How-to · owner files · not a consultant
Texas DIY property-tax protest: how to file yourself
File with your county appraisal district — the CAD owner portal or Comptroller Form 50-132. KeepTheCut sells a $99/year evidence packet. We do not file, attend, represent you, or guarantee a reduction.
What this is
A how-to. The owner files. No guarantee.
KeepTheCut is not a registered property-tax consultant under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1152. We do not file protests, attend informal conferences or ARB hearings, take a power of attorney or Form 50-162 appointment of agent, advise you on a specific account, represent you, or negotiate with an appraisal district. You are the property owner. You decide whether to file, what opinion of value to put on the form, and what to say.
County appraisal districts set the values on notices and bills. Plenty of protests produce no reduction. A lower appraised value does not always change this year’s tax bill when a homestead limitation already caps taxable value. We do not guarantee a reduction or a bill change.
This season
May is closed. October bills mail. 2027 is the next window.
May closed
2026 protest window
The typical Texas deadline is May 15, or 30 days after the Notice of Appraised Value was mailed, whichever is later.[8] For most counties that window has passed. This page does not reopen a missed May deadline.
October bills
Tax bills, not notices
Texas tax bills mail around October. The bill is collected by the tax office, not the CAD. If the number stung, the October tax bill / overpay report uses the latest CAD values already on the roll. It does not reopen May.
2027 prep
Next spring’s notice
2027 Notices of Appraised Value mail around April. Buy the $99/year packet now. We assemble it when notices drop and email you when your county notice is out. That is the next time most owners actually file.
How Texas owners file
CAD portal or Form 50-132 — never the Comptroller.
You file with the appraisal district that appraised the property. The Texas Comptroller publishes the form and the how-to; it does not accept your protest.[8] You do not need finished evidence to file, but you should not miss the deadline printed on your notice.
CAD owner portal
Most launch-county districts want you in the taxpayer / owner portal, not the agent portal. You typically need the owner ID and PIN from the Notice of Appraised Value. File the protest, enter an opinion of value, upload evidence, and save the confirmation. Do not use an agent login. You are representing yourself.
Form 50-132, Property Owner’s Notice of Protest
Use Form 50-132 (counties with population greater than 120,000). All KeepTheCut launch counties qualify. File with the appraisal district, never with the Comptroller. Mail or deliver it so it is received or postmarked by the deadline on your notice. Owners are not strictly required to use the Comptroller form — a writing that identifies the owner, the property, and dissatisfaction can suffice — but Form 50-132 or the CAD e-file is the clean path.
- Confirm the CAD record. Living area, baths, pool, condition. Photograph errors. A record error can matter as much as a comparable grid.
- File on time. Typical deadline: May 15 or 30 days after notice, whichever is later. Confirm the date on your notice — districts differ.
- You choose the opinion of value. Suggested figures in a KeepTheCut packet are comparable-based worksheets for you to consider — not a professional opinion of value and not an appraisal.
- Informal, then ARB if needed. Upload or bring evidence to the informal conference. If you do not settle, the same packet goes to the Appraisal Review Board. We do not attend.
The DIY argument
Unequal appraisal — equal and uniform
Texas is a non-disclosure sales-price state. We do not invent a market value for your home, and MLS comps are not part of this product. The useful DIY evidence is usually equal-and-uniform (equity) comps: similar homes the CAD already assessed lower than yours.
On Form 50-132, owners often check both incorrect appraised (market) value and value is unequal compared with other properties. Checking both preserves equity and market arguments. Other boxes (exemptions, special appraisal) only if they apply to you. You decide what to check.
For a protest of appraised value, Texas Tax Code §41.47 generally provides that the ARB may not set a protested value higher than the value in the appraisal records submitted by the chief appraiser, unless the owner requests and agrees. Exceptions exist.[9] That is the statute, not a promise about your case.
Launch counties
File with the CAD named below — not the county tax office and not KeepTheCut. Each county page has the official portal and Form 50-132 backup.
- Harris County
HCAD · Houston · HCAD owner portal (iFile / iSettle)
HCAD’s owner path is the iFile / iSettle portal. Look up the account on the official HCAD site, then file at the owner portal or mail Form 50-132 to the district. Do not send the protest to the Texas Comptroller.
