TexasCHLforum.com

There are a lot of ways to protest your taxes. The protest of the appraisal is the first step. You should have gotten a form on how to protest with your appraisal notice. If you look at the state Comptroller's web site, they have a property tax assistance division which helps with the oversight of the property tax in Texas. They have some information on your rights and on how to protest. The training videos on how to protest explain exactly how to present a valid case to help you win. The link is https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/, look in the area marked Local Protest for the training videos, and under the area marked Resources for the taxpayer's rights and how property taxes work in Texas.

I would suggest bringing photos of anything that would hurt the sale of your house. Remember that the appraisal district doe not go inside your house, they just see the measurements and the exterior view. If you have a cracked slab or the interior is torn up, you can lower the value of your house fairly quickly. Evidence is the key. The other way is to show the value of houses near you that are most comparable. Most residential appraisals are done by using comparable houses that have sold, and it is entirely possible that you can find better comparable sales than the appraisal district did.

But the other half of this is that the appraisal district does not set your taxes, just the value of the house. You really need to become active with your local taxing units when they set their tax rates. The school district is probably the biggest tax you pay (unless you live in Dallas County where the flood control district is the highest tax rate in the state). The city and the county each also set their own rates. And you really need to pay attention to the special districts because they can add up a lot. Most of them are fairly inexpensive, but if there are a dozen, it can add up fast. Even if you missed the deadline for protesting your appraisal (officially May 15, but extended for a lot of people who got their appraisal notice late), the tax rates are not set until late August or so. You can still fight that rate and help cut your actual taxes.