25%
of your savings. That's the low end.
Collin County property tax protest
Protest your Collin County property taxes for a flat $140.
You're on the list. We'll email you before the 2027 notices go out.
Next, finish your sign-up on The Ambrose Group's sign-up page. If you're not taken there, use the button.
Finish your sign-up
- $140 flat.
- A person at your hearing
- A service of The Ambrose Group
In short
The Collin Central Appraisal District (Collin CAD) takes protests online, by mail and in person.
Texas Property Protest is a flat-fee protest service provided by The Ambrose Group, which files the protest, and a person on its team goes to the hearing. Ambrose Tax Consulting, Inc. (DBA The Ambrose Group) is licensed by TDLR to provide property tax consulting services. Daniel M. Ambrose is a licensed senior property tax consultant with TDLR, number 10992. Check it at www.tdlr.texas.gov/LicenseSearch. The fee is $140 a year paid upfront, or $15 a month on a 12-month plan ($180 in total), and it renews each year.
It's the law
Texans know their rights. Here's one more.
You know the one about bearing arms. This one is about your property taxes.
“One of your most important rights as a taxpayer is your right to protest to the appraisal review board (ARB).”
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Every year Collin CAD puts a value on your home. Every year you're allowed to challenge it. You can let Collin CAD's number stand, do it yourself for free, or hand it to us.
Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Allen, Wylie, Murphy, Prosper: if it's a home on Collin CAD's roll, it's on our list.
Meet the contingency fee
Every win gets a haircut.
Most protest companies work on contingency. They get your value lowered, then they bill you a share of the savings. Win bigger and you pay more. At some firms the fee comes back every year they win.
40%
of your savings. Two of the five firms we checked charge it.
50%
Half of your first-year savings, at one large Texas firm.
$140
A year. Whatever the protest saves.
Fees from the websites of five protest companies, checked September 30, 2026. The Houston fee comparison links every source.
Move the slider. Watch the contingency fee grow.
At 25% contingency, that's $110 more than our $140 yearly fee.
- A 25% contingency fee keeps $250
- A 40% contingency fee keeps $400
- A 50% contingency fee keeps $500
- Our flat fee, paid yearly $140
Fee math only. Nobody can promise a reduction, including us. A real protest can save more than this, less, or nothing. The monthly plan, $180 over 12 months, costs more than a 25% fee on any cut under about $720.
The flat‑fee protest
One flat fee, and a real person shows up for you. One price covers the whole protest. Here's what's in it.
- We file with Collin CAD. Before the deadline, every year.
- We build the case. Comparable sales and the appraisal district's own records.
- A person goes to your hearing. You don't take off work or sit in a waiting room.
- You hear the result from us. We email you, and you get a letter.
- Next spring, we do it again. New value, new protest.
What it costs in Collin County
Same price in every Texas ZIP code.
It renews each year. Monthly is a 12-month plan: cancel early and the months left on it are still due.
- Pay once Pay yearly $140 a year One payment upfront.
- Pay monthly $15 a month $180 over 12 months.
The truth about contingency fees
Contingency sounds safe: no savings, no fee. Read the rest of the fee page before you sign with anyone.
- The five firms we checked keep 25% to 50% of what they save you
- The better your result, the bigger their fee
- You learn the dollar amount after the hearing
- At some firms the fee comes back every year they win
How a Collin County protest works
A Collin County protest can be filed in the Taxpayer Portal, by mail, in person at the district's office in McKinney or in its 24-hour drop-box. Collin CAD (CCAD in its own documents) appraises all property in Collin County for each taxing unit that levies a property tax. Protests go to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB), which has its own website and says it is independent of the district's board and staff.
Where a protest can be filed
- Taxpayer Portal. The district's Online Appeals eFile site, for an owner who is eligible. The district strongly encourages it.
- Mail. The district's postmark note says that as of 2026 local post offices no longer date-stamp mail. It says postmarks are applied 1 to 2 days later at regional USPS hubs, and that anything mailed on the deadline date will likely be postmarked and considered late. Tax Code Section 1.08 treats a properly addressed filing with postage or handling charges prepaid as timely if it bears a post office cancellation mark or a carrier receipt mark dated on or before the due date and within the specified period. It is also timely if the owner furnishes satisfactory proof of deposit in the mail or with the carrier on or before the due date and within the specified period.