- Dallas County
DCAD · Dallas · DCAD uFile Online Protest
DCAD’s preferred owner path is uFile Online Protest on the official DCAD site. You need the PIN on your Notice of Appraised Value. DCAD has stated it does not accept protest filings by fax or email. Paper Form 50-132 still goes to the district, not the Comptroller.
- Tarrant County
TAD · Fort Worth · TAD True Prodigy taxpayer portal
TAD has been moving protests onto a new taxpayer portal (True Prodigy) while some informal review still sits on the legacy tad.org login. Start at the official TAD site and use the district’s current portal guide before you file. Form 50-132 remains a paper option — mail it to TAD, not the Comptroller.
- Travis County
TCAD · Austin · TCAD e-File
TCAD’s owner path is e-File after you create an online account with the owner ID and PIN on your notice. The district’s protest page and e-File portal are on the official TCAD site. Mail or drop Form 50-132 at TCAD if you cannot file online.
- Bexar County
BCAD · San Antonio · BCAD Online Services Portal
BCAD’s owner path is the Online Services Portal. Register with the Owner/Agent ID and PIN on your appraisal notice, then file the protest in the portal. Some multiple-owner accounts cannot protest online — those owners use Form 50-132 with BCAD, not the Comptroller.
- Collin County
CCAD · McKinney / Plano / Frisco · Collin CAD Taxpayer Portal (eFile)
CCAD’s taxpayer portal is the owner eFile path. You need the Owner ID and eFile PIN from the mailed notice. Collin CAD does not accept protests by fax, email, or helpdesk ticket. Do not use the agent portal — that is for appointed agents, not owners filing for themselves. Form 50-132 is the paper backup.
- Denton County
DCAD · Denton / southern Denton County suburbs · Denton CAD Taxpayer Appeal (eProtest)
Look the account up on the official Denton CAD site, then file as a taxpayer in the district’s eProtest portal. Do not send a protest to the county tax office. If electronic filing is not offered for your property type, use Form 50-132 and the mailing instructions on your notice.
- Fort Bend County
FBCAD · Sugar Land / Richmond / Katy (Fort Bend) · FBCAD Property Owner login / Online Appeals
Online appeals start at the official FBCAD property-owner login. You need the PIN on your Notice of Appraised Value. Do not use FBCAD’s agent portal — that is for appointed agents. Paper Form 50-132 goes to FBCAD, not the Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector and not the Comptroller.
- Montgomery County
MCAD · The Woodlands / Conroe · MCAD Online Protest
MCAD’s owner path is Online Protest when the Notice of Appraised Value includes an Online Protest ID. Start at mcad-tx.org. If there is no Online Protest ID, use Form 50-132 and mail or deliver it to MCAD in Conroe — not the county tax office and not the Comptroller.
- Williamson County
WCAD · Georgetown / Round Rock / Cedar Park · WCAD Online Protest Filing
WCAD’s owner path is Online Protest Filing on wcad.org when the notice shows an Online Passcode. Search the property, register the passcode / Quick Ref ID, and file in the online appeals system. Paper Form 50-132 goes to WCAD in Georgetown, not the tax office and not the Comptroller.
- El Paso County
EPCAD · El Paso · EPCAD Protests and Appeals
Start at epcad.org and open Protests and Appeals. EPCAD posts whether owner online filing is open there. When it is, file in that portal and upload evidence. When it is not, use Form 50-132 and file with EPCAD at 5801 Trowbridge Drive — not the Comptroller and not the county tax office.
- Hidalgo County
Hidalgo CAD · McAllen / Edinburg / Mission · Hidalgo CAD Online Appeals
Hidalgo CAD’s owner path is Protest Online on hidalgoad.org, which opens onlineappeals.hidalgoad.org. Create an owner login, file the protest, and upload this packet. Paper Form 50-132 goes to Hidalgo CAD in Edinburg (P.O. Box 208), not Harris CAD, not the Hidalgo County tax office, and not the Comptroller.
