How to organize papers for a Texas ARB hearing

The Comptroller's protests page says the ARB must send the hearing date, time, place, and subject at least 15 days before the hearing. At least 14 days before, the appraisal district must send the Comptroller's Taxpayer Assistance Pamphlet, the adopted ARB hearing procedures, and a statement that you can ask for copies of the information the district will use. [1]

Use the date, time, and place printed on your notice. The Comptroller's ARB page says hearings typically occur in May through July, and that larger counties may continue past July. That page is not a promise about your county's calendar. [2]

Form 50-283 says to select each reason that applies, and that skipping a box may mean you cannot raise that issue. [4]

Put the papers that fit each reason in their own stack. The Comptroller's protests page lists these kinds of papers: [1]

• Photos of your property and of comparable properties
• Receipts or estimates for repairs
• Sales price papers, such as listings and closing statements
• A calculation of the median level of appraisal, if unequal appraisal is one of your reasons
• A sworn statement, if you need one
• A newspaper article
• Architectural drawings or blueprints
• An engineering report
• A property survey
• Deed records

The same page says it is up to you to have what you need, and that you cannot go to the hearing and only say the appraisal district is wrong. [1]

The protests page says the district must tell you that you can request the information it will use at the hearing, and that it cannot charge you for those copies. [1]

The Comptroller's model hearing procedures, dated January 1, 2026, say the ARB must keep out district information that was requested under Tax Code Section 41.461 and was not delivered at least 14 days before the hearing, when the hearing record shows both of those facts. [3]

The protests page says the adopted hearing procedures may tell you how many paper copies to bring, or which electronic devices that ARB accepts. Read those