Questions

The straightforward answers.

Common questions from current and prospective customers — about the protest process, our flat-fee model, what to expect, and what happens in the weird edge cases.

About Texas property tax protests

What is a property tax protest?
In Texas, every year your county appraisal district sets a value for your property. That value, multiplied by the tax rates of your local taxing units (county, city, school district, etc.), determines what you owe. A “protest” is the formal process by which a property owner can dispute that assessed value. If the value comes down, your tax bill comes down.
Is protesting risky? Can my taxes go up?
No. The appraisal review board cannot raise your value as a result of a protest. The worst-case outcome is the value stays the same as what the appraisal district originally proposed. There's no downside to filing a protest from a tax-bill perspective.
Will protesting affect my homestead exemption?
No. Protests dispute the assessed value; exemptions (homestead, over-65, disability, veteran, etc.) are separate. Your exemptions stay in place regardless of what happens with your protest.
What's the deadline?
For most Texas counties, the deadline to file a protest is May 15, or 30 days after the appraisal notice is mailed, whichever is later. Late protests are accepted only in narrow circumstances. We recommend signing up no later than early May to make sure we have time to file before the deadline.
What's the success rate for protests?
It varies by year, county, and the specific facts of your property. Tarrant County's residential protest success rate is typically around 60-70% across all filers. Our protests succeed at around 75-80% on residential, because we don't file a case unless we have evidence to support a reduction.

About our flat fee

Why don't you charge a percentage like Ownwell?
Two reasons. First, percentage fees create a misaligned incentive: companies that take a cut have a reason to inflate the “estimated savings” on your front-end quote and to push aggressive numbers. We charge for the work, not the result, so our incentive is to do the work right and keep you for renewals. Second, percentage fees grow with your home's value. As Texas property values climb, a 25% commission on a $3,000 protest becomes a 25% commission on a $5,000 protest, then $7,000. Our $349 stays $349.
What if my home is small? Is the flat fee still worth it?
If your home's assessed value is in our lowest tier (under $125k), our fee is $149. For most homes in that range, even a modest reduction recoups the fee with room to spare. Use the savings estimator on the homepage to see the math for your specific address before committing.
What if there are no savings?
You still pay the flat fee. We charge for the work, not the result. That said, even on unsuccessful protests, you get our full evidence packet for your records — which is often useful in subsequent years (we know the appraiser's arguments and have a year of data to build on).
Do you offer a refund if you don't reduce my taxes?
We refund the fee in full if we cancel before filing your protest with the appraisal district. Once we've filed and put work into the case, the fee is non-refundable regardless of outcome. This is standard for tax protest services and reflects the reality that the work happens whether or not the appraiser agrees with us.
Is the fee really one-time?
For the year, yes. One charge when you sign up, that's it for the protest. Next year is a separate engagement — see annual renewal for how that works.

About the process

Do I have to attend the hearing?
No. Once you sign Form 50-162, we're your legal agent and can represent you at all proceedings. Most cases settle informally with the appraiser's office and never make it to a formal hearing. For the cases that do, we attend on your behalf — you don't take time off work.
How long does the process take?
Filing happens within 2 business days of signup. The informal negotiation phase runs from April through June. Formal hearings (when needed) happen May through September. Final results are usually emailed by late summer.
What evidence do you use?
Comparable sales (recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood — usually 3-6 comps), equity analysis (how your assessment compares to similar properties on neighboring streets), and condition or feature differences where applicable. We pull from MLS data, public sales records, and the appraisal district's own data.
Will I get to see what you submitted?
Yes. After your protest concludes, your full evidence packet is saved to your account dashboard. You can view or download it anytime, and it's useful context for future years.
What if I disagree with the result?
If the informal offer is reasonable but you wanted more, you can request we proceed to a formal Appraisal Review Board hearing. If the formal hearing result is also disappointing, the next step is binding arbitration or district court, which is a separate engagement we can help evaluate but isn't included in the flat fee.

Edge cases

I just bought my house. Can you still protest?
Yes. In fact, recent purchases are some of the strongest protest cases — your sale price is often itself a comp the appraiser should have used. Make sure your closing paperwork is in your records; it may be requested as evidence.
My property is in an LLC or trust. Does that work?
Yes. Form 50-162 is signed by “a property manager authorized to designate agents for the owner” or “another person authorized to act on behalf of the owner.” A trustee or LLC manager fits that description. We use this pattern routinely.
I have multiple properties. Is there a discount?
Each property is its own protest with its own tier-based fee. For owners with more than 5 properties, contact us about volume pricing. Multi-property owners can manage all their properties from a single dashboard, with one place to review evidence and renewal status.
I sold my house mid-year. What happens?
Our system checks the appraisal district's current owner-of-record before each year's protest. If you sold the property, we'll detect the ownership change and pause the renewal — we won't file a protest on a property you no longer own. The new owner is welcome to sign up for our service themselves.
I'm in an address-confidentiality program. Can you still help?
Yes, with extra care. Texas Tax Code 25.025 protects certain owners (judges, peace officers, prosecutors, family-violence survivors, federal/state employees in specific roles). We respect those protections — we don't display your property publicly, and we file protests with the same confidentiality the district uses. Mention your protected status when you sign up so we can handle it correctly.
I'm not in Tarrant County. Can you help?
Right now we focus on Tarrant County, where we have the deepest relationships and best data. We're expanding to Dallas, Collin, and Denton counties. If your property is outside Tarrant, sign up anyway — we'll let you know when we're available in your county.

About us

Who runs Property Tax Lock?
We're a Texas-based, family-operated property tax protest firm with licensed Texas tax consultants on staff. We've filed thousands of protests over the past 5+ years and built ongoing relationships with the appraisal districts we work with.
Are your agents licensed?
Yes. Texas requires property tax consultants to be registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. All our agents are properly registered.
How do I reach you if I have a question?
Email hello@propertytaxlock.com or call (817) 992-5017. Replies go out within one business day. If you're an existing customer, you can also send messages from your account dashboard.

Still have questions?

Email hello@propertytaxlock.com — we read every one. Or just see your savings estimate.

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Frequently asked questions · Property Tax Lock