If today’s date is after certification, (typically July 20th), your options to protest are limited.

• You may protest failure to send a required notice that the appraisal district or ARB was required to send you.  You must file this protest before the delinquency date, and you must not allow your taxes to go delinquent.
  • The district is NOT required to send a notice if the value of the property DID NOT increase in value by more than $1,000.  This would not qualify as a protest for failure to receive notice.
    • Failure to Send Required Notice Protest Form

• You may file a motion for correction that the appraisal district appraised your property at lease one-third higher than its market value for non-homestead properties, or at least one-fourth higher than its market value form homestead properties.  You must file this motion before the delinquency date, and you must not allow your taxes to go delinquent.  You may not receive a hearing for this reason if the property was subject to an earlier protest for the year.  If a reduction in value is awarded under a 1/3 or 1/4 motion to correct, the property owner must pay a late-correction penalty equal to 10% of the amount of taxes as calculated on the corrected value.  This penalty is assessed by the tax office.
  • Motion to Correct 1/3 Protest Form
  • Motion to Correct 1/4 – Homestead Protest Form

• You may file a motion for the correction of a clerical error (does not include an error that is or results from a mistake in judgement or reasoning in the making of the finding or determination), multiple appraisals (double assessed), including property on the appraisal roll that should not have been included (an example is a mobile home or business personal property that has moved out of county or into another taxing jurisdiction before the valuation date), or an error of ownership.  This type of late hearing may include the current year and the five previous tax years.
  • Motion to Correct – Other 

• You may ask the chief appraiser to agree to do a joint motion to correct.  If both the chief appraiser and you are in agreement on the late change, then the ARB will approve the change. Joint motions are typically filed  on purchase of properties after the notice date.  Evidence provided for consideration is a copy of the closing settlement documents.

If the ARB rules in your favor, it will instruct the chief appraiser to notify the tax office about the change.  If you paid the taxes, the tax office will send you any refund resulting from the change.  Filing a protest as the result of the reasons listed above, does not change or waive the due date of your taxes.

You may file the completed form with Bastrop CAD in person at 212 Jackson Street, Bastrop, Texas; by mail at PO Box 578, Bastrop, Texas 78602 or by email at protest@bastropcad.org.