Texas Property Tax Protest and Homestead Exemption: 2027 Guide

The Notice of Appraised Value that arrives each spring is not a tax bill. It is your county appraisal district's opinion of what your home was worth on January 1, and it opens a short window to protest. The protest deadline is May 15 or 30 days after the district mailed the notice, whichever is later. May 15, 2027 is a Saturday, so state law moves that date to Monday, May 17, 2027.

The short answer

• What the notice means. It lists the market value, the appraised value and the exemptions the district has on file for your home. Tax bills are mailed later, around October 1, and are due by January 31.
• Protest deadline. May 15 or the 30th day after the district mailed the notice, whichever is later. In 2027 the May 15 date becomes Monday, May 17. Your own notice prints your deadline.
• Homestead exemption. If you own the home and live in it as your principal residence, you file one application with your county appraisal district. Filing is free. The general filing period is January 1 to April 30.
• When to ask a professional. This guide explains the process. For your own case, a registered property tax consultant, a Texas attorney or a CPA is the right person to ask.

As of November 10, 2026, none of the four appraisal districts below had posted 2027 dates. The 2026 dates show each district's usual pattern. Check the date on your own notice.

One example: how to read a notice

This is a made-up notice for a home that has had a homestead exemption for several years.

• Last year's appraised value: $350,000
• This year's market value on the notice: $400,000
• Homestead cap: the appraised value of a homestead cannot rise more than 10 percent a year, plus the value of new improvements such as an addition. So this year's appraised value is $350,000 + $35,000 = $385,000, not $400,000.
• School district exemption: $140,000 comes off for school taxes. $385,000 − $140,000 = $245,000 is the value the school district taxes, unless the district adds a local exemption of its own.

The county, the city and other taxing units apply their own exemptions, so each line on a notice can show a different taxable value. The notice does not show your final tax. If you believe the market value, an exemption or a property detail on the notice is wrong, the protest is the process for that.

Sources: Tax Code §23.23 (homestead cap), Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions ($140,000 school exemption).

What is on the notice

• Market value. The district's estimate of what the home would sell for on January 1.
• Appraised value. The value after the homestead cap. It can be lower than the market value.
• Taxable value. The value each taxing unit uses after its exemptions.
• Exemptions. Check that your homestead exemption is listed. A previous owner's exemption does not stay with the home. A buyer files a new application.
• Protest deadline and instructions. The notice explains how and when to protest.

State law requires a notice by April 1, or as soon after as practicable, for a homestead. A district must send one only in certain cases, such as when the value went up. If no notice came in the mail, look up your account on your district's website.

Dates and filing by county

The rules are the same across Texas. The mailing date, the filing website and the office are different in each county. Your appraisal district is the one for the county where the home is. The dates below are from the 2026 season.

Harris County: HCAD (Houston area)

• Notices. HCAD's 2026 fact sheet lists delivery from March through April.
• Protest deadline. May 15, or 30 days after the date on your notice when HCAD mails it after April 15. A later deadline is printed on the notice.
• How to file. Online with iFile, using the iFile number on your notice. Or send the paper form by mail, or bring it to 13013 Northwest Freeway, Houston.
• After you file. Homeowners who file online may receive an online settlement offer (iSettle). If there is no settlement, HCAD schedules an ARB hearing.
• Interpreter. HCAD's 2026 hearing rules say an owner who needs an interpreter must bring one. HCAD offers interpreters as a courtesy, but one may not be available.
• Homestead. File in the HCAD mobile app or with HCAD Form 11.13. Phone: 713-957-7800.

Dallas County: DCAD

• Notices. DCAD mailed its first 2026 batch in mid-April. Not every owner gets a paper notice. Every account has its notice and protest form on dallascad.org.
• Protest deadline. Notices in DCAD's first 2026 mailing read: May 15, 2026 or 30 days from the notice postmark date. Later mailings carried later dates.
• How to file. Online with uFile, opened from your account page with the PIN on your notice. Or mail the protest form, or use the drop box at 2949 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas. DCAD does not accept a protest by email or fax.
• Hearing. DCAD holds ARB hearings by telephone unless you ask in writing for an in-person hearing.
• Homestead. File online from your account page or print the form there. If DCAD mails you a reapply letter, you have 30 days to answer or the exemption is removed. Phone: 214-631-0910.

