Harris CountyLast checked: October 12, 2026
Missed the Harris County property tax protest deadline?
The regular Texas protest deadline is May 15 or the 30th day after the appraisal notice is delivered, whichever is later (Tax Code 41.44(a)(1)). An owner who files late, before the appraisal review board approves the records, is entitled to a hearing if the owner shows good cause, as the board determines (41.44(b)). Other sections cover a missing notice (41.411), a correction motion (25.25), and late filing by Gulf of Mexico workers (41.44(c-1)) and owners on full-time active duty in the U.S. armed forces outside the United States (41.44(c-2)).
This page describes what the Texas Tax Code, the Texas Comptroller and the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) publish about late protests. It is not legal advice, and it does not say whether any route applies to a particular property. The appraisal review board or the appraisal district decides each case.
Which routes does the Tax Code describe after the deadline?
| Route | Tax Code section | Condition, as the text states it | Time limit, as the text states it | Who decides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late protest for good cause | 41.44(b) | The owner shows good cause, as determined by the board, for failure to file the notice on time. | After the regular deadline, but before the board approves the appraisal records. | The appraisal review board |
| Protest of a missing notice | 41.411, 41.44(c) | The chief appraiser or the board failed to provide or deliver a notice to which the owner is entitled. If that is established, the board decides the protest on the other grounds. The owner must also meet the payment requirements of Section 41.4115 or forfeit the right to a final determination (41.411(c)). | Before the date the taxes on the property to which the notice applies become delinquent. | The appraisal review board |
| Same protest, filed on or after delinquency | 41.44(c-3) | A hearing solely on whether one or more taxing units timely delivered a tax bill. If the board determines that all of the taxing units failed to timely deliver a tax bill, it determines the date on which at least one unit first delivered written notice of the taxes, and for purposes of Section 41.44 the delinquency date is postponed to the 125th day after that date. | Not later than the 125th day after the owner, in the protest filed, claims to have first received written notice of the taxes in question. | The appraisal review board |
| Gulf of Mexico worker | 41.44(c-1) | Continuously employed in the Gulf of Mexico, including employment on an offshore drilling or production facility or on a vessel, for not less than 20 days during which the regular deadline passed. Proof: a letter from the employer or supervisor, or a sworn affidavit if self-employed. | After the regular deadline and before the taxes become delinquent. | The appraisal review board |
| Full-time active duty outside the United States | 41.44(c-2) | On full-time active duty in the United States armed forces outside the United States on the day the regular deadline passed. Proof: a valid Department of Defense military identification card and a deployment order. | After the regular deadline and before the taxes become delinquent. | The appraisal review board |
| Motion to correct listed errors | 25.25(c) | A clerical error that affects liability for the tax, multiple appraisals, property that does not exist in the form or at the location described, or property shown as owned by a person who did not own it on January 1 of that tax year. An owner who files the motion must comply with the payment requirements of Section 25.26 or forfeit the right to a final determination of the motion (25.25(e)). | The motion may reach the roll for any of the five preceding years. Subsection (c) states no other filing date. | The appraisal review board, on motion of the chief appraiser or of a property owner |
| Motion to correct a value error | 25.25(d) | An error that resulted in an appraised value that exceeds the correct value by more than one-fourth (residence homestead) or one-third (other property). Not available if a protest brought by the owner under Chapter 41 was decided on the merits after a hearing at which the owner offered evidence or argument, or if the value was set by written agreement with the appraisal district (25.25(d-1)). If the roll is changed, the owner pays a late-correction penalty of 10 percent of the taxes on the corrected value. An owner who files the motion must comply with the payment requirements of Section 25.26 or forfeit the right to a final determination of the motion (25.25(e)). | At any time prior to the date the taxes become delinquent. | The appraisal review board |
| Joint motion of owner and chief appraiser | 25.25(h) | An error that resulted in an incorrect appraised value. | At any time prior to the date the taxes become delinquent. | The appraisal review board, which shall correct the error by written order |
Can the board hear a protest filed after the deadline?
Tax Code 41.44(b) says a property owner who files after the regular deadline, but before the appraisal review board approves the appraisal records, is entitled to a hearing if the owner shows good cause, as determined by the board, for failure to file the notice on time.
The Comptroller's protest page says failing to provide good cause, or submitting a protest after the board approves the records, "may result in losing the right to protest."
The window in 41.44(b) ends when the board approves the appraisal records. Tax Code 41.12(a) says the appraisal review board shall approve the records by July 20, and 41.12(c) lets the board of directors of an appraisal district established for a county with a population of at least one million postpone that deadline to a date not later than August 30. This page does not state the date the Harris County board approved the 2026 records.
