How to Protest Your Property Tax in Travis County, Texas

Travis County saw the most aggressive residential appreciation in Texas during the 2020–2022 post-pandemic reset, and the appraisal district followed with the largest year-over-year reappraisals in the county's modern history. Combined with Texas's structural reliance on property tax for school funding, this has produced some of the highest effective tax burdens for non-homestead-exempt Austin homeowners anywhere in the state. The protest process here is essential, not optional. This guide walks through TCAD's portal, the post-reset comp dynamics, and the city-by-city tactics that actually work in Travis County.

TCAD by the numbers

Travis County covers approximately 1,022 square miles. The City of Austin (~975,000 residents) dominates the county's population. Other incorporated cities and unincorporated areas include West Lake Hills (~3,400 residents but among the highest median home values in Texas), Rollingwood, Bee Cave (~9,500), Lakeway (~20,000), Lago Vista, Jonestown, Manor (~15,000 and growing fast), Pflugerville (split with Williamson County, ~70,000 total), and the unincorporated Hill Country to the west. TCAD's residential parcel count is approximately 450,000.

TCAD has historically been one of the more administratively professional CADs in Texas. The 2022 mass reappraisal — which we discuss in detail below — drew significant public attention and forced TCAD to invest in better intake systems for the protest volume that followed. The current portal is functional, supports online filing and evidence upload, and offers virtual hearing options.

The 2022 Travis County reset

The TCAD 2022 reappraisal is worth understanding even if you're protesting in 2026, because the baseline values are still being shaped by what happened then.

During 2020–2021, Austin home prices rose roughly 40–50% in nominal terms — the largest two-year appreciation in the city's modern history, driven by migration of high-income workers from California and the Northeast during the remote-work expansion. TCAD's appraisals lagged behind that surge through 2021, leaving the 2021 appraisal roll significantly below actual market values for most residential properties.

In 2022, TCAD's mass-appraisal model caught up. The result was the largest single-year reappraisal in modern Travis County history: many residential properties saw 40–70% increases in appraised value year-over-year. The §23.23 10% homestead cap limited the assessed-value impact for properties that had been homestead-exempt continuously, but new owners (cap reset on purchase) and non-homestead properties faced the full reset.

The protest filings that followed broke TCAD's prior records: over 200,000 protests were filed against the 2022 roll, more than double a typical year. Public attention from local media kept the heat on TCAD throughout the season, and many protests resulted in meaningful reductions because the mass-appraisal model produced uneven results across neighborhoods.

Using the TCAD portal

The TCAD portal at traviscad.org supports the full protest workflow. Property search by address, owner, or geographic ID works without an account. Filing a protest requires account registration and linking to your property via the TCAD account number from your Notice of Appraised Value.

• Property search — public, no login required
• Appraisal history — 10+ years for most properties
• Online protest filing — during the May–July season
• Online evidence upload — supported with the protest record
• Virtual hearing scheduling — informal and formal ARB
• Settlement offer system — TCAD's analog to HCAD's iSettle, though less robust

The portal occasionally slows during peak May volume but has been more reliable in recent years than in 2022. Mobile-friendly responsive design works on phones, though larger evidence uploads are easier from desktop.

Critical Travis County deadlines

Date (annually)	What happens
April 1 – April 30	TCAD mails "Notice of Appraised Value" to property owners
April 30	Deadline to file Form 50-114 (Residence Homestead Exemption) for the current tax year
May 15 (or 30 days after notice mailed, whichever is later)	Deadline to file Form 50-132 (Notice of Protest) via TCAD portal or other method
Mid-May – late July	Informal reviews with TCAD appraisers
Mid-June – late August	Formal Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hearings
July 25	TCAD certifies appraisal roll to taxing entities
October	Tax bills mailed by Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector

Filing your protest, step-by-step

1Pull your TCAD record

Visit traviscad.org, search for your property, and verify the square footage, year built, lot size, and structural details. Travis CAD's records are reasonably accurate but the rapid growth in Travis means newer properties (under 3 years old) and recently-renovated properties sometimes have stale data. Cross-check before relying on it.

2Register on the TCAD portal and file your protest online

Click "Property Owner Portal" or "Online Appeals" on traviscad.org. Register with your email and link to your property using the TCAD account number from your Notice. Navigate to "File a Protest" during the May–July window. Check both "Value over market" and "Unequal appraisal" grounds — both apply, and there's no penalty for asserting both.

Alternative methods if the portal is having issues: mail Form 50-132 to TCAD at 850 East Anderson Lane, Austin, TX 78752, or email a signed PDF to protests@tcadcentral.org. Save proof of delivery either way.

3Pull your comparables

For Travis County, the per-square-foot equity comp method works well in subdivision-dense areas (most of north Austin, far west Austin, Pflugerville, Manor). For unique-property neighborhoods like older Central Austin (Hyde Park, Travis Heights, Bouldin Creek, French Place) where every home is different, equity comps are weaker and condition adjustments matter more. Pull 7–10 comparable properties matching your subject's size (±25%) and age (±10 years) from your immediate neighborhood.

4Build your evidence packet

Sort comp list by per-square-foot appraised value, compute the median, and multiply by your square footage to get your defensible target value. Build the packet as a single PDF: summary on page 1, comp table on pages 2-3, condition adjustments on page 4 if applicable. Upload via the TCAD portal evidence section.

5Request TCAD's evidence packet

Under §41.461, request TCAD's planned evidence at least 14 days before any formal ARB hearing. The TCAD portal has a request mechanism; alternatively email customer.service@tcadcentral.org.

