Sec. 41.44. NOTICE OF PROTEST. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b), (b-1), (c), (c-1), and (c-2), to be entitled to a hearing and determination of a protest, the property owner initiating the protest must file a written notice of the protest with the appraisal review board having authority to hear the matter protested:
(1) before May 1 or not later than the 30th day after the date that notice to the property owner was delivered to the property owner as provided by Section 25.19, if the property is a single-family residence that qualifies for an exemption under Section 11.13, whichever is later;
(2) before June 1 or not later than the 30th day after the date that notice was delivered to the property owner as provided by Section 25.19 in connection with any other property, whichever is later;
(3) in the case of a protest of a change in the appraisal records ordered as provided by Subchapter A of this chapter or by Chapter 25, not later than the 30th day after the date notice of the change is delivered to the property owner;
(4) in the case of a determination that a change in the use of land appraised under Subchapter C, D, E, or H, Chapter 23, has occurred, not later than the 30th day after the date the notice of the determination is delivered to the property owner; or
(5) in the case of a determination of eligibility for a refund under Section 23.1243, not later than the 30th day after the date the notice of the determination is delivered to the property owner.
(b) A property owner who files his notice of protest after the deadline prescribed by Subsection (a) of this section but before the appraisal review board approves the appraisal records is entitled to a hearing and determination of the protest if he shows good cause as determined by the board for failure to file the notice on time.
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(1), an owner of property described by that subsection who files a notice of protest after the deadline prescribed by that subsection but before the appraisal review board approves the appraisal records is entitled to a hearing and determination of the protest if the property owner files the notice before June 1.
(c) A property owner who files notice of a protest authorized by Section 41.411 is entitled to a hearing and determination of the protest if the property owner files the notice prior to the date the taxes on the property to which the notice applies become delinquent. An owner of land who files a notice of protest under Subsection (a)(4) is entitled to a hearing and determination of the protest without regard to whether the appraisal records are approved.
(c-1) A property owner who files a notice of protest after the deadline prescribed by Subsection (a) but before the taxes on the property to which the notice applies become delinquent is entitled to a hearing and determination of the protest if the property owner was continuously employed in the Gulf of Mexico, including employment on an offshore drilling or production facility or on a vessel, for a period of not less than 20 days during which the deadline prescribed by Subsection (a) passed, and the property owner provides the appraisal review board with evidence of that fact through submission of a letter from the property owner's employer or supervisor or, if the property owner is self-employed, a sworn affidavit.
(c-2) A property owner who files a notice of protest after the deadline prescribed by Subsection (a) but before the taxes on the property to which the notice applies become delinquent is entitled to a hearing and determination of the protest if the property owner was serving on full-time active duty in the United States armed forces outside the United States on the day on which the deadline prescribed by Subsection (a) passed and the property owner provides the appraisal review board with evidence of that fact through submission of a valid military identification card from the United States Department of Defense and a deployment order.
(c-3) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), a property owner who files a protest under Section 41.411 on or after the date the taxes on the property to which the notice applies become delinquent, but not later than the 125th day after the property owner, in the protest filed, claims to have first received written notice of the taxes in question, is entitled to a hearing solely on the issue of whether one or more taxing units timely delivered a tax bill. If at the hearing the appraisal review board determines that all of the taxing units failed to timely deliver a tax bill, the board shall determine the date on which at least one taxing unit first delivered written notice of the taxes in question, and for the purposes of this section the delinquency date is postponed to the 125th day after that date.
(d) A notice of protest is sufficient if it identifies the protesting property owner, including a person claiming an ownership interest in the property even if that person is not listed on the appraisal records as an owner of the property, identifies the property that is the subject of the protest, and indicates apparent dissatisfaction with some determination of the appraisal office. The notice need not be on an official form, but the comptroller shall prescribe a form that provides for more detail about the nature of the protest. The form must permit a property owner to include each property in the appraisal district that is the subject of a protest. The comptroller, each appraisal office, and each appraisal review board shall make the forms readily available and deliver one to a property owner on request.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a notice of protest may not be found to be untimely or insufficient based on a finding of incorrect ownership if the notice:
(1) identifies as the property owner a person who is, for the tax year at issue:
(A) an owner of the property at any time during the tax year;
(B) the person shown on the appraisal records as the owner of the property, if that person filed the protest;
(C) a lessee authorized to file a protest; or
(D) an affiliate of or entity related to a person described by this subdivision; or
(2) uses a misnomer of a person described by Subdivision (1).
Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2306, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., 1st C.S., p. 170, ch. 13, Sec. 137, eff. Jan. 1, 1982; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 4945, ch. 884, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 504, Sec. 2, eff. June 12, 1985; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 185, Sec. 3, eff. Jan. 1, 1988; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 796, Sec. 36, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 836, Sec. 1.4, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 6, Sec. 50, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 631, Sec. 12, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 829 (S.B. 828), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2006.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1106 (H.B. 3496), Sec. 4(b), eff. January 1, 2008.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1106 (H.B. 3496), Sec. 5, eff. January 1, 2008.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 322 (H.B. 2476), Sec. 5, eff. January 1, 2012.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 771 (H.B. 1887), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2011.
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