Every spring, county appraisal districts across Texas mail out a document that quietly determines one of your largest annual expenses: the Notice of Appraised Value. Most homeowners glance at the number, feel vaguely uneasy, and do nothing. That inaction costs them money every year.
This guide walks through what every field on the notice means, what the common red flags look like, and exactly what your options are when the value is too high.
The Notice of Appraised Value (sometimes called the NAV) is the formal document your county appraisal district sends each spring stating what it believes your property is worth for that tax year. This number — not what you paid, not what Zillow says — is what your city, school district, and county use to calculate your property tax bill.
When It Arrives and Why Timing Matters
Notices typically go out between late March and mid-April. The exact date varies by county — larger districts like HCAD and DCAD tend to send earlier, while smaller counties may send later into April.
The critical detail: once you receive your notice, you have a limited window to file a protest. In Texas, the protest deadline is May 15 or 30 days after the notice date on the document — whichever is later. Miss this window and the value is locked for the year with no mechanism to reopen it. There are narrow exceptions (change of ownership, substantial clerical errors), but you shouldn't count on them.
2026 protest deadline: May 15. If you've received your notice, the clock is running. You don't need to prepare anything to sign up — we handle all of it once you're on board.
Anatomy of the Notice: Field by Field
The format varies slightly by county, but every Notice of Appraised Value contains the same core fields. Here's what each one actually means:
| Field | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Appraised Value / Market Value | The CAD's estimate of what your property would sell for in an arm's-length transaction as of January 1 of the tax year. This is the number you can protest. |
| Assessed Value | The value your taxes are calculated on. For a homestead, this is capped at the lesser of the appraised value or last year's assessed value plus 10%. It can be lower than appraised value. |
| Homestead Exemption | A mandatory $100,000 reduction in taxable value for your primary residence (as of 2023). Removed from your assessed value before taxes are calculated. |
| Taxable Value | Assessed value minus any exemptions. This is what your tax rate is applied to. |
| Estimated Tax | An estimate of what you'll owe based on last year's tax rates applied to your new taxable value. Actual bills may differ when taxing entities set new rates in the fall. |
| Notice Date / Mailed Date | The date the CAD claims to have mailed the notice. Your protest deadline is 30 days from this date or May 15, whichever is later. |
| Account / Property ID | Your unique identifier with the appraisal district. You'll need this when filing a protest or looking up your property record online. |
The 10% Homestead Cap: What It Actually Does
Texas homeowners with a homestead exemption benefit from a cap that limits how fast their assessed value can rise — no more than 10% per year, regardless of how fast market values are moving. This is one of the most misunderstood features of the Texas property tax system.
Here's the important nuance: the cap applies to assessed value, not appraised value. The CAD can raise your appraised (market) value as high as they want. The 10% cap only kicks in to limit how much of that increase flows into your taxable base in any given year.
This matters for protests because: even if the cap is suppressing your taxable value right now, a high appraised value still hurts you. It determines your cap ceiling for future years. A $750,000 appraisal on a property worth $600,000 means your assessed value will continue climbing toward $750,000 at 10% per year — even if the market never moves again. Protesting now resets that ceiling.
Red Flags on Your Notice
Before deciding whether to protest, look for these signals that something may be off:
- The appraised value increased more than 10–15% from last year without a corresponding market move in your neighborhood
- The square footage, bedroom count, or lot size listed on the notice doesn't match your property
- A recent addition or renovation is reflected in the value, but wasn't disclosed to the CAD (they may have over-estimated it)
- Your neighbor's identical home has a noticeably lower assessed value per square foot — visible on the CAD's public property search
- The "market value" on the notice is significantly higher than what comparable homes are actually selling for in your area
- You purchased the property in the last 12–18 months for less than the current appraised value
Any one of these is reason enough to file a protest. You don't need to be certain the value is wrong — you just need to believe it might be.
The Two Grounds for Protest
Texas law gives property owners two separate legal arguments to reduce their appraised value:
1. Market Value (Over-Appraisal)
You argue that the CAD's opinion of your property's market value exceeds what it would actually sell for. The evidence is comparable sales — recent closed transactions of similar properties nearby that support a lower value. This is the most intuitive argument and works best in markets where recent sale prices have flattened or declined relative to assessed values.
2. Unequal Appraisal
Texas Tax Code Section 42.26 requires that properties be appraised equally and uniformly. If your home is assessed at a higher ratio of value to market than comparable properties in your area, you have a legal right to have your value corrected — regardless of what your home might actually sell for. This argument works even in rising markets where your appraised value might be defensible on market-value grounds alone.
Understanding unequal appraisal is worth a deeper look. We cover it in detail in our companion article: What Is Unequal Appraisal in Texas? →
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What Happens After You File a Protest
Filing a protest doesn't mean you're going to a hearing — at least not right away. The process typically moves in stages:
Informal negotiation: Most protests begin with an informal meeting or review (increasingly done by mail or electronically) where your agent presents evidence and the CAD reviewer evaluates it. Many cases resolve here without ever reaching a formal hearing. A well-prepared comparable-sales or unequal-appraisal packet often gets a reduction at this stage.
Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hearing: If the informal process doesn't produce an acceptable result, the case moves to a formal ARB hearing — a three-person panel that hears both sides and issues a determination. Your agent presents your evidence; a CAD appraiser presents theirs. The ARB decides.
Resolution: Once the ARB issues its order (or the informal settlement is accepted), the value is certified and your tax bill is calculated based on the final number. If you're represented by an agent, they'll notify you of the result and the updated record.
What to Do Right Now
If you've received your 2026 Notice of Appraised Value and the number looks high — or if you just want to make sure you're not leaving a reduction on the table — the move is to file before May 15. You don't need to have a fully formed case before you file. The protest deadline is the hard constraint; evidence is built after the fact.
Texas Tax Lock handles the entire process for a flat fee based on your notice value. We pull the comps, build the unequal-appraisal packet, file the protest, and represent you through informal negotiations and any ARB hearing that makes sense. You sign one form and hear from us when it's done.