New Homeowners: Here’s How to Successfully Protest Property Taxes After Buying a Home

Here’s what you need to know about how to successfully protest property taxes after buying a home:

• You can and should protest property taxes after buying a home; there’s no need to wait a year or more.
• There’s a short time period where your closing statement may be useful in a protest, but it is not always the best strategy.
• We exhaust all options to prove a lower value for your home, and often win cases based on “uniform and equal value” protests.
• Contact Gill, Denson & Company to get started on your personal strategy and pursue the highest possible property tax reduction.

Can You Protest Property Taxes on a Recently Purchased Home?

Yes, you absolutely can and should protest property taxes after buying a home. Many new homeowners mistakenly believe the best strategy for their protest is simply to show their closing statement. They assume that showing the county appraisal district (CAD) what they paid will guarantee a lower tax value. While a recent purchase can be a powerful tool, relying solely on your sales price is often a risky strategy.

When you purchased the home often affects the success of your protest and how much you could potentially save on your tax bill. It dictates which strategies hold more weight and what supporting evidence is needed to build a stronger case.

When Your Recent Purchase Can Work in Your Favor

When we take on a case, we don’t just look at what you paid. We exhaust all appraisal methods and protest strategies: Sales/Market, Cost, Income, and Uniform/Equal. In a market protest, we are trying to establish a fair market value as of January 1st in the current tax year.

You will likely have a strong protest case using sales comparables if the home was purchased on the open market in the 12 months following January 1st of the current tax year. If the transaction was “arms-length,” meaning the two parties were unrelated, and neither party was under duress, the sale may be very relevant to your current year tax value.

Why Your Sales Price Isn’t Always the Best Argument

Here’s why this isn’t always the best approach. If you bought in June 2025 but values have since softened as of January 1st, 2026, your purchase price could actually be higher than what it’s worth today. Alternatively, during COVID, we saw CADs aggressively time-adjust sales from the trailing 12 months of January 1st. They increased them at 3% or more per month to align with the January 1st market condition.

We strongly caution property owners against simply trading the purchase closing statement to the CAD in exchange for a reduction. This should be a fallback plan once the other appraisal methods are analyzed. Our team will choose the path with the lowest value to win a reduction for our clients.

The Power of the “Uniform and Equal” Protest

We typically file two protest strategies (market and uniform), but as shown above, market value isn’t always the best approach. This is where the expertise of a professional pays off. Even if the CAD estimates your purchase price (which they often do, thanks to mortgage lien data), we can often win your case using a “Uniform and Equal” protest.

Under Texas law, we compare your property’s tax appraisal to similar properties in your neighborhood, regardless of market value. If your neighbors are appraised at a lower value per square foot, you may be entitled to a reduction. We often win uniform cases below market value, which allows us to hold back the sales price altogether, shielding you from an assessment based solely on your closing statement.

The “Arms-Length” Requirement

Not all sales are created equal under Texas law. To use a sales price as valid evidence, the transaction must be an “arms-length” deal. The following sales will almost always be disqualified:

• Foreclosures
• Short Sales
• Auction purchases
• Transfers between family members
• Sales conducted without a licensed broker

If your sale falls into one of these categories, the CAD will argue it doesn’t represent fair market value, and your closing statement may be dismissed as evidence. The trade-off of a closing-statement purchase against a higher tax appraisal value is far from a guarantee.

Our Strategy: A Multilayered Approach

We view your closing statement as a “fallback” plan, not a primary strategy. Our firm treats your protest as a comprehensive project:

1. Strategic Filing: We file for all relevant protest strategies to give you the highest probability of success.
2. Backward-Looking Analysis: For informal hearings, we examine sales that occurred in the first quarter of the current year and backward-adjust them to the January 1st valuation date.
3. Creative Evidence: We analyze market trends, including properties that failed to sell by the January 1st period, to build a fuller picture of market conditions.

However, that’s not typically allowed in a formal hearing, as they prefer to see transactions that fit the tax code. This is why it’s very important that your sale is within the 12 trailing months of January 1st in a formal ARB hearing. 

Don’t gamble your property taxes on a single piece of paper. If you’ve purchased a home in the last year, let us perform a professional analysis. We’ll review all relevant appraisal methods and choose the path that results in the lowest possible value for your property.

Ready to protest and save on your next tax bill? Contact Gill, Denson & Company today to discuss your best property tax strategy.