What's in a Property Tax Evidence Packet?

A property tax evidence packet is the collection of documents you submit to support your protest of a county appraisal. At its simplest, it's a printout of comparable home sales. At its most thorough, it layers in condition documentation, records corrections, and a full value reconciliation. Understanding the spectrum helps you decide how much firepower your situation actually needs.

Quick Facts

• Texas property tax protests are filed with your county appraisal district (CAD) — not a court.
• The protest deadline is generally May 15 each year, or 30 days after the appraisal district mails your notice of appraised value — whichever is later. Check your notice and appraisal district instructions for the deadline that applies to your property.
• Evidence can be presented at an Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hearing, subject to local procedures and any pre-hearing submission rules.
• You do not need an attorney to protest your property taxes in Texas.

• What Is a Property Tax Evidence Packet?
• What's in a Basic Evidence Packet
• What's in a Deeper Evidence Packet
• When a Basic Packet May Be Enough
• When Deeper Evidence Matters
• How to Build Your Packet
• Bottom Line

What Is a Property Tax Evidence Packet?

When you file a Texas property tax protest, you're asking an Appraisal Review Board (ARB) to consider evidence that your home's assessed value is too high — or that it's assessed unequally compared to similar homes. Your evidence packet is how you make that case.

ARB members are locally appointed citizens. They read a lot of packets. A well-organized, clearly labeled submission stands out. A disorganized one — even with good data — can lose impact.

There's no single required format. But there is a clear spectrum of depth, and the right level depends on your property's situation.

What's in a Basic Evidence Packet

A basic packet covers the fundamentals. For many homeowners with straightforward situations, this is a reasonable starting point.

1. Cover Letter and Filing Instructions

A cover letter identifies your property, states the assessed value you're disputing, and tells the ARB what value you're requesting. It also serves as a table of contents for everything that follows.

Filing instructions vary by county. Harris County (HCAD), Dallas County (DCAD), and Tarrant County each have different submission portals and deadlines for evidence exchange. The cover letter should reference the correct county process.

2. Comparable Sales ("Comps")

This is the core of most protests. Comparable sales are recent arms-length transactions of homes similar to yours — same neighborhood, similar square footage, similar age and condition.

The appraisal district already used sales data to set your value. Your job is to show that the sales most relevant to your home point to a lower number.

What makes a strong comp printout:

• Sales within the last 12 months (closer is better)
• Homes within roughly 0.5 to 1 mile of your property
• Similar square footage — typically within 15–20%
• Similar lot size, age, and bedroom/bathroom count
• A clear price-per-square-foot comparison

Potential sources include information made available by your county CAD, your own closing records, and licensed real-estate professionals. Texas does not require sales-price disclosure, so public sold-price data may be incomplete.

What's in a Deeper Evidence Packet

When the basic comp approach isn't enough — or when there's more to your property's story — a deeper packet adds additional evidence layers.

3. Owner-Documented Condition with Repair Costs

Appraisal districts use mass appraisal models. They don't walk through every home. If your property has deferred maintenance, structural issues, foundation problems, roof damage, or outdated systems, that condition may not be reflected in your assessed value.

Documentation options include:

• Dated photographs of interior and exterior issues
• Contractor repair estimates or invoices
• Insurance claim records
• Inspection reports

A written repair estimate from a licensed contractor gives the ARB a concrete cost figure to consider alongside the other evidence. If your roof needs $18,000 in documented work, that estimate helps explain the condition issue in specific terms.

4. Equity and Uniformity Analysis

Texas Tax Code Section 41.41 allows property owners to protest unequal appraisal. Section 41.43 governs how value or inequality protests are determined and assigns the burden of proof.

This is separate from arguing your home's actual market value. Even if your assessed value is close to market, you may have a uniformity argument if neighbors with similar homes are assessed lower.

An equity analysis typically shows:

• The assessed values of 5–10 comparable properties
• Each property's assessed value per square foot
• Your property's assessed value per square foot
• The median assessment ratio across the comparison set

This data is public. County CAD websites allow property-by-property lookups. The Texas Comptroller also publishes ratio study data by county each year.

5. Exemption and Record-Error Checks

Before diving into value arguments, it's worth confirming that your property record is accurate. Errors are more common than most homeowners realize.

Things to verify on your county CAD property detail page:

• Square footage: Is the listed living area correct?
• Bedroom and bathroom count: Does it match your home?
• Pool, garage, or outbuilding listings: Are features listed that don't exist?
• Year built: Is this accurate?
• Exemptions applied: Do you have your homestead exemption? Over-65? Disabled veteran?

