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Protest Property Tax in 2024
Property tax bills in the USA make up a significant amount of money that homeowners have to pay out every year.
Although property taxes cannot be eliminated, as they’re necessary for the government to fund various public services, homeowners do have the right to protest their property tax assessments. In fact, many homeowners choose to protest their property tax every year if they find their property tax bill higher than expected, and often save thousands of dollars.
In this article, we lay out a step-by-step process to protesting your property tax assessment in Texas for those homeowners concerned about their property tax bill, but unsure of how to approach the protest. If this sounds like you, keep reading!
How to file a property tax protest in Texas?
1. Review your appraisal notice and understand the process
The whole process of protesting your property tax begins with receiving an appraisal notice from your county's appraisal district. This notice will have your property's appraised value. The first step you need to take once you receive this notice is to familiarize yourself with your local district's rules, deadlines, and the steps you must take to file a protest.
Generally, there are some common steps we will be discussing in this article. It's advisable to thoroughly understand these steps, as most protests are successful when they’re based on accurate information and adherence to the procedures.
2. Gather evidence
Once you're through with the steps of the filing process, start gathering evidence that can potentially help you succeed in your property tax protest.
Here are some examples of evidence you can collect:
- Sales data analysis of similar homes that have been sold in your area for a lower price.
- Pictures of property damage or any such relevant information that has not been taken into consideration by the appraisal district.
- A recent appraisal from a qualified appraiser that was lower than the current property tax bill.
3. Preparing your protest
You can start preparing your protest once you're armed with solid evidence to prove your fair property value. This step includes writing a well-structured statement that outlines your reasons for disagreeing with the assessment and why you believe your property's value is lower than the appraised value.
With this statement, share the required documents and provide the evidence you collected. A concise and impactfully written argument will typically make the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) take notice of your case and rule favorably.
4. File a notice of protest
Once you've prepared your protest statement, documents, and evidence, you need to file it with the ARB at your local appraisal district. You can complete this process in person, online, or by mail. Make sure you file it with the appropriate authorities and meet the deadlines. Also, keep a record of your submission for future reference.
5. Attend an informal hearing
After filing the protest, you may have to attend an informal hearing with your appraiser to discuss the case. You can attend the hearing in person or by phone.
This informal hearing is a chance for homeowners to present their evidence and potentially reach a positive conclusion with the appraiser.
6. Prepare for the formal hearing
If the homeowner and the appraiser do not reach an agreement during this informal meeting, the homeowners must appear for a formal hearing before the ARB. For this stage, you have to be fully prepared to present and justify your evidence against the high property tax bill.
If you aren't confident or lack guidance, it's best to ask for support from property tax consultants like Bezit, who will protest your high property tax bill on your behalf without making a big dent in your wallet.
7. Get ARB's decision on your case:
You will receive ARB's decision on your formal hearing within approximately 30 days in the form of a written order. If the decision is in your favor, your property's appraisal value will be reduced, along with the property tax bill. However, if the ARB disagrees with your claims of a lower property value, you can challenge this decision in the Texas Tax Court.
How can companies providing tax protest services help you here?
Although protesting property tax isn't rocket science, we all know how legal things work. No matter how easy the process looks, there are tons of nitty-gritty details within the government, along with legal processes that need to be done right and strategically.
As a regular person with no prior experience in dealing with property tax protests, you may not be equipped with the best practices to navigate this challenging process.
That's when companies providing tax protest guidance and services can step in! Property tax protest service providers are professionals who know the ins and outs of property tax protests. One excellent property tax protest consultant and service provider in Texas is Bezit, which is trusted by 500+ Texan homeowners.
Bezit helps you at every step of the process, from helping you understand the property tax protest process clearly and gathering evidence to preparing and filing the protest and getting you ready for the ARB hearing.
All the advice and guidelines shared by Bezit are backed by their experience of working across eight counties to help 500+ Texas homeowners save at least $1,200 on their property tax bill. In addition to money, consultants at Bezit also help you conserve your precious time and energy by completing all the complex legal formalities on your behalf.
If you're a homeowner or a real estate investor who wants to successfully protest their property tax in Texas in 2024, Bezit would love to help. And best of all, we’ll do it for an affordable and reasonable fee, unlike so many tax consultants on the market today!