Property Owners Should Soon Start Receiving Appraisal Notices for the 2020 Tax Year

May 20, 2020 - The Shelby County Appraisal District mailed appraisal notices on May 15th. Your city, county, school district and other local taxing units will use the appraisal district’s value to set your 2020 property tax rates.

Under Texas law, county appraisal districts are required to notify property owners about changes in their property’s value. The notice contains important information about the property’s location, its ownership and property tax exemptions that have been applied to the property. It will also include an estimate of the taxes by local taxing units if your property value increased in the last year.

In the past, the appraisal district has mailed notices to all property owners. This year, as the law requires, they will only mail a notice if there is an increase of value of $500 or more and to anyone who has filed a rendition for either real or business personal property. If you do not receive a notice, you may go to the appraisal district’s website at shelbycad.com and search the appraisal district records for your property. The current year’s appraised values will be posted on May 15th.

Property owners who disagree with the appraised value of their property, the exemptions or any other action by the appraisal district have the right to appeal to the Shelby County Appraisal Review Board (ARB) even if they do not receive an appraisal notice. The ARB is an independent panel of citizens responsible for hearing and settling property owner protests. The notice of appraised value includes instructions on how and when to file a protest, a protest form, and the Comptroller’s Property Taxpayer Remedies of which will also be available on the appraisal district’s website. The deadline for filing a protest with the ARB is June 15th.

The Comptroller’s publication, Property Taxpayer Remedies, explains in detail how to protest your property appraisal, what issues the ARB can consider and what to expect during a protest hearing. The publication also discusses the option of taking your case to district court, the State Office of Administrative Hearings or binding arbitration if you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your ARB hearing.

Property Taxpayer Remedies is available on the Shelby County Appraisal District’s website at shelbycad.com or by calling (936) 598-6171. The publication is also available on the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division’s website at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/.