Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about checking your assessment and filing a protest.

A property tax protest is a formal appeal process where property owners can challenge the appraised value of their property as determined by the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD). If successful, a protest can result in a reduced property valuation, which in turn lowers your property tax bill.

For most residential properties in Harris County, the deadline to file a protest is May 15, or 30 days after you receive your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. It's important to check your specific notice for exact deadlines.

Our application helps you in several ways:

  • Identifies nearby comparable properties with lower valuations
  • Creates data-driven evidence based on market analysis
  • Provides visualization of your property's valuation history
  • Generates protest documentation you can submit to HCAD
  • Offers both comparable-based and asset-based protest options

Comparable-based protest: Uses data from similar properties in your area with lower valuations to argue that your property is overvalued. This is often the most effective approach.

Asset-based protest: Uses evidence of property condition issues (damage, needed repairs, etc.) to argue that the appraised value doesn't reflect the actual condition of your property.

Our application uses official data directly from the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD), including:

  • Property records from HCAD's public real account data
  • GIS parcel data from HCAD
  • Property valuations and tax information from HCAD's public records

We update our database regularly to ensure the most current information is available.

Basic property search and visualization features are available without an account. However, to save your protest information, generate protest documentation, and track protest status, you'll need to create a free account.

After generating your protest evidence with our application, you have several options:

  1. Download the PDF report and submit it directly to HCAD through their website or by mail
  2. Use the evidence during your informal hearing with an HCAD appraiser
  3. Provide the documentation to your property tax consultant if you're using one

In the future, we plan to offer direct electronic submission to HCAD from our platform.