Every term that's likely to show up on your Notice of Appraised Value or come up in an Appraisal Review Board hearing — defined in plain English. Linked back into the rest of the site so each definition is a starting point, not a dead end.
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The county appraisal district's estimate of the market value of your property as of January 1 of the tax year. This is the number you can fight in a protest. Distinct from assessed value, which is the appraised value minus any caps and exemptions and is the number actually used to compute your bill.
A panel of private Texas citizens — three members per panel — that hears protest cases the appraisal district can't settle informally. ARB members are appointed locally and are required by Tax Code §6.41 to be independent of the appraisal district itself. Each side typically gets 5-7 minutes to present; the panel rules immediately and issues a written Final Order of Determination.
The taxable value of your home after applying the 10% homestead cap and any exemptions. School-district taxes are calculated on the assessed value (minus the school exemption), not the appraised value. For a homestead in its second year or later, the assessed value can never rise more than 10% per year from last year's assessed value, regardless of how much the appraised value moved.
The local government entity that values every parcel of property in a Texas county for tax purposes. Each Texas county has exactly one CAD (Travis CAD, Harris CAD, Bexar CAD, etc.). The CAD is independent of the county, the cities, and the school districts that actually levy the taxes — it only sets values; it doesn't set rates and doesn't collect.
Recent sale prices of similar homes near yours, used as evidence that the CAD's appraised value has room to come down (or is about right). Texas is a "non-disclosure" state — sale prices aren't filed with the county — so the CAD's comp set is often less complete than what a real-estate agent or our report can assemble from MLS data. More on what makes a comp persuasive.
A statutory protest ground separate from market value, based on the principle in the Texas Constitution that taxation must be "equal and uniform." If similar nearby homes are appraised lower than yours per square foot or per total value, you have a winning argument that doesn't depend on what the market would pay. Whether you actually have an equity case — and which peer group makes for a defensible comparison — requires a statistical analysis, not a guess; the same is true of the parallel market-value question. Run the numbers before you check the box.
A statutory removal of a portion of your appraised value from taxation. The most common is the residence homestead exemption ($140,000 for school-district taxes after Prop 13 in 2025). Other exemptions cover age 65+, disabled persons, disabled veterans, surviving spouses, charitable use, and more. See the homestead exemption guide.
The big one: a $140,000 exemption from school-district taxes on your principal residence (raised from $100,000 by Proposition 13, 2025), plus an additional $60,000 if you're 65 or older or disabled (raised from $10,000 by the separate Proposition 11, also 2025). Cities, counties, and special districts can opt in to their own optional homestead exemptions of 1-20% on top. Apply once with Comptroller Form 50-114; it's not annual. Full coverage on the homestead exemption guide.
Texas Tax Code §23.23 limits how fast the assessed (taxable) value of a homestead-exempt residence can rise — to 10% per year, regardless of how much the appraised (market) value moves. The cap doesn't apply in your first year of eligibility; it kicks in starting the second January 1 you've held the exemption. Resets when ownership changes or when major improvements are added.
A pre-hearing meeting between you (or your representative) and a CAD appraiser, usually held a week or two after you file your protest. The appraiser reviews your evidence and often offers a settlement on the spot. Accepting ends the protest with a signed agreement; rejecting moves you to the formal ARB hearing. Most successful protests are settled informally — homeowners never see the ARB.
A school district with its own elected board and the legal authority to levy property taxes. ISDs are by far the largest single line item on most Texas property tax bills, often 50%+ of total. The school-district homestead exemption ($140,000) only reduces the ISD portion of the bill — other jurisdictions have their own (usually smaller) optional homestead exemptions.
What your home would sell for in a normal arm's-length transaction. This is the standard the CAD is statutorily required to estimate when setting your appraised value. Mass-appraisal models try to approximate market value at scale; protests exist because they often miss for individual properties.
The statistical method by which CADs value every parcel in a county at once, typically using regression models keyed on neighborhood, square footage, year built, and a handful of other variables. Inevitably accurate on average and inevitably wrong for individual homes whose specifics don't match the model's assumptions — which is exactly the gap a well-prepared protest exploits.
The tax rate that would generate the same revenue as the prior year on the same properties — i.e., the rate at which the average homeowner's bill stays flat in dollar terms even though appraised values rose. Required to be published by every Texas taxing entity each year. Compare your jurisdiction's adopted rate against its NNR to see how much the entity is actually growing tax revenue.
The annual notice each appraisal district mails to property owners showing this year's appraised value, last year's appraised value, and the deadline by which a protest must be filed. Mailed in late April or early May for most counties. The mailing date printed on the notice is what triggers the 30-day extension to the May 15 deadline — it's not the postmark and not the date you received it.
The formal, legally protected process by which a Texas property owner challenges the appraised value the CAD assigned. Filing is free, deadline is May 15 (or 30 days after your NOAV was mailed if later), and the burden is on the protester to present evidence — which is mostly comparable sales and equity analysis. The eight-step playbook here.
The dollar amount per $100 of taxable value charged by a taxing entity. Adopted annually after public hearings, often in the late summer. Each jurisdiction (school district, city, county, special districts) has its own rate; your total tax is the sum of each rate × your assessed value at that jurisdiction. Texas voter-approval rate rules cap how much rates can rise without voter consent.
Once you turn 65 or qualify as disabled and have an active homestead exemption, the school-district portion of your tax bill is frozen at that year's amount in dollar terms. Your appraised value can keep moving but the school bill cannot exceed the ceiling. Cities and counties may opt into the same ceiling at their discretion.
The maximum tax rate a Texas taxing entity can adopt without an automatic election. Set by Senate Bill 2 (2019) at 3.5% revenue growth above the no-new-revenue rate for cities, counties, and special districts (school districts use a separate rolling formula). If a rate above the threshold is adopted, voters automatically get an election in November on whether to ratify or roll back.
The statistics on this page are best-effort aggregates compiled from public county appraisal-district records as of the data extract date noted above. We update them periodically; we cannot guarantee they reflect the most recent appraisal-roll certifications, post-extract value changes, or supplemental records.
Always verify deadlines, portal availability, and contact details with your county's central appraisal district before filing — the links to each county's official site are provided above.
The information on this page is provided for general educational purposes only. It is not property-tax advice, legal advice, or financial advice. Property tax law and appraisal-district procedures change; for guidance specific to your situation you should consult a qualified professional.
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