Travis Central Appraisal District mailed notices of appraised value to more than 427,000 property owners for the 2026 tax year. Protesting that number is free, it is a right written into the Tax Code, and the process is more procedural than adversarial.
When is the deadline to protest?
May 15, or 30 days after your notice of appraised value was mailed, whichever is later. That is how TCAD states it, and Texas Tax Code Section 41.44 sets the statutory version as May 15 or the 30th day after the notice was delivered. If your notice goes out late, your window moves with it, so read the mail date on the notice instead of assuming May 15.
The district must send the notice by April 1 for a residence homestead and by May 1 for other property. In 2026, TCAD opened its informal settlement process on April 6 and expected ARB hearings to begin in June.
How do you file with TCAD?
Online, through TCAD's portal, which the district calls the easiest and fastest way to manage a protest. You create an account with the property owner ID and PIN printed on your notice. You can also mail a protest to PO Box 149012, Austin, TX 78714, or hand deliver it to 850 East Anderson Lane.
Filing online matters for more than convenience. The portal is where you upload evidence, open TCAD's evidence packet on your property, and see any settlement offer. E-filed protests get immediate confirmation, and if the district's review supports a reduction, TCAD emails you that an offer is waiting for you to accept.
“The evidence packet TCAD used to value your house is the most useful document in the process, and you only get it after you file.”
What evidence actually works?
Three things carry weight: comparable sales, documented condition problems, and unequal appraisal. Section 41.41 lets you protest the appraised value and the unequal appraisal of your property, and those are two separate arguments.
Comparable sales should be recent, nearby, and similar in size, age, and condition. Condition evidence means photographs and contractor bids for foundation movement, roof damage, plumbing, or deferred maintenance, since a January 1 valuation should reflect January 1 condition. Unequal appraisal measures your value against the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties, appropriately adjusted, the standard in Section 41.43. In most protests the appraisal district carries the burden of proving value.
What is the difference between the informal meeting and the ARB hearing?
The informal meeting is a conversation with one TCAD appraiser. The ARB hearing is a formal proceeding before the Travis Appraisal Review Board, a separate body.
TCAD holds one informal meeting per property, by phone or video, and says to expect a settlement offer within 10 business days after you discuss your evidence with an appraiser. If you decline, the case moves to the ARB, which contacts you at least 15 days before your hearing. Hearings run 15 to 20 minutes, and TCAD asks owners to bring five sets of evidence.
What happens after the ARB, and does the 10% homestead cap matter?
You have 60 days from the ARB's written order to appeal, and the homestead cap limits taxable value without capping market value, so a protest still counts. TCAD mails the Notice of Final Order by certified mail roughly three to four weeks after the hearing.
Appeals go to district court or to regular binding arbitration. Arbitration is open to any residence homestead regardless of value and to other property valued at $5 million or less. The deposit is $450 for a homestead appraised at $500,000 or less and $500 above that, with $50 nonrefundable.
Tax Code Section 23.23 holds a homestead's appraised value to last year's appraised value plus 10 percent plus new improvements, and repairs and ordinary maintenance do not count. The district still records the higher market value, so lowering it now shortens the run of 10 percent increases ahead of you.
This is general information about a public process, not legal or tax advice. Deadlines and deposit figures change, so confirm current dates with TCAD or the Texas Comptroller before you file.