- In person. At the district's office in McKinney, before close of business. The ARB's FAQ says the doors lock at 4:00 p.m.
- Drop-box. Next to the main entrance, open 24 hours. The ARB's FAQ says it is emptied at midnight on May 15, and the district says each notice lists that property's deadline.
The ARB's FAQ lists these four and recommends its Notice of Protest form, CCAD-132. The ARB does not accept protests by fax, email or the district's help desk.
Informal review
Collin CAD books in-person informal meetings through the QR code on the notice, by appointment. Its informal review procedure says a meeting does not reserve the right to an ARB hearing, only a timely filed protest does. After the appraiser's decision, the owner can agree, which withdraws any protest already filed, or disagree and file a protest before the deadline if none is on file.
Formal hearing
The district's FAQ says the ARB assigns a case number and schedules a hearing once a timely filed protest is received. The formal hearing is typically at the district's office in McKinney. The ARB sends the hearing notice at least 15 days ahead, and the district says online filers get it in the eFile system. The ARB's hearing page says check-in opens 30 minutes before and each party has 5 minutes to present evidence.
The ARB asks for one complete copy of evidence at registration, and asks for electronic evidence as PDFs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and some image types if a PDF is not possible), up to 20 MB in total per property. A Focused Hearing Agreement lets an owner review six preliminary steps of the 21-step hearing process in writing instead of hearing the panel chair read them aloud, with verbal consent at the start of the hearing.
Filing in the Taxpayer Portal
From the district's portal page and informal review procedure:
- Register with the Owner ID and eFile PIN on the most recent appraisal or exemptions notice. The district says a buyer should not use the previous owner's PIN. The portal page includes an Approval Pending message saying a registration is pending approval from the district, and does not say how long approval takes.
- File the protest. The district asks owners not to wait until after 5 p.m. on deadline day to eFile, to avoid technical issues, and not to send a duplicate paper copy.
- Upload documents, review the appraiser's evidence, and accept or reject a settlement offer if the appraiser makes one.
The district's 2026 dates
Published for 2026, as read on October 12, 2026.
- April 15, 2026 Notice mailing date. Real property.
- April 16 Informal review begins. For real estate owners or their representatives who have scheduled an in-person informal meeting or filed a timely, active protest.
- May 15, 2026 Protest deadline. For real property.
- May 22, 2026 ARB hearings. The ARB's calendar lists May 22 onward and calls the dates tentative.
- Mid-July 2026 ARB approval of records. Per the ARB's calendar.
- Fall 2026 Hearings continue. The ARB's posted notice lists October 13 to 15 and 26 to 29.
Sources, all from the district: the 2026 appraisal notices news item, 2026 procedures page, Property Tax Calendar (month and day only, no year), ARB calendar and posted notice.
The district's 2027 dates
From the 2027-2028 Reappraisal Plan, adopted August 25, 2026. The chief appraiser may change them.
- April 15, 2027 Notice mailing date. Real estate notices of appraised value.
- April 15, 2027 Informal meetings begin. Thursday hours run to 7:00 p.m.
- May 17, 2027 Protest deadline. Real estate with an April 15 notice date. May 15 is a Saturday.
- May 24, 2027 ARB hearings begin. Panels meet through July 16.
- July 16, 2027 ARB approval of records. Listed in the plan.
- July 25, 2027 Roll certification. The chief appraiser certifies the rolls to taxing units.
Source: the district's 2027-2028 Reappraisal Plan, Appendix B. The district's Calendar page moves a weekend May 15 to the next business day. Last checked: October 12, 2026.
Collin County at a glance
Collin CAD's records give 483,920 properties on the 2026 roll, 364,286 of them single-family, in a district of 889 square miles.
| Figure | District's figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Area the district covers | 889 square miles | Reappraisal Plan, adopted August 25, 2026 |
| Properties on the 2026 roll | 483,920 | Certified Totals, run July 21, 2026 |
| Single-family properties | 364,286 | Certified Totals, run July 21, 2026 |
The Collin County deadline
The deadline was May 15, or 30 days after your notice if that came later.
Joining the list now gets you in line for 2027. For a missed deadline in Collin County, the ARB's FAQ points to Tax Code Section 41.44(b), and the ARB's Forms page lists a good-cause request handout.
The Texas protest deadline, explained Missed the deadline? What Texas law says
Why us
Thirty years in the saddle.
