KeepTheCut

Travis County · TCAD · Austin

Travis County property-tax protest packet

Austin-area homestead owners in Travis County protest with Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD). KeepTheCut is a $99/year DIY evidence packet. We do not file, represent, negotiate, or attend. You speak for yourself.

Get my packet — $99/year

Same $99/year packet. You file with TCAD.

What this is

A $99/year DIY packet. The owner files.

KeepTheCut sells a document packet so you can protest Travis County yourself. We are not a registered property-tax consultant under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1152. We do not represent you, negotiate with TCAD, attend informal conferences or ARB hearings, take a power of attorney, or file Form 50-132 for you. We do not guarantee a reduction. County appraisal districts — not KeepTheCut — set the values on notices and bills.

Official TCAD

File with Travis Central Appraisal District.

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.

  • Appraisal district

    Travis Central Appraisal District

    TCAD · Austin

    Official TCAD website

  • Comptroller forms

    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.

    Form 50-132 (PDF)Comptroller protest instructions

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]

Other launch counties

How to file yourself · October tax bill · Property tax bill · October bill-shock · Share pack

Get my packet — $99/year

Sources

We cite other companies’ published figures. We do not adopt them as our results.

  1. 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. 2.Ownwell markets a 25% contingency on first-year savings in Texas (rate can vary by region on Ownwell’s pricing materials). Source
  3. 3.Ownwell homepage markets “$774 avg annual savings” among its advertised customer results (not a prediction for your home). Source
  4. 4.Ownwell’s Texas protest guide cites an approximate $606 median annual savings for a typical successful protest in major metro counties. Source
  5. 5.O’Connor & Associates states clients pay half of first-year property-tax savings (about 50%). Source
  6. 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. 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. 8.Texas Comptroller: how to protest, Form 50-132, and typical May 15 / 30-days-after-notice deadline. Source
  9. 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. 10.Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1152 regulates property-tax consultants. KeepTheCut is not a registered property-tax consultant and does not represent owners. Source