests result in a reduction. The median successful protest saves Austin homeowners about $606 per year. And yet, 68% of homeowners never protest at all.

Step 1: Know the Deadline

The filing deadline for 2026 protests is May 15, 2026, or 30 days after you receive your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. TCAD begins mailing notices in early April. Don't wait — file early for the best hearing times.

Step 2: Check Your Assessment

Before you protest, know what TCAD says your home is worth. You can look it up on TCAD's website or use our free property search tool — we'll show you how your assessment compares to similar homes in your area.

Key things to check:

• Is your square footage correct? TCAD sometimes has errors.
• Are your property features right? (bedrooms, bathrooms, pool, garage)
• How does your $/sqft compare to similar homes in your zip code?
• Did your assessment jump significantly from last year?

Step 3: Gather Evidence

The strongest protest evidence includes:

• Comparable sales: Recent arm's-length sales of similar homes in your area that sold for less per square foot than your assessment.
• Unequal appraisal: Similar homes in your neighborhood assessed at a lower $/sqft than yours (Section 42.26 of the Texas Property Tax Code).
• Condition issues: Foundation problems, old roof, dated kitchen, deferred maintenance — things TCAD's mass appraisal doesn't account for.
• Negative factors: Busy road, power lines, no backyard, flood zone — location issues that reduce value.
• Factual errors: If TCAD has wrong square footage, wrong year built, or features you don't have.

Step 4: File Your Protest

You can file online through TCAD's website, by mail (Form 50-132), or through an authorized agent. You need to specify your grounds for protest — the two most common are:

• Market value is too high — your home is worth less than TCAD says
• Unequal appraisal — similar homes are assessed lower than yours

We recommend checking both boxes. You can argue both at the hearing.

Step 5: Attend the Hearing (or Have an Agent Go)

TCAD schedules an informal hearing first. This is a one-on-one meeting with a TCAD appraiser where you present your evidence. Most cases are resolved here. If you don't reach an agreement, you can escalate to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) for a formal hearing.

You can attend yourself or authorize an agent to represent you. An agent handles the evidence presentation, negotiation, and follow-up — you don't need to take time off work.

Step 6: Review the Outcome

If your protest is successful, TCAD lowers your assessed value. This reduces your tax bill for the current year AND carries forward — the new lower value becomes your baseline for next year's 10% homestead cap.

Or, Let Us Handle Everything

If you'd rather not deal with evidence gathering, hearing scheduling, and TCAD negotiations, that's exactly what we do. Our AI analyzes all 492,000+ Travis County properties to build your evidence, and our team handles the rest.

Our fee is 20% of your actual tax savings — the lowest in Austin. No upfront cost. $0 if we don't reduce your bill. Use a referral code to get it down to 15%.