Texas Property Protest is run by The Ambrose Group, a Houston firm that has been appraising Texas property and protesting its taxes for more than 30 years. About 30 appraisers, with more than 300 years of experience between them.
- 30+ years in Texas real estate
- 45,000 property accounts protested
- 11,693 of them represented in 2026
- 254 Texas counties served
A person, not a bot
A person on our team prepares your protest and goes to your hearing. Nothing is mailed in and left to chance.
We go to the hearing
You don't take off work, sit in a waiting room or argue with an appraiser.
We come back every year
Collin CAD values your home as of January 1 every year. We protest it every spring.
Where you'll be during your Collin County hearing
We'll be at the hearing.
We fight every year. 
Collin CAD values your home as of January 1 every year, so one protest is never the end of it.
- January 1 Collin CAD values your home. As of this date, every year.
- Spring Notices go out. We already have your home on our list.
- May 15 The deadline. Or 30 days after your notice, whichever is later. A weekend date moves to the next business day. We've filed.
- Hearing season The hearing. Our person is there. You aren't.
- After The result. We email you, and you get a letter.
- Next January It starts over. So do we.
Why protest in Collin County every year
- Your value starts over every January 1. Last year's protest doesn't carry forward. This year's value is what next year's is measured against.
- Growth compounds. $400,000 growing 5% a year is about $651,558 in ten years. That's arithmetic, not a forecast for your home.
- The cap isn't the floor. A homestead cap limits how fast the taxed value can rise. A protest can still argue the market value down under it.
- Your street is part of your case. Texas lets you protest on unequal appraisal: your value against similar homes nearby.
- You get your time back. No evidence packet, no trip to the appraisal district, no hearing to sit through.
Who files it
A service of The Ambrose Group.
Texas Property Protest is a service of The Ambrose Group, a Houston appraisal and property tax consulting firm. Its team files your protest and goes to your hearing.
We're a private company. We're not part of the Collin Central Appraisal District or any government office.
Questions, answered straight
What does it cost?
$140 a year paid upfront, or $15 a month, which is $180 over 12 months. It renews each year. The price is the same whatever the protest saves. Monthly is a 12-month plan: cancel early and the months left on it are still due.
What if the protest saves nothing?
You still pay the flat fee. A contingency company would charge nothing that year. That's the trade: a known price instead of a share of every win.
When does a contingency firm cost less?
When the reduction is small. Below about $560 in tax savings, a 25% contingency fee costs less than our $140 a year. And in a year when the protest wins nothing, most contingency firms charge nothing.
Can I still protest my 2026 value?
The regular deadline has passed. It was May 15, or 30 days after your notice if that came later. For a late protest, see the deadline section. Joining the list now gets you in line for 2027.
Do I have to go to the hearing?
No. A person on our team goes for you.
Why every year?
Collin CAD values your home as of January 1 every year. Last year's protest doesn't file this year's.
Who files my protest?
The Ambrose Group. Texas Property Protest is a service of The Ambrose Group, and its team files your protest and goes to the hearing.
I got an email from you. How do I stop them?
Reply "stop" to any email from us and you won't hear from us again. Our email policy says who we write to and why.
Collin County questions
Which cities appear among the district's taxing jurisdictions?
Collin CAD's 2025 annual report lists these cities among the jurisdictions it serves: McKinney, Plano, Frisco, Allen, Prosper, Celina, Wylie, Anna, Melissa and Princeton. It names taxing units, not street addresses.
Can I appear by phone or video at a Collin County hearing?
The ARB's hearing page says an owner may appear by telephone or video conference if requested in writing no later than the 10th day before the hearing. Tax Code Section 41.45(b-1) sets the fifth day before the hearing for an owner who has not designated an agent and the 10th day for an owner who has, and the ARB's 2026 hearing procedures repeat both. The hearing page adds that evidence from an owner who appears that way must come by affidavit or written declaration received before the hearing, and that a declaration does not require a notary.
Where do Collin CAD and the ARB post forms and hearing schedules?
Collin CAD's Forms and Applications page holds district forms, and the ARB's Forms page holds the protest form, hearing procedures and reschedule and withdrawal requests. The ARB's calendar lists tentative hearing dates.
One flat fee. $140 a year.
Join the 2027 list for Collin County. One flat fee. A person at your hearing. Back every year.
