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Property owners have the right to protest actions concerning their property tax appraisals. You may follow these appeal procedures if you have a concern about:
• your property’s appraised (market) value
• the unequal value of your property compared with other properties;
• your property’s inclusion on the appraisal records;
• any exemptions that may apply to you;
• qualification for an agricultural or timber appraisal;
• the taxing units taxing your property;
• the property’s ownership;
• the change of use of land receiving special appraisal;
• failure of the chief appraiser or appraisal review board (ARB) to send a required notice;
• the denial, modification or cancellation of the circuit breaker limitation on appraised value; or
• any action taken by the appraisal district or ARB that applies to and adversely affects you.
Informal Review
As the protest allows you to check for an informal conference, you are encouraged to talk with an appraiser. There are limited appraisers available and they will be responding to the informal conference requests from the protest files. Informal protests are in person or by phone at Colorado County Appraisal District, 106 Cardinal Lane, Columbus,TX 78934 or (979) 732-8222.
Review by the ARB
If you cannot resolve your problem informally with the appraisal district, you have the right to have your case heard by the ARB.
The ARB is an independent board of citizens that hears and de- termines protests regarding property appraisals or other concerns listed above. It has the power to order the appraisal district to make the necessary changes based on evidence heard during the ARB hearing.
If you file a written request for an ARB hearing (notice of protest) before the deadline, the ARB will set your case for a hearing and send you written notice of the time, date, place and subject of the hearing. If necessary, you may request a hearing in the evening or on a Saturday. You may use Comptroller Form 50-132, Property Appraisal - Notice of Protest, to file your written request for an ARB hearing.
Prior to your hearing, you may request a copy of the evidence the appraisal district plans to introduce at the hearing to establish any matter at issue. Before a hearing on a protest or immediately after the hearing begins, you or your authorized representative and the appraisal district are required to provide each other with a copy of any materials (evidence) intended to be offered or submitted to the ARB at the hearing. Evidence may be submitted for any hearing type either in paper or on a small portable electronic de- vice (such as a CD, USB flash drive or thumb drive) which will be kept by the ARB. Do NOT bring evidence on a smart phone. The ARB’s hearing procedures regarding all the requirements to properly submit evidence on a small portable electronic device must be reviewed.
To the greatest extent practicable, the hearing will be informal. You or your authorized representative may ap- pear in person, by telephone conference or videoconference call or by submission of a written affidavit to present your evidence, facts and argument. You must indicate the type of hearing you request on your written notice of protest filed with the ARB not later than the 10th day before the hearing date and pro- vide your evidence and written affidavit before the ARB hearing begins. You may use Comptroller Form 50-283, Property Owner’s Affidavit of Evidence to the Appraisal Review Board, to submit evidence for your telephone or video conference call hearing or for hearing by affidavit.
You and the appraisal district representative have the opportunity to present evidence about your case. In most cases, the appraisal district has the burden of establishing the property’s value by a preponderance of the evidence presented.
In certain protests, the chief appraiser has the burden of prov- ing the property’s value by clear and convincing evidence. You should review ARB hearing procedures to learn more about evidence and related matters.
You should not try to contact ARB members outside of the hear- ing. ARB members are required to sign an affidavit saying that they have not talked about your case before the ARB hears it.
If you believe that the ARB or chief appraiser failed to comply with an ARB procedural requirement, you may file a complaint with the local taxpayer liaison officer. If it is not resolved by the ARB or chief appraiser, you can request limited binding arbitra- tion to compel the ARB or the chief appraiser to comply.
Review by the District Court, an Arbitrator or SOAH
After it decides your case, the ARB must send you a copy of its order by certified mail. If you are not satisfied with the ARB’s decision, you have the right to appeal to district court. As an alter- native to district court, you may appeal through regular binding arbitration or the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) if you meet the qualifying criteria.
If you choose to go to district court, you must start the process by filing a petition with the district court within 60 days of the date you receive the ARB’s order. If you chose to appeal through regu- lar binding arbitration, you must file a request for regular binding arbitration not later than the 60th day after you receive notice of the ARB order. Additional information on how to appeal through regular binding arbitration will be included with the ARB’s order of determination. If you chose to appeal to SOAH, you must file an appeal with the appraisal district not later than the 30th day after you receive notice of the ARB’s order. Appeals to district court, regular binding arbitration or SOAH all require payment of certain fees or deposits.
Tax Payment
You must pay the amount of taxes due on the portion of the tax- able value not in dispute, the amount of taxes due on the property under the order from which the appeal is taken or the amount of taxes due in the previous year.
More Information
You can get more information by contacting Colorado County Appraisal District: USPS Mailing: P.O. Box 10, Columbus, TX 78934 Phys: 106 Cardinal Ln, Columbus, TX 78934 Ph: (979) 732-8222 You can get Comptroller forms and additional information on how to prepare a protest from the Comptroller’s website at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/.
