How to Read Your Notice of Appraised Value (Line by Line)

Every year, Texas homeowners receive a Notice of Appraised Value in the mail. Every year, a lot of people glance at the total, feel a reaction, and set it aside without actually reading what's on it. The notice contains several distinct numbers, and understanding what each one means is the first step to deciding whether (and how) to protest.

The Key Numbers on Your Notice

Prior Year Appraised Value

What your property was valued at last year. This is your baseline for comparison.

Current Year Market Value

The appraisal district's estimate of what your property would sell for on the open market as of January 1. This is often the number that jumps out first, and often the number people react to, but it's not necessarily the number your taxes are based on.

Current Year Appraised Value

This is the value actually used to calculate your taxes, and it can be lower than market value if you have a homestead exemption with the 10% appraisal cap in place. If you've had your homestead exemption for more than a year, check whether this number is meaningfully lower than the market value line. If so, your cap is doing its job, and your protest strategy should focus on the appraised value line, not the market value line.

Assessed Value

After exemptions are applied, this is the value your tax rate is actually multiplied against. This is the number that most directly drives your tax bill.

Exemptions Applied

A list of what's currently on file: general homestead, over 65, disabled, veteran, agricultural, etc. This is worth checking every single year. Exemptions don't always carry over correctly after a refinance, a trust transfer, or a CAD system update, and catching a missing exemption here can save you more than a successful protest would.

Taxing Units and Estimated Taxes

A breakdown of which entities tax your property (school district, county, city, hospital district, MUD, etc.) and an estimate of what you'll owe each, based on current appraised value and prior year rates. These are estimates. Actual rates are typically set later in the year, but they give you a useful directional sense of your total bill.

Protest Deadline

The exact date by which you must file a protest. This is usually 30 days from the date the notice was mailed, but always confirm the specific date printed on your notice rather than assuming a standard date, since mailing dates vary.

What to Check First

1. 1Compare current appraised value to prior year appraised value. A jump larger than what you'd expect from normal appreciation, or larger than the 10% cap (if you have homestead protection), is worth investigating.
2. 2Confirm your exemptions are all listed correctly. A missing exemption is an easy, fast fix that doesn't require a hearing at all, just a phone call or online correction request to your CAD.
3. 3Check the property description details: square footage, bedroom and bathroom count, lot size, year built. Appraisal districts work from records that aren't always accurate, and an inflated square footage or bedroom count is one of the more common, correctable errors that inflates a valuation.
4. 4Note the deadline immediately and put it on your calendar. Missing it typically means you lose your right to protest for the year, with very limited exceptions.

When the Numbers Suggest You Should Protest

If your current appraised value increased more than seems justified by market conditions in your area, if the property details are wrong, or if you have reason to believe similar homes nearby are appraised lower relative to their actual value, those are all solid grounds to file. The next steps, building your evidence and choosing between a market value or unequal appraisal argument, are covered in our other guides.