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 Contact
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2500 Handley Ederville Rd |
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Fort
Worth, Texas 76118 |
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(817) 284-0024 |
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8:00am-5:00pm, Mon-Fri |
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| The Protest Process |
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This is an extract and summarization from the Property Tax Division publication
"Taxpayers'
Rights Remedies and Responsibilities"
The right
to protest to the appraisal review board is the most important right
you have as a taxpayer. You may protest if you disagree with any
of the actions the appraisal district has taken on your property.
But who or what is the appraisal review board? What actions can
I protest? How do I protest? What happens when I file a protest?
Hopefully this will answer all your questions about the protest
process. To answer these questions, this site is divided into five
topics:
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| What can I protest? |
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After receiving
a notice of appraised value on your property, you can file a protest
if you disagree with any action taken by the appraisal district
that affects your property. You may file a protest if any of the
following is true about your property:
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The
proposed value of your property is too high. This
could be based on incorrect information on the appraisal district
records, such as lot size, building size, etc. It could also
be due to situations that the appraisal district does not
know, such as hidden defects, cracked foundations, inadequate
plumbing, flooding problems, etc. If similar properties are
selling for less than your property, you may have a reason
to protest. |
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Your
property is valued unequally compared with other property
in the appraisal district. The Texas Constitution
gives property owners the right to equal and uniform taxation.
For instance, if your property is appraised at 100% of market
value and your neighbor's property is appraised at 90% of
market value, then you have a right to protest your value
based on the appraisal district's failure to appraise equally
and uniformly. This type of protest will require more evidence
than other types of protests. |
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The
chief appraiser denied you an exemption. Certain
requirements exist for receiving an exemption, including deadlines
for filing. If you have met the requirements and are denied
an exemption, you may file a protest and have a hearing before
the ARB. |
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The
chief appraiser denied agricultural appraisal for your farm
or ranch. Like exemptions, you must apply to receive
an agricultural appraisal. Agricultural appraisal laws have
specific requirements involving ownership and land use. If
your property meets these requirements and you have been denied,
you should file a protest. |
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The
chief appraiser wrongly determined that you took your land out
of agricultural use. An appraisal may have been done
while your land was laying fallow, or for rotation of crops.
You will be required to provide documentation to prove that
you did not change the use of your land to a non-agricultural
use. |
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The
appraisal records show an incorrect owner. Even if
you purchased your property after January 1, you may protest
the property's value until the ARB approves the appraisal
roll. The law recognizes the new owner's interest in the taxes
on the property. |
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Your
property is being taxed by the wrong taxing units.
This generally applies to business personal property that
has moved from on location to another. You can protest the
inclusion of your property on the appraisal records if it
should be taxed at another location in Texas. |
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The
chief appraiser or ARB failed to send you a notice that the
law requires them to send. You have the right to
protest if the chief appraiser or ARB failed to give you a
required notice. You can't, however, protest failure to give
notice if the taxes on your property become delinquent.
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The
appraisal district or ARB took other action that affects your
property. You have the right to protest any appraisal
district action that affects you and your property. For example,
the chief appraiser may claim your property wasn't taxed in
a previous year, and you disagree. You may protest only actions
that affect your property. |
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| How do I protest?
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Protests
to the ARB must be written protests. The appraisal
district has forms for protest, but an official form is not necessary.
You may download a sample Notice
of Protest form in Adobe Acrobat format. Any written notice
of protest will do as long as it identifies the owner, the property
that is the subject of the protest and indicates that you are dissatisfied
with an action or decision taken by the appraisal district. A protest
must be filed by May 31, or no later than 30 days after the appraisal
district delivers a notice of appraised value to you, whichever
is later. If you fail to file a protest on time, your options are
limited. Once the written protest is received, a hearing is scheduled
by the ARB. The ARB will give you at least 15 days notice of the
date, time and location of your hearing. The appraisal district
will also send you a copy of Taxpayers' Rights, Remedies &
Responsibilities (a publication of the state comptroller's
office), a copy of the ARB procedures, and a statement that you
have the right to inspect the information that the appraisal district
plans to introduce at your hearing. There may be a charge for this
information.
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| Informal Review with Appraisal District staff. |
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Many
times your protest can be resolved with a staff member of the appraisal
district in an informal manner without going to the ARB for a formal
hearing. Each appraisal district has their own procedures for informal
reviews, so check with your local district to schedule an appointment.
You should be prepared to present whatever evidence you have to
convince the appraiser of your point of view. If you are still not
satisfied with the decision, you may proceed to a formal
hearing before the ARB.
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Formal Hearing before Appraisal Review Board (ARB).
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If you are not able to resolve the protest informally,
your protest will be heard by the appraisal review board (ARB).
The ARB is a group of citizens who are authorized to resolve disputes
between appraisal districts and taxpayers. (for qualifications to
serve on the appraisal review board, see the Texas Property Tax
Code, Chapter 6, Subchapter C, Sec. 6.41-43.) The ARB must base
its decisions on evidence presented at the hearing, both from the
taxpayer or agent, and the chief appraiser. The ARB has the responsibility
to (a) determine protests by property owners, (b) determine challenges
by taxing units, (c) correct clerical errors on the appraisal roll
or appraisal records, (d) act on motions to correct appraisal rolls
under section 25.25 of the property tax code, (e) determine whether
an exemption is improperly granted or denied and whether a special
appraisal is improperly granted or denied, and finally (f) to approve
the appraisal records after all protests are substantially completed.
A hearing
before the ARB is conducted very much like a court case. Each ARB
sets their own procedures with guidelines from the comptrollers
office. Generally, ARB panels are three member panels, but may be
more. Typically, after formal introduction of the parties and the
property involved, the ARB will hear evidence from both sides and
make a judgement based on that evidence. After a decision is made
by the ARB panel, and approved by a quorum of the entire board,
a written notice is sent by certified mail to you or your agent.
This decision is binding for the current tax year unless you appeal
to district court.
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| District Court. |
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The ARB rules on your protest, it must send you
or your agent a written order by certified mail. If you are dissatisfied
with the ARB's decision, you have the right to appeal its decision
to the state district court in your county.
You should
consult with an attorney to determine if you have a case. Within
45 days of receiving the written order, you must file a petition
for review with the district court.
You
also are required to make a partial payment of taxes -- usually
the amount of taxes that are not in dispute -- before the delinquency
date. You may ask the court to excuse you from prepaying your
taxes. You must file an oath of "inability to pay" the
taxes in question and argue that prepaying the taxes restrains your
right to go to court on your protest. The court will hold a hearing
and decide the terms or conditions of your payment.
At the
district court, you may ask to have your appeal resolved through
arbitration.
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| Last
updated: 07/28/04 |
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