What counts as good cause?
Tax Code 41.44(b) does not define good cause. It leaves the decision to the board. HCAD's 2026 appraisal review board hearing rules, adopted March 6, 2026, say good cause for filing late protests "is not defined in Tax Code Section 41.44(b)."
What if I never received a notice?
Tax Code 41.411(a) entitles a property owner to protest before the appraisal review board the failure of the chief appraiser or the board to provide or deliver any notice to which the owner is entitled. Under Tax Code 1.07(c), a notice that Section 1.07 permits to be delivered by first-class mail is presumed delivered when it is deposited in the mail. The presumption is rebuttable when evidence of failure to receive notice is provided.
A property owner who files a missing-notice protest must pay the amount of taxes due on the portion of the taxable value of the property subject to the protest that is not in dispute before the delinquency date, or the owner forfeits the right to proceed to a final determination (41.411(c) and 41.4115(b)). The exception: after filing an oath of inability to pay the taxes at issue, an owner may be excused from prepayment if the appraisal review board, after notice and hearing, finds that prepayment would constitute an unreasonable restraint on the owner's right of access to the board (41.4115(d) for a protest, 25.26(d) for a Section 25.25 motion).
Can an error be corrected after the deadline?
Tax Code 25.25(d) lets a property owner or the chief appraiser file a motion, at any time prior to the date the taxes become delinquent, to correct an error that resulted in an incorrect appraised value. The error may not be corrected unless the appraised value exceeds the correct appraised value by more than one-fourth for a residence homestead under Section 11.13, or by more than one-third for other property.
If the roll is changed under Subsection (d), the owner must pay each affected taxing unit a late-correction penalty equal to 10 percent of the taxes calculated on the corrected appraised value. The penalty is secured by the lien that attaches to the property (25.25(d-1)).
A property owner who files a Section 25.25 motion must comply with the payment requirements of Section 25.26 or forfeit the right to a final determination of the motion (25.25(e)). The property tax due date guide covers when taxes become delinquent.
Are there late-filing rules for Gulf of Mexico workers and military service?
Yes. Two subsections of Tax Code 41.44 cover them: (c-1) for a property owner continuously employed in the Gulf of Mexico, and (c-2) for a property owner serving on full-time active duty in the United States armed forces outside the United States. Each has its own conditions, required proof and time limit, set out in the table above.
Sources
- Texas Tax Code, chapter 41. Sections 41.12, 41.411, 41.4115, 41.44 and 41.45. statutes.capitol.texas.gov, chapter 41
- Texas Tax Code, chapter 25. Sections 25.25 and 25.26. statutes.capitol.texas.gov, chapter 25
- Texas Tax Code, chapter 1. Sections 1.07 and 1.08. statutes.capitol.texas.gov, chapter 1
- Texas Comptroller, Appraisal Protests and Appeals. The Late-Filed Protests section. comptroller.texas.gov
- HCAD, ARB 2026 Hearings Rules and Procedures. Adopted March 6, 2026. Good cause. HCAD hearing rules (PDF)
Questions
Does a notice of protest have to be on an official form?
No. Tax Code 41.44(d) says the notice need not be on an official form.
How is a protest sent by mail counted as on time?
Tax Code 1.08 treats a document as timely if it is properly addressed with postage or handling charges prepaid and it bears a post office cancellation mark, a carrier receipt mark, or satisfactory proof of deposit, each dated on or before the due date and within the specified period. The how-to-protest guide has the full text.
Can an owner sue the appraisal review board?
In the sections this page covers, the Tax Code names two suits against the appraisal review board. A property owner denied a hearing to which the owner is entitled under Chapter 41 may sue the board in district court to compel the hearing (41.45(f)). For a Section 25.25 motion, the property owner or the chief appraiser may file suit to compel the board to order a change in the appraisal roll as required by Section 25.25, within 60 days after receiving notice of the board's determination of the motion or of its determination that the owner forfeited the right to a final determination of the motion for not meeting the prepayment requirements of Section 25.26 (25.25(g)). Tax Code 41.4115(a) and 25.26(a) also refer to an appeal under Chapter 42, which this page does not describe.
Who can file a correction motion after buying a property?
A person who acquires property after January 1 of the tax year at issue is entitled to file any motion that Section 25.25 authorizes the January 1 owner to file, if the deadline for filing the motion has not passed (25.25(i)).
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