A record error — say, your home is listed at 2,400 square feet when it's actually 2,100 — can overstate your value by tens of thousands of dollars. That presents a factual record issue for the appraisal district or ARB to review alongside the valuation evidence.

Homestead exemptions reduce taxable value for the taxing units that grant them. Harris County currently grants an optional 20% county homestead exemption, while school-district and other exemptions follow separate rules. Verify the exemptions shown on your appraisal record and the rules for each taxing unit.

6. Value Reconciliation and Requested Value

A deeper packet doesn't just pile on evidence — it synthesizes it. A reconciliation section pulls together all the data and explains what value the evidence collectively supports.

This might look like:

• Comparable sales suggest a market value range of $X to $Y
• Condition adjustments for documented repairs reduce indicated value by approximately $Z
• Equity analysis shows median neighbor assessment of $W per square foot
• Requested value: $[specific number], supported by the above

Giving the ARB a specific, well-supported requested value provides a defined figure to evaluate instead of only stating that the value is too high.

When a Basic Packet May Be Enough

Not every protest requires deep documentation. A basic comparable-sales packet may serve well when:

• Your home is in average condition. No major deferred maintenance, no significant damage, no features that diverge from the mass appraisal model's assumptions.
• Clean, recent comps are available. If 5–6 homes very similar to yours sold nearby in the past year at prices below your assessed value, the data tells a clear story.
• Your property record is accurate. You've confirmed square footage, features, and exemptions match reality.
• The value gap is moderate. Contesting a $15,000–$30,000 overassessment with solid comps is often straightforward.

Some homeowners use a well-organized comp printout and a clear cover letter. County resources — including HCAD's iFile system and locally available property-search tools — may support straightforward cases without outside help.

When Deeper Evidence Matters

Some situations genuinely call for more. Consider building a deeper packet when:

• Public records miss your home's condition. Flood damage, foundation movement, aging mechanicals, or deferred maintenance that a mass appraisal model wouldn't capture — this is where condition documentation earns its place.
• Comps don't tell a clean story. If sales in your area are mixed, or your home has unusual characteristics, layering in an equity analysis can provide a second angle.
• You found a record error. Document it clearly. Show the current record, show the correct data, and request a correction explicitly.
• The value gap is large. A larger documented gap may warrant more preparation. To estimate tax impact, multiply the value reduction being considered by the combined local tax rate that applies to the property, then account for exemptions and appraisal caps. This is an estimate, not a promised result.
• Your exemptions are incomplete. A missing homestead exemption or an unclaimed over-65 limitation may have a larger tax impact than a modest valuation adjustment.

How to Build Your Packet

Homeowners have several options for assembling a property tax evidence packet.

DIY Using Free County Resources

Many Texas CADs publish property records and protest information online, but property-level sales-data availability varies. Many also publish ARB hearing guides. This is the lowest-cost preparation path for homeowners who are comfortable assembling their own evidence.

Hire a Property Tax Consultant

Licensed property tax consultants (PTCs) in Texas handle protests professionally. Some work on contingency and charge a percentage of first-year tax savings. Homeowners can review the consultant's written fee terms and representation scope before choosing this option.

Use a Document Preparation Service

Services like FairPath ($249 flat fee) prepare professional evidence packets — comparable sales analysis, cover letters, and filing instructions — for homeowners who want an organized submission without paying contingency fees. These are document preparation services, not legal representation.

Work With an Attorney

For high-value commercial properties or disputes that escalate beyond the ARB to district court, a licensed property tax attorney may be appropriate. This is rarely necessary for residential protests.

Bottom Line

A property tax evidence packet can be as simple as a one-page comp summary or as thorough as a multi-section analysis reconciling sales data, condition documentation, and equity comparisons. The right depth depends on your home's situation.

For a well-maintained home with clean nearby sales and an accurate property record, a basic packet may be entirely sufficient. When public records miss what's actually happening with your home — or when a record error is inflating your value — deeper evidence gives the ARB more to work with.

The most important first step is the same regardless of approach: pull your property record from your county CAD, verify that the facts are correct, and check that all your exemptions are applied. That takes about 10 minutes and costs nothing.

FairPath provides document preparation services — not legal advice. For questions about your specific legal situation, consult a licensed attorney or your county appraisal district.