Dallas County, TX property tax appeal guide for 2027

Dallas County property owners protest appraisal issues through the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) process. The official hearing body is the Dallas County Appraisal Review Board (ARB), which DCAD describes as separate from the appraisal district and authorized to resolve disputes between taxpayers and the Appraisal District (Dallas CAD Protest Process).

For tax year 2027, the regular countywide protest window is projected to open April 15, 2027, and the regular countywide deadline is May 17, 2027. The standard rule is May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal notice is delivered, whichever is later. Dallas CAD also states that if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is the first business day after that date (Dallas CAD protest FAQ). Because May 15, 2027 is a Saturday, the shared regular deadline is treated as Monday, May 17, 2027. A later appraisal notice can create a later parcel-specific deadline.

Why Dallas County protests matter

Dallas County is a high-volume protest county. Dallas CAD's public homepage stated that the Dallas County ARB had received over 244,000 protests to date for 2026, a volume large enough that not all accounts had been scheduled for ARB hearings at that point (Dallas Central Appraisal District). Dallas CAD's 2023 annual report also listed 191,859 protests received for appraisal year 2023 and 123,889 ARB hearings held (Dallas CAD 2023 Annual Report).

What you can protest

Dallas County protest reasons in the verified policy include:

• The proposed value of your property is too high. Use this when sales, condition, size, location, or other market evidence supports a lower value as of January 1, 2027.
• Your property is valued unequally compared with other property in the Appraisal District. Use this when similar properties appear to be appraised more favorably.
• The Chief Appraiser denied you an exemption. This can include homestead, over-65, disability, disabled veteran, charitable, or other exemptions.
• Ag-use, open-space or other special appraisal was denied, modified or cancelled. Use this for ag-use, open-space, timber, wildlife, or similar special appraisal issues.
• The Chief Appraiser wrongly determined that you took your land out of agricultural use. Use this when you contend the land remained in qualifying use.
• The appraisal records show an incorrect owner. Use this for ownership record errors.
• Failure to send required notice. Use this when a legally required notice was not sent.
• Any other action of the Appraisal District that affects your property. Use this for other appraisal-record or appraisal district actions within ARB jurisdiction.

Comparable sales for a 2027 market-value protest

Texas appraisals are generally measured as of January 1. For a 2027 Dallas County market-value protest, the target valuation date is January 1, 2027. TaxSauce screening uses sales from 2024-01-01 through 2026-12-31, emphasizing the most recent arm's-length sales before the valuation date.

Good comparable sales should usually be in the same neighborhood, subdivision, school or market area, or another demonstrably similar competitive market. For automated screening, TaxSauce uses a conservative 1-mile radius and up to 5 comparable sales as operational defaults, not legal exclusions. Dallas County and Texas sources do not publish a strict countywide gross-living-area variance, lot-size variance, distance maximum, or fixed number of sales that the ARB must accept.

Prefer comparable properties with similar property type, construction quality, age, condition, living area, lot utility, location influences, and amenities. If a sale is not very similar, document the differences and adjust for them instead of assuming it should be excluded automatically.

Foreclosure and distressed sales need careful review. Texas law allows relevant residence-homestead foreclosure sales in the same neighborhood to be considered when otherwise comparable, but non-arm's-length or non-market transactions should be excluded or strongly adjusted.

Evidence to organize before the hearing

Useful evidence can include:

• Comparable sales and adjusted sales grids
• Equity comparisons against similar appraised properties
• Independent appraisals
• Closing statements or MLS data
• Photos showing condition issues
• Repair estimates
• Maps showing location or market differences
• Documentation of errors in appraisal records, such as living area, lot size, year built, condition, or property characteristics

Dallas CAD's protest materials state that a property owner may file using uFile or written form, and that fax or email submissions are not accepted for protest filings (Dallas CAD protest FAQ). Evidence should be exchanged before or at the ARB hearing as required by Texas procedure.

How TaxSauce helps

TaxSauce can estimate a Dallas County value range, organize comparable sales, flag record issues, prepare a protest evidence packet, and help you decide which protest reasons fit the facts. You review the evidence, choose what to include, and submit the protest through the official Dallas Central Appraisal District filing options.

For dollar estimates, TaxSauce uses a 1.68% estimated countywide effective tax rate. This is only a screening estimate. Your actual tax bill depends on the overlapping city, school district, county, and special district rates for your property.