Collin County: Collin CAD

• Notices. Collin CAD mailed 2026 real property notices on April 15.
• Protest deadline. May 15. Collin CAD states that the date moves to the next business day when it falls on a weekend or holiday.
• How to file. Online in the Taxpayer Portal. Or by mail or in person at 250 Eldorado Pkwy, McKinney. The ARB does not accept a protest by fax or email.
• Informal review. Collin CAD says an informal review alone does not keep your right to an ARB hearing. Only a protest filed on time does.
• Homestead. File in the Taxpayer Portal, by mail, in person or in the drop box. Collin CAD does not accept applications by email. Phone: 469-742-9200.

Denton County: Denton CAD

• Notices. Denton CAD mailed 2026 notices on or after April 10.
• Protest deadline. May 15 or within 30 days of the mailing date of your notice, whichever is later.
• How to file. Online from the Protest Process page, with the owner ID and PIN on your notice. Or by mail or in person at 3911 Morse Street, Denton.
• 2027 dates. Denton CAD lists its 2027 ARB season dates as "TBA".
• Homestead. Apply online from the Homestead Exemptions page. Phone: 940-349-3800.

Another county? Find your district in the Comptroller's appraisal district directory.

Homestead exemption: what to file

• Who qualifies. You own the home and use it as your principal residence. You can claim only one homestead.
• What to file. Form 50-114, or your district's online version, with the appraisal district for the county where the home is.
• ID. A copy of your Texas driver license or state ID. The address on it must match the home's address.
• Cost. Free. HCAD, DCAD, Collin CAD and Denton CAD each say there is no fee. DCAD and Denton CAD add that you do not need to hire anyone to file.
• When. The general period is January 1 to April 30 (a Friday in 2027). If you bought after January 1, you can receive the exemption for the rest of that year once you qualify, if the seller did not receive the same exemption that year. In that case you apply before the first anniversary of the purchase.
• Late filing. A district accepts a late application up to two years after the delinquency date for that year's taxes (usually February 1 of the following year). If it is approved, the tax office refunds or credits the difference.
• Later years. You do not file again every year. Districts must review each homestead at least once every five years and may ask you to reapply. DCAD says its letters mostly go out in December and gives 30 days to answer.

What it changes: school districts exempt $140,000 of the home's value, any taxing unit may add a local exemption of up to 20 percent of the appraised value, and the 10 percent cap starts on January 1 of the year after you first qualify. A buyer who receives the exemption in the purchase year counts as qualifying on the next January 1. So a home bought in 2026 is first capped in 2028, the 2027 notice can show the full market value, and the seller's cap does not carry over. Owners who are 65 or older or disabled get an additional $60,000 school exemption and a ceiling on school taxes.

Sources: Tax Code §§11.13, 11.42, 11.43, 11.431, §23.23(c), (c-1), Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions.

Protest: the steps

1. Find your deadline. It is on the notice. The law counts from delivery and treats a mailed notice as delivered on the day it is mailed. The Comptroller says to count the 30 days from the mailing date, not from the day the envelope arrives.
2. File a written notice of protest. Use your district's online system or Form 50-132. The form lists the reasons you can mark, such as a value above market value or a value that is unequal compared with similar homes. It warns that an issue you do not mark may not be heard.
3. If you mail it, mind the postmark. The Comptroller and HCAD both warn that the postmark can be later than the day you drop the envelope in the box.
4. Gather evidence. Denton CAD lists a closing statement, a recent appraisal, dated photos and repair estimates as examples. You can ask the district for the evidence it plans to use. The district must tell you about that right at least 14 days before the hearing and cannot charge for the copies.
5. Informal review. The four districts above offer a meeting with an appraiser, an online settlement offer, or both. You can accept or decline an offer. State law makes an agreement with the district final.
6. ARB hearing. The Appraisal Review Board is a panel of residents, separate from the district's staff. You can appear in person, by phone or video, or by written affidavit. To appear by phone or video, state law requires written notice, on the protest form or filed at least five days before the hearing, and evidence sent by affidavit before the hearing starts. Hearings are short, about 15 minutes.
7. After the order. After a protest about value, you may appeal to binding arbitration or to district court within 60 days of receiving the order. For a homestead, the arbitration deposit is $450 when the value in the order is $500,000 or less, and $500 above that. You must still pay the required tax on time while an appeal is pending.