- Brazoria County
Brazoria CAD · Pearland / Angleton / Lake Jackson · Brazoria CAD Taxpayer Appeal (eProtest)
Online appeals start at brazoriacad.org/appeals, then the taxpayer portal (eprotest.brazoriacad.org or the login it points to). You need the Property ID and eFile PIN from the notice, and you must click Submit Appeal — a pending draft is not filed. Paper Form 50-132 goes to Brazoria CAD in Angleton, not Bexar CAD and not the Comptroller.
- Nueces County
NCAD · Corpus Christi · NCAD Online Appeals
NCAD’s owner path is Online Appeals under Online Services on nuecescad.net. Eligible residential accounts use the E-File PIN on the Notice of Appraised Value. If e-file is not offered for the property, mail or deliver Form 50-132 to NCAD in Corpus Christi — not the county tax office and not the Comptroller.
The math
Agents bill a cut of the save. We bill a document.
About 3.00 million Texas protests were filed in 2024 (3,004,940), from Comptroller figures compiled by O’Connor.[1] The market is real. The fee structure is the fight. These are other companies’ published figures, not KeepTheCut results.
Ownwell (their figures)
25%
of first-year savings in Texas, per Ownwell’s own cost-breakdown writing.[2] They market ~$774 average annual savings[3] and other Ownwell pages cite ~$606 median.[4]
25% of $606 is about $152 — more than $99.
O’Connor (their terms)
~50%
of first-year savings. O’Connor’s site: pay half of first-year property tax savings; they file and attend the hearing.[5]
Half of $606 is about $303.
KeepTheCut
$99/year
per property. You file. You keep 100% of any savings. SquareDeal DIY comps are $69[6] — we charge more because the packet includes the filing worksheet, county portal steps, and deadline-reminder workflow.
SquareDeal has published Harris County figures claiming a 2025 DIY median assessed-value reduction of $20,640 versus $13,202 for agent-represented protests. That is their claim from their dataset, not a KeepTheCut finding, and it is not a prediction for your house.[7]
$99/year. You keep the cut.
Contingency firms take 25–50% of a homeowner’s first-year savings — Ownwell markets 25%[2] and O’Connor states about 50%.[5] Those are their published terms, not KeepTheCut results. KeepTheCut is a flat $99/year document packet. You file. You keep 100% of whatever the CAD actually reduces. We do not guarantee that number is more than $99, or that there is a reduction at all.
Neighbor copy lives on the share pack. If an October bill is what you are holding, start at /october or /bill-shock. For “property tax bill” queries, /tax-bill.
Sources
We cite other companies’ published figures. We do not adopt them as our results.
- 1.About 3.00 million Texas property-tax protests filed in 2024 (3,004,940), from Texas Comptroller data compiled by O’Connor. Source
- 2.Ownwell markets a 25% contingency on first-year savings in Texas (rate can vary by region on Ownwell’s pricing materials). Source
- 3.Ownwell homepage markets “$774 avg annual savings” among its advertised customer results (not a prediction for your home). Source
- 4.Ownwell’s Texas protest guide cites an approximate $606 median annual savings for a typical successful protest in major metro counties. Source
- 5.O’Connor & Associates states clients pay half of first-year property-tax savings (about 50%). Source
- 6.SquareDeal DIY comps reports are priced at $69, with a money-back policy if there is no reduction (SquareDeal’s terms, not ours). Source
- 7.SquareDeal’s Harris County analysis claims a 2025 DIY median assessed-value reduction of $20,640 vs $13,202 for agent-represented protests. That is SquareDeal’s claim from their dataset, not a KeepTheCut finding. Source
- 8.Texas Comptroller: how to protest, Form 50-132, and typical May 15 / 30-days-after-notice deadline. Source
- 9.Texas Tax Code §41.47: the ARB generally may not set a protested appraised value higher than the value in the appraisal records submitted by the chief appraiser, unless the owner requests and agrees. Exceptions exist for certain exemption and special-appraisal disputes. Source
- 10.Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1152 regulates property-tax consultants. KeepTheCut is not a registered property-tax consultant and does not represent owners. Source