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How to Protest Your Property Tax in Bastrop County, Texas

The county seat is Bastrop, about 118,908 people live here, spread over 888 square miles. One appraisal district, Bastrop Central Appraisal District, values every property in the county — 77,338 parcels in 2025.

Bastrop Central Appraisal District

Bastrop County deadlines for 2027

Milestone	Bastrop County, 2027
Notices of Appraised Value mailed	Typically April through early May 2027
Protest deadline for the 2027 season	Monday, May 17, 2027, or 30 days after your notice was delivered, whichever is later (Tax Code §41.44). May 15, 2027 falls on a Saturday, so §1.06 moves the statutory date to the next business day.
Informal reviews and ARB hearings	May through July 2027 in most districts; the ARB must approve the records by July 20 (§41.12)
Late protest if you never received a notice	Allowed under §41.411 until the taxes become delinquent (Feb 1, 2028)
§25.25(d) motion for a substantial error (one-third over value)	Before the delinquency date, Jan 31, 2028
§25.25(c) correction of clerical errors or non-existent property	Up to five prior tax years
Binding arbitration after an ARB order	60 days after you receive the order (§41A.03)

Texas law sets one statewide protest deadline, but each district mails on its own schedule. If your notice arrives late in May, the 30-day clock from delivery gives you more time than May 17. Write the printed last day on your calendar the day the notice arrives.

How to file a protest in Bastrop County

1. Read your Notice of Appraised Value. Bastrop CAD mails notices in April and May. The notice prints your proposed market value, appraised (capped) value, exemptions on file, and the last day to file. That printed date controls.
2. Pull your record and your neighbors’ records. Confirm living area, year built, and condition on your own account. Then collect the appraised values of similar homes nearby. An unequal-appraisal case under §41.43(b)(3) is built from the district’s own numbers, so you do not need sale prices.
3. File Comptroller Form 50-132 before the deadline. Download Form 50-132, Notice of Protest. Check both “incorrect appraised (market) value” and “value is unequal compared with other properties.” Submit it online at the Bastrop CAD protest portal, by e-mail to [email protected], by mail to P.O. Drawer 578, Bastrop, TX 78602, or by hand delivery at the district office. Keep proof of the date you filed.
4. Ask for the district’s evidence. Under Tax Code §41.461 you may request the data the appraiser will use at your hearing. Ask in writing when you file. The district must provide it at least 14 days before the hearing.
5. Take the informal meeting first. Most reductions happen in an informal review with a staff appraiser, not in front of the board. Bring your comparables table and photos, and know the exact value you are asking for.
6. Present to the Appraisal Review Board if needed. The ARB hearing runs about 15 minutes. State your requested value, hand over your evidence, and answer questions. You will get a written order; you then have 60 days to seek binding arbitration or 45 days for district court.

Bastrop County by the numbers

These are the figures Bastrop CAD reported to the Texas Comptroller in the 2025 Appraisal District Operations Survey. Districts self-report, so treat them as the district’s own account rather than an audit.

Measure	Bastrop County
Protests filed in 2025	11,287
Protests filed in 2024	9,702
Single-family residential protests	4,896
Parcels in the district	77,338
Filed by designated agents (paid firms)	7,791 (69%)
Filed online	538 (5%)
Resolved informally (never reached the ARB)	2,680
Informal resolutions that cut the value	1,967 (73%)
Single-family informal reviews that cut the value	850 of 1,901 (45%)
Written ARB determinations	3,921
ARB determinations that lowered the value	2,062 (53%)
Value removed through informal resolutions	$124.1 million
Value removed by ARB determinations	$105.4 million
Days the ARB held hearings	48
ARB seats	9
Appeals to binding arbitration	29
Total certified market value, 2025	$25.2 billion ($9.8 billion single-family)
Homesteads with the over-65 exemption	10,063
Homesteads valued under $140,000	3,751

Protest volume was up 16% from 2024 to 2025. About 15% of all parcels were protested. 69% of protests came from paid agents. Those firms file the same public-record evidence TaxStand gives you, then keep a share of your savings. Of the cases staff settled informally, 73% ended with a lower value. The informal meeting is where good evidence does most of its work.

Your two legal grounds

Market value (§41.41(a)(1)). The district says your home would sell for more than it would. Evidence: recent sales of similar homes, condition problems, repair bids, and anything that depresses value such as flooding, road noise, or a neglected neighbor.

Unequal appraisal (§41.41(a)(2) and §41.43(b)(3)). The district values your home higher per square foot than a reasonable number of comparable homes, adjusted for size and features. This argument runs on the district’s own appraisal roll, which is public, so it works in non-disclosure Texas without buying sale data. It is the ground TaxStand’s packet is built around. Read the deep dive: What is unequal appraisal in Texas?

Check both boxes on Form 50-132. The ARB must rule on each ground you raise, and the lower result wins.

FAQ — Bastrop County

When is the Bastrop County property tax protest deadline in 2027?

Monday, May 17, 2027, or 30 days after Bastrop CAD delivered your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. Texas Tax Code section 41.44 sets the rule. Use the last-day date printed on your own notice.

Where do I file a property tax protest in Bastrop County?

File Comptroller Form 50-132 with the Bastrop Central Appraisal District online at https://www.bastropcad.org/protest, by e-mail to [email protected], by mail to Bastrop Central Appraisal District, P.O. Drawer 578, Bastrop, TX 78602, or in person at the district office. Keep a dated copy.

Can I file my Bastrop County protest online?

Yes. Bastrop CAD offers online protest filing at https://www.bastropcad.org/protest.

Does Bastrop CAD offer an informal review before the ARB hearing?

Yes. Bastrop CAD offers an informal review with a staff appraiser before any Appraisal Review Board hearing. In 2025 the district reported 2,680 informal resolutions, and 73% of them lowered the value.

Does TaxStand work in Bastrop County?

Yes. Bastrop County is live on TaxStand with instant address search and the full size-adjusted equity packet.

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