Two rules to know before you file. A district or an ARB may not charge a fee for a protest. In a protest about value, the ARB may not set the appraised value higher than the value in the appraisal records unless the owner agrees.

Missed the deadline? The ARB may still hear a late protest if you show good cause and file before it approves the appraisal records.

Sources: Tax Code §§1.07, 1.111, §§41.41, 41.44, 41.45, 41.461, 41.47, §§41A.03, 41A.10, §§42.08, 42.21, Texas Comptroller, Appraisal Protests and Appeals.

How this reaches your mortgage payment

If your mortgage has an escrow account, your servicer pays the tax bill from it. The CFPB explains that property taxes can change from year to year, and the escrow part of your monthly payment changes with them. A new value or a new exemption therefore shows up in your payment only after the tax bill changes and your servicer reviews the account.

Source: CFPB, What is an escrow or impound account?

When to ask a professional

• You want someone to handle the protest. Texas requires a person who is paid to represent you in a protest to be registered with TDLR as a property tax consultant. Attorneys and CPAs are exempt. So are licensed real estate brokers, sales agents and appraisers whose tax consulting is limited to single-family homes, farms and ranches. You can check a registration on the TDLR license search. You appoint an agent with Form 50-162.
• You want to appeal an ARB order. Arbitration and district court have short deadlines and payment rules. Ask a Texas attorney or a registered consultant.
• Your exemption was denied or removed, or the home is owned through a trust, a company or an inheritance. Ask an attorney.
• You have income tax questions, such as how property tax affects your federal return. Ask a CPA.

Your appraisal district answers questions about its own forms and deadlines at no cost.

The yearly calendar

• January 1. The date used for your value and, in general, for exemption status.
• January 31. Last day to pay the prior year's bill without penalty. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. The Comptroller says that when January 31 falls on a Sunday, taxes may be paid on Monday, February 1.
• April. Homestead notices are due by April 1 or as soon after as practicable. In 2026 the four districts above mailed theirs in March and April.
• April 30. End of the general exemption filing period.
• May 15. Protest deadline, or 30 days after your notice was mailed if that is later. In 2027 the May 15 date becomes Monday, May 17.
• May through summer. Informal reviews and ARB hearings. HCAD lists hearings from May through October.
• October. Tax bills are mailed by October 1 or as soon after as practicable.
• December. DCAD mails most of its homestead reapply letters.

What may change

The Texas Legislature meets from January 12 to May 31, 2027, and the Comptroller's October 2026 newsletter says state leaders have called property tax cuts a priority for that session. Under current law, the 20 percent cap for property that is not a homestead expires on December 31, 2026. We will update this page when the districts post 2027 dates or the law changes. The date under the title shows the last update.

Official sources

• Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Law Deadlines (includes the weekend rule in Tax Code §1.06)
• Texas Comptroller, Appraisal Protests and Appeals
• Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions
• Texas Comptroller, Paying Your Taxes
• Texas Comptroller, appraisal district directory (for counties not listed here)
• HCAD, DCAD, Collin CAD, Denton CAD

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This guide is general information about Texas property tax procedures as of November 10, 2026. It is not tax or legal advice. Closewiser does not give tax or legal advice and does not represent property owners in protests. Rules, dates and exemption amounts can change. Confirm them with your appraisal district and your own notice, and talk to a CPA, a Texas attorney or a registered property tax consultant about your own case.