Square Deal - Save on your property tax

06/03/2026

If you filed your property tax protest online, keep a close eye on your inbox.

You will get an email notification when your CAD presents an offer on their online system. (iSettle / uFile / JustAppraised...et.al).

These offers are time sensitive. In many cases, you only get 5 days to respond.

You can:

• Accept the offer

• Reject the offer

• Ignore it (not recommended)

If you reject the offer or fail to respond within the deadline, your case automatically moves to an ARB hearing.

A few years ago, a customer contacted us after missing an online offer email from Fort Bend CAD. The informal offer was actually pretty decent. Unfortunately, by the time the ARB hearing happened, the final reduction turned out much worse.

06/02/2026

❌ Myth: “If I go to an ARB hearing, they might increase my property value.”

This single misconception keeps thousands of homeowners from showing up.

✅ Fact:
The ARB cannot increase your value during a hearing.
They can only:

Reduce it
Or leave it at the noticed value

There is zero downside risk.

Yet, look at the Harris county ARB hearings data:

2023: 25,383 no-shows (6.3%)
2024: 26,222 no-shows (6.9%)
2025: 25,796 no-shows (5.6%)

That’s ~25,000+ homeowners every year who don’t show up.

Not because they don’t have a case.
But because they’re worried about something that cannot happen.

That’s a costly mistake.

If you’ve already filed a protest, don’t waste it.

👉 Show up. Present your evidence. Give yourself a shot.

04/27/2026

Extended hours by Collin CAD to facilitate informal reviews

*April 30th Thursday until 7pm
* May 7th Thursday until 7pm
* May 14th Thursday until 7pm

Plano, Frisco, McKinney and other Collin CAD homeowners - take note. If you have filed your protest, make use these dates to settle your value.

For details visit:

The mission of the Collin Central Appraisal District is to appraise all property in the Collin County Appraisal District at market value equally and uniformly, and to communicate that value annually to each taxpayer and taxing jurisdiction.

04/14/2026

Texas Homestead exemption deadline is April 30, but don't wait. Apply soon. CAD staff get busy once hearings begin.

If you bought a home and moved in recently or in 2025, this note is for you.

02/10/2026

If someone from the appraisal district knocks on your door right now… you’re NOT required to let them in.

Appraisal field inspections happen January through February. That’s when districts are gathering data before Notices of Appraised Value go out in April.

Most Texans don’t realize this: tax appraisers do not have automatic legal rights to enter your residential property without your permission.

If you say “no,” they must complete the inspection from public areas using aerial images, street views, and records.

01/21/2026

Deadline to pay your Texas property taxes is Jan 31st. But with the USPS postmarking change, waiting for the last day could mean penalties + interest. Pay it online via ACH / eCheck / Billpay / Cards.

Card payment will incur processing fees though.

If you plan to mail your check, do so by Jan 26th. That will give enough time for USPS to deliver it. In case you are mailing on the last day, be sure to get a hand-post mark from the associate at your local USPS counter.

If paying with online billpay, make sure your county tax assessor-collector can receive the funds electronically. Most are not. In such cases, your bank will snail-mail a check on your behalf. If that happens on the last day, you again risk paying penalty + interest.

1s

ACH / eCheck are the fastest, safest mode with min. charges.

12/22/2025

Property tax limits don’t make housing cheaper. They haven’t reduced home prices or rents—and in some cases, they’ve actually increased the cost of new construction.

They hard-code inequality into the tax system. Similar homes pay wildly different taxes based on how long someone’s owned them, whether they rent or own, or whether they live in a fast-growing area—systematically favoring wealthier, long-tenured owners.

They hollow out local governments. Limits force cuts to schools, roads, and public safety, destabilize local finances, increase debt, and push governments toward more regressive taxes or state bailouts.

They breed resentment, not trust. By making the system feel arbitrary and unfair, tax limits fuel public anger—ironically leading to calls to abolish property taxes altogether, especially in states with the most extreme caps.

https://itep.org/effects-of-property-tax-limits/

12/17/2025

DIY'ers took a break from protesting their propert taxes this year!

12/16/2025

12/11/2025

NEWS: Texans may soon turn 'senior' at 55!

> Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to increase the senior property-tax exemption age from 65 to 55 under "Operation Double Nickel."

> About 3.3M more Texans would qualify for frozen school taxes and larger homestead exemptions.

> Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also proposes raising homestead exemptions again, to $180,000, in the next legislative session.

> Qualifying Texans are expected to save about $900 to $1,000 per year if the proposal is passed; up to $10,000 in savings between the new qualifying age of 55 and the previous bar of 65.

https://www.fox4news.com/news/seniors-texas-property-tax-breaks