When is the Harris County property tax protest deadline?

Tax Code 41.44(a)(1) sets the deadline: "not later than May 15 or the 30th day after the date that notice to the property owner was delivered to the property owner as provided by Section 25.19, whichever is later." Under 41.44(a), and except as provided by Subsections (b), (c), (c-1), and (c-2), the owner must file a written notice of the protest with the appraisal review board having authority to hear the matter protested to be entitled to a hearing and determination of the protest.

Tax Code 41.44(a)(2) to (a)(5) set separate 30-day deadlines, counted from delivery or receipt of notice. They apply in the case of:

• a protest of a change in the appraisal records ordered under Chapter 41, Subchapter A or Chapter 25;
• a determination that a change in the use of land appraised under Chapter 23, Subchapter C, D, E or H has occurred;
• a determination of eligibility for a refund under Section 23.1243 (refund of prepayment of taxes on a fleet transaction); and
• a protest of the modification or denial of an exemption application, or of the damage assessment rating for an item of qualified property, under Section 11.35 (temporary exemption for qualified property damaged by disaster).

The Texas protest deadline guide covers the statewide rule.

HCAD's release dated May 1, 2026 gives no mailing date. It says the district "has mailed the 2026 property value notices to many residential, commercial and industrial property owners."

Tax Code 25.19(a) sets when the chief appraiser delivers the notice of appraised value, when one of the four conditions in that subsection is met:

• by April 1 or as soon thereafter as practicable, for a single-family residence that qualifies for an exemption under Section 11.13; or
• by May 1 or as soon thereafter as practicable, for any other property.

Tax Code 25.19(g) sets the same two dates for a written notice to the owner of each property not included in an (a) notice, if the property was reappraised in the current tax year, the ownership of the property changed during the preceding year, or the property owner or the owner's agent authorized under Section 1.111 makes a written request for the notice.

For an owner who received the value notice after April 15 or had not received it yet, HCAD's May 6, 2026 release says the later 30-day protest deadline will be printed on the value notice.

Tax Code 25.19(b) says the chief appraiser separates real from personal property and includes in the notice for each of them the items it lists. Among them are, at (b)(6), "a detailed explanation of the time and procedure for protesting the value," and, at (b)(7), "the date and place the appraisal review board will begin hearing protests." The list does not use the word "deadline."

The protest hearing guide covers the hearing itself.

Not on any HCAD page checked for this guide. As of October 12, 2026, the eight pages checked (the home page, news, events, calendar, FAQ, reappraisal, Protests and Corrections and First Time Property Owner pages) show no 2027 protest deadline and no 2027 notice-mailing date.

The only 2027 items on those pages are HCAD's call for applicants to serve on the appraisal review board from January 2027 (release of August 31, 2026) and a notice of a July 15, 2026 public hearing on its proposed 2027 budget. HCAD's events page lists that hearing as on the 2027 Proposed Budget and the 2027 to 2028 Reappraisal Plan. Neither item gives a protest date, and this page does not describe the plan's contents.