Appeal guide · Unequal appraisal
Unequal Appraisal: When Your Property Is Valued Higher Than Its Peers
Reviewed by Daniel Ortiz · Senior Property Tax Consultant · Last reviewed August 2026
Texas law doesn’t only ask whether your value is right. It also asks whether it’s fair compared with similar properties. An unequal appraisal protest can lower your value even when the district’s market value is defensible.
What Is an Unequal Appraisal Protest?
The Texas Constitution requires taxation to be equal and uniform. The Tax Code gives owners a way to enforce that: a protest is decided in the owner’s favor if the property’s appraised value is higher than the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties, appropriately adjusted (Tax Code Section 41.43(b)(3)).
In plain terms: find properties like yours, adjust their appraised values for the differences, and look at the middle of the range. If your value is above the middle, it should come down to it.
Why Unequal Appraisal Wins When Market Value Doesn’t
- Districts don’t value every property at full market value. Values on similar properties often lag. When your property is valued closer to market than its neighbors, unequal appraisal closes the gap.
- It uses the district’s own records. The comparison is built from appraised values, not sales. That matters in Texas, where sale prices don’t have to be disclosed.
- It works for property that rarely sells. Large commercial and special-use properties often have few true comparable sales. Their appraised values are public.
- It can be combined with market value. Both arguments go into the same protest.
How We Build an Unequal Appraisal Case
- Select comparables. We choose properties similar in use, class, size, age, and location, and enough of them to be a reasonable sample.
- Adjust for differences. Each comparable’s appraised value is adjusted for the ways it differs from your property, such as size, age, condition, land, and location.
- Find the median. The adjusted values are ranked, and the median is the benchmark.
- Test against the district. We anticipate the district’s challenges to our comparables and adjustments before the hearing, so the analysis holds up.
Properties Where Unequal Appraisal Is Often Strongest
- Recently purchased properties the district moved to the sale price while neighbors stayed put
- Newly built or renovated properties compared with older, similar ones
- Multifamily, office, and retail properties in submarkets with uneven values
- Residential portfolios in neighborhoods where values vary widely between similar homes
This guide is general information about the Texas Property Tax Code, not legal advice. Deadlines and rules can change with each legislative session.
Unequal Appraisal Results
Commercial land tract
- Notice value
- $19,362,600
- Final value
- $12,548,820
Residential
- Notice value
- $2,227,880
- Final value
- $1,392,742
Industrial
- Notice value
- $1,311,190
- Final value
- $490,550
Industrial
- Notice value
- $1,628,780
- Final value
- $1,200,000
Industrial
- Notice value
- $2,240,000
- Final value
- $1,842,430
Retail
- Notice value
- $818,310
- Final value
- $445,000
Past results don’t guarantee future outcomes. Every property is different.
Unequal Appraisal FAQs
Do I need to prove my property’s market value?
No. An unequal appraisal protest compares your appraised value with comparable properties. Market value can be argued separately in the same protest.
How many comparables are needed?
The law asks for a “reasonable number.” How many is reasonable depends on the property type and the market. Too few and the district will challenge the sample.
Can I appeal an unequal appraisal decision?
Yes. An ARB decision on unequal appraisal can go to binding arbitration, if the property qualifies, or to district court.
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