Texas Property Tax Protest Deadline for 2027

The deadline rule

Section 41.44 of the Texas Tax Code sets the deadline for a property owner's protest to the appraisal review board (ARB): not later than May 15 or the 30th day after the notice of appraised value was delivered to the owner, whichever is later.

For most homeowners, May 15 is the date that controls. Appraisal districts are required to send notices to homestead owners by April 1 (by May 1 for other property), "or as soon thereafter as practicable." If your notice arrives late in April or in May, the 30-day window can push your deadline past May 15.

A notice mailed first class is presumed delivered on the day it is put in the mail, which is why the Comptroller and appraisal districts describe the rule as 30 days after the district mailed the notice. The date printed on your notice is the safest anchor. Your notice also states the protest deadline that applies to your property.

Separate 30-day deadlines apply to a few less common situations, such as a protest of a change the appraisal district made to its records after the fact, or a determination that agricultural or open-space land changed use.

Weekends and holidays

Under Tax Code §1.06, when the last day to act falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal state or national holiday, the act is timely if it is done on the next regular business day.

Filing before the weekend is still the better plan. Online portals get busy close to the deadline, and you lose nothing by filing early. You can usually add evidence later.

How to make sure your protest counts as on time

Filing online

An electronic filing is on time if it is sent to the appraisal district's correct portal or electronic delivery system and received by the district's server on or before the due date (Tax Code §1.085). Large appraisal districts are required to let homestead owners file value and unequal-appraisal protests online. Save the confirmation the portal gives you.

Filing by mail

A mailed protest is on time if it is properly addressed, has postage paid, and carries a USPS cancellation mark (postmark) dated on or before the deadline, or a private carrier's receipt mark dated on or before the deadline (Tax Code §1.08). A certificate of mailing or certified mail receipt gives you proof if the postmark is ever questioned.

Filing in person

You can hand-deliver a protest to the appraisal district office during business hours on or before the deadline.

What the protest needs to say

The Comptroller publishes Form 50-132, Property Owner's Notice of Protest, and a copy comes with your notice of appraised value. Using it is not strictly required: Tax Code §41.44(d) says a written notice is enough if it identifies you, identifies the property, and shows you are dissatisfied with the appraisal district's determination. The form is still the easiest way to make sure you select the right grounds and choose how you want your hearing held. Filing a protest is free.

2027 property tax calendar

If you missed the deadline

Missing the deadline narrows your options, but it does not always close them.

• Late protest for good cause. A protest filed after the deadline but before the ARB approves the appraisal records (generally around July 20) gets a hearing if you show good cause, as determined by the ARB (Tax Code §41.44(b)). A serious illness is a common example. The ARB decides what qualifies.
• Motion to correct the appraisal roll. Before taxes become delinquent, an owner may ask the ARB to correct a homestead's value if it exceeds the correct value by more than one-fourth (one-third for other property). A 10% late-correction penalty applies, and this route is unavailable if the value was already decided in a protest or by agreement (Tax Code §25.25(d)).
• Clerical and similar errors. The ARB may correct clerical errors, property appraised more than once, property that does not exist, and an incorrect owner for up to five prior years (Tax Code §25.25(c)).
• Military and offshore deployment. Owners who were deployed or working offshore may be able to file late, up to the delinquency date, with documentation (Tax Code §41.44(c-1)–(c-2)).

If you never received a notice

Not receiving a notice does not make your appraisal or your taxes invalid (Tax Code §25.19(d)), so check your value on the appraisal district's website every spring. If the district was required to send you a notice and did not, you can protest that failure (Tax Code §41.411). That protest may be filed up until taxes become delinquent. If you establish the failure, the ARB hears your other grounds as well. You must pay the undisputed portion of the tax before the delinquency date to keep this right (Tax Code §41.4115).