Can I File a Texas Property Tax Protest After the Deadline?

 Here’s what you need to know about the Texas property tax protest deadline:

• The deadline is either May 15th or 30 days after you receive the Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. 
• You may file after the Texas property tax protest deadline only under specific circumstances, which are rare. We highly recommend starting your protest early with us to maximize your savings.
• A 25.25d protest may be filed in rare cases of significant overvaluation, which are difficult to successfully prove.
• A 25.25c protest requests to re-open the appraisal roll up to four previous tax years to correct for clerical issues.
• A 41.11 protest is used to establish the failure of the county to notify you of the appraisal change.

When Is the Texas Property Tax Protest Deadline?

The Texas property tax protest deadline is either May 15th or 30 days after you receive the Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. If the deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday, it’s pushed to the following business day. At Gill, Denson, & Company, we ensure our clients never miss a protest deadline.

Can I File My Protest After the Deadline?

The short answer is yes; you can file your property tax protest after the deadline. The long answer is that you can only do so under certain circumstances, which are pretty rare occurrences. There are specific protest processes you must follow depending on why and by how much your property was overvalued. We’ll walk you through these processes and which protest filing you will need to complete in the next few sections.

The 25.25d Protest

While late protests are possible in rare cases of considerable overvaluation (at least one-third for non-homestead and one-fourth for homestead residences), they are difficult to win. Strict requirements include a filing deadline of January 31 of the next tax year, timely tax payments, no prior protest in the applicable tax year, and concrete proof of overvaluation.  If you win with this approach, a 10% late-correction penalty fee is incurred on the corrected appraisal value’s taxes due.

Given these challenges, we strongly recommend early protest filing for the best chance at significant tax reductions.

The 25.25c Protest

A 25.25c protest may be filed to correct clerical errors, such as miscalculations or exemption issues, on your property tax bill. This protest requests opening the appraisal roll for up to five previous tax years. It does not challenge the property value and is only for clerical issues.

The 41.11 Protest

You may file a 41.11 protest if you believe the chief appraiser or appraisal review board failed to properly deliver the Notice of Appraised Value to you. You must provide evidence the county did not notify you and still pay the taxes due before the delinquency date. If you do not make timely tax payments (for this or any other protest reason), you may forfeit your right to a protest remedy.

If you suspect an inaccurate property valuation or are worried about missing the Texas property tax protest deadline, don’t hesitate to reach out today. Let Gill, Denson, & Company file a property tax protest on your behalf!