Property Tax Appeal Attorney in Austin, Texas

Property taxes in Travis County are calculated against appraised values set annually by the Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD). Property owners have the right to protest those values using a defined process that runs from the notice date through an Appraisal Review Board hearing and, if necessary, into district court or binding arbitration. The system is designed to be used — and property owners who engage with it, armed with comparable sales data or independent appraisals, routinely achieve reductions that result in meaningful annual tax savings.

The annual property tax protest process in Travis County starts when TCAD mails or posts online the Notice of Appraised Value, typically in April. The deadline to file a protest is May 15 or 30 days from the notice date, whichever is later. Filing a protest is free and can be done online through the TCAD portal. Once a protest is filed, the appraisal district typically schedules an informal conference — a meeting or phone call with an appraiser where the property owner presents their evidence and the district has the opportunity to settle. Many protests are resolved at the informal stage with a reduction, particularly when the property owner has strong comparable sales data.

If the informal process does not produce an acceptable result, the protest proceeds to a hearing before the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). The ARB is a panel of citizen volunteers who hear evidence from both the property owner and the appraisal district and issue a determination. ARB hearings are quasi-judicial proceedings — the property owner presents evidence, the appraisal district responds, and the board decides. Property owners who present well-organized, specific comparable sales data or an independent MAI appraisal are in a substantially stronger position than those who appear without documentation and simply assert that their taxes are too high.

After the ARB issues its determination, the property owner has 60 days to appeal to district court if the ARB value still exceeds market value or if comparable properties are appraised at lower ratios. Alternatively, for properties with an ARB value of $5 million or less (for commercial) and for residential properties, binding arbitration through the Texas Comptroller's office is available as a less expensive alternative to district court. Arbitration awards are final and cannot be appealed — making the arbitrator's evaluation of comparable evidence critical to the outcome.

Commercial property tax cases are the most financially significant and often justify attorney representation from the protest stage. A commercial property with an appraised value of $5 million paying a combined effective rate of 2.5% generates $125,000 in annual taxes. A 10% reduction produces $12,500 in annual savings — year after year, not just the protest year. Commercial property tax attorneys who work on contingency typically earn 25-33% of the first year's savings, making professional representation cost-effective for owners even when the upfront cost would be prohibitive.

We connect Austin commercial and residential property owners with real estate attorneys and property tax specialists who handle the full protest and appeal process — from informal TCAD negotiations through ARB hearings through district court appeals. There is no fee to request a connection. The protest deadline is a hard cutoff — property owners who miss it cannot challenge that year's appraisal.