Protest Deadline Issues: Timing and Notice

With the value protest season at hand, property owners and consultants should be aware of two issues that might impact the filing deadline. The first is the extension rule for holidays. The second is the potential extension relating to the value notice requirement under the Texas Tax Code.

Failing to pay attention to either issue could result in a waiver of protest rights. Depending in part on the position of the appraisal district or review board, a protest that a property owner might think is timely could be late (and thus subject to dismissal). Or, the property owner might find himself waiting for a value notice that never comes as his protest opportunity disappears.

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PROPERTY TAX TIP

The Necessity of Filing Annual Value Protests

Property owners who already have a protest pending (either administratively or in litigation) for a prior year sometimes believe that it is not necessary to file a protest for the current year as well. After all, the Appraisal District already knows that there is a disagreement as to value. Right? Wrong!

Under the Texas Tax Code, each year of valuation is a new year. Reliance on a pending protest for a prior year could jeopardize a property owner's ability to obtain a value correction for the current year. The fact that there is pending value litigation concerning a prior year might not be a sufficient basis to include the 2004 in such litigation, absent a valid administrative protest.

Upcoming deadlines

May 31
Deadline to file protest of appraised value

May 31
Third of four installments due for senior or disabled homestead taxpayers

Important Note
Because May 31 is a legal holiday (Memorial Day) in 2004, the deadline above is pushed to June 1, but only if the protest is filed in person at the appraisal district office. The deadline for mailing a protest is May 29.