Protesting your property taxes is a pretty common practice. It’s an easy thing to do that could really pay off. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale. One question I’ve been getting from a lot of homeowners is, “How can I protest my property taxes?” Here in the Austin area, it’s really a quite simple process. The first thing you need to do if you believe your home has been overvalued is to go out and find comparable homes that have recently sold that justify what you value your home at. You can and should protest your property taxes every year. If you don’t do it one year, that might be the year you see your bill go up a lot higher than in other years. If you’re still not quite sure if you should protest or not, I would be happy to look at your assessment and let you know if you’ve got a fighting chance at getting that value lowered and if there is any data that I can contribute toward that goal. If you’re really adamant, hire a property tax attorney. Once you submit your protest, the county will likely come back at you with a number. Most people take this deal. However, if you feel the number is still too high, you can schedule an informal hearing with an appraiser to present your evidence as to why you think your property’s value is what it is.  At that point, they will likely offer a settlement. If you're really adamant, you can then schedule a formal hearing to determine your home’s value once and for all. If you need to take it to that level, I highly recommend contacting a property tax attorney.  However, protesting your property taxes should be a simple process, more or less. You can even find services out there that will handle everything for you. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’m always here to help.