Property Tax Protest in Houston

The Harris County Real Estate market has continued to show rapid growth over the last year causing home values to rise. Every year, the Harris County Appraisal District appraises your property and assigns a value based on what they believe your home would sell for in the open market as of January 2016. If you don’t agree with them, have no fear! You have the right to protest the value but you must do so by May 31, 2016! Here are the steps to file online (which is, by far, the easiest way):

1. Go to https://www.hcad.org/ifile

2. Create a user name and password.

3. Enter your HCAD account number and iFile number. You can locate these numbers on the ‘Notice of Appraised Value for Property Tax Purposes’ you received that informs you of your 2016 appraised value. (If you do not have a copy of this form you can call the Appraisal District at 713-957-7800)

4. Answer all the questions in the online form. Make sure to select ‘Yes’ for the iSettle option. You will be required to tell HCAD your opinion of the market value of your property. Make sure to hit CONTINUE, review the protest information, and hit SUBMIT. You will receive an immediate confirmation that your claim has been filed.

5. You will be notified by email if you qualify for the iSettle process.

If you are unsure of how to determine the market value of your property, give me a call at 832-517-0988 or email me amanda@comehometocyfair.com. I’m happy to help you save some money on your property taxes.

Some loopholes for the deadline date –

While May 31 usually is the last day to file a protest, a different deadline will apply to you if:
1) your notice of appraised value was mailed to you after May 2;
2) your protest concerns a change in use of agricultural, open-space, or timber land;
3) the Appraisal Review Board made a change to the appraisal records that adversely affects you and you received notice of the change;
4) the appraisal district or the Appraisal Review Board was required by law to send you notice about a property and did not; or
5) you had good cause for missing the May 31 protest filing deadline.
If you fall into one of these categories, contact the appraisal district for your specific protest filing deadline at 713-957-7800. The Appraisal Review Board will determine if good cause exists for missing a deadline. Good cause means that something beyond your control, such as a medical emergency, prevented you from meeting a deadline.

Weekends, Holidays: If your deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or other legal holiday, it is postponed until midnight of the next working day.

Good luck with protesting your Harris County Property Taxes! I’m here if you need me.

-Amanda Mims

(Originally posted at https://comehometocyfair.com/property-tax-protest-houston/)