6Show up to the hearing

TCAD supports in-person hearings at the Anderson Lane office, phone hearings, and virtual hearings via the portal's video tool. Specify your preference when filing. Virtual hearings have become the default for most Travis County residential protests post-2022; they work well for clean cases.

What to expect at the TCAD informal review and ARB

Travis County's ARB hears tens of thousands of cases per year. The pace is brisk at the formal hearing — typically 15-25 minutes per residential property. The informal review, which resolves most protests, can be conducted asynchronously through the portal's settlement-offer system or in a brief telephone conversation with a TCAD appraiser.

Travis County's ARB panels are composed of local citizens appointed by the local administrative district court. The members rotate over multi-year terms; they have no direct employment relationship with TCAD. The panels are generally fair to well-prepared homeowners — sloppy presentations get dismissed quickly, but defensible packets win meaningful reductions.

By city — Austin, West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Lakeway, Bee Cave, Pflugerville

Travis County tax rates by taxing entity

A typical Travis County homeowner pays property tax to 4-6 entities. For an Austin ISD residence in the City of Austin:

Entity	Approx. rate (per $100 of taxable value)
School district (Austin ISD, Eanes ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Pflugerville ISD, Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD)	~$0.95 – $1.20
City of Austin (or applicable city)	~$0.45
Travis County	~$0.32
Austin Community College	~$0.10
Travis County Healthcare District (Central Health)	~$0.10
Emergency Services District or MUD (where applicable)	~$0.05 – $0.40
Approximate combined	~$2.00 – $2.50 per $100 (≈2.0–2.5%)

Travis combined rates have come down slightly from the 2018-2020 peak as taxing entities have responded to public pressure. The 2024-2025 Austin ISD tax rate is at one of its lowest levels in a decade, partly due to state-level Robin Hood recapture changes. The dollar impact of successful protests is still very high in Travis because absolute home values are high.

For new Travis County homeowners

Travis County's purchase volume has slowed since the 2021-2022 peak but remains elevated. New homeowners face two compounding issues:

1. The §23.23 10% homestead cap resets when the property sells. Your first full ownership year becomes the new cap base — making your first-year appraisal the most consequential single number you'll see on your tax bill for as long as you own the property.
2. The homestead exemption itself does not transfer from the prior owner. You must file Form 50-114 with TCAD; the form is here. For a typical Austin home in the $500,000-$900,000 range, the exemption is worth $3,000-$6,000 per year in tax savings. Full mechanics in our homestead guide.

Protesting the first-year appraisal aggressively is particularly valuable for new Travis County owners because the lower the protested value, the lower the §23.23 cap base for every subsequent year. The protest math compounds.

Five Travis-specific mistakes

1. Filing with TCAD when your property is in Williamson County (Round Rock, Cedar Park) or Hays County (Buda, Kyle)

Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, and parts of Leander straddle Travis/Williamson. Buda, Kyle, and parts of Driftwood are in Hays. Always verify on your appraisal notice which CAD assesses your parcel.

2. Treating Hyde Park or French Place comps as equivalent to Mueller or Circle C

Central Austin's older neighborhoods have wide property-condition variation. Equity comps that ignore condition produce weak arguments. Use condition-matched comps or lead with explicit condition adjustments.

3. Ignoring the §23.23 cap base reset on recent purchases

If you bought your home in 2024 or 2025, the cap reset to your purchase year. Aggressive first-year protests pay dividends for the entire duration of your ownership. Don't accept a small reduction "just to settle" if your evidence supports a larger one.

4. Forgetting Central Health and Austin Community College in the rate stack

Travis County has two taxing entities that DFW counties don't have analogues for: Central Health (the county hospital district) and Austin Community College. They add ~$0.20 to the combined rate. Successful protests reduce the base across all entities, so the dollar savings on a Travis protest scale to the full ~2.2% combined rate, not just the school district rate.

5. Not requesting TCAD's evidence packet

The §41.461 right to TCAD's evidence packet at least 14 days before the formal hearing is underused. The portal makes the request easy. Do it.

FAQ — Travis County edition

Is the TCAD portal reliable?

Generally yes — TCAD's portal has improved significantly since 2022. Peak May volume can produce some slowness but the system has been stable in recent years. For backup, email protests@tcadcentral.org or mail to 850 East Anderson Lane.

Can I protest my Travis County property tax by video?

Yes. Virtual hearings via the TCAD portal's video tool work for both informal review and formal ARB. Most Travis County residential protests are now conducted virtually.

What if I disagree with TCAD's ARB decision?

Under Tax Code §42.01, you may appeal to state district court in Travis County, to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) for certain property types, or to binding arbitration under Chapter 41A for residential properties under $5,000,000. Most residential homeowners do not appeal beyond the ARB.

Why are my Austin property taxes higher than my friend's in Dallas?

Three reasons: (1) Travis County has Central Health and ACC entities that don't exist in DFW counties, adding ~$0.20 to the combined rate; (2) absolute home values are higher in Austin neighborhoods than in equivalent Dallas neighborhoods, so the same effective rate produces higher dollar amounts; (3) the 2022 reset shifted appraisal floors permanently higher for many Travis properties.

How long does a Travis County protest take?

From filing in early May to final ARB determination: 6-12 weeks. Informal-review settlements can close in 2-4 weeks. The 2022-era backlogs have largely cleared; 2026 protests should run on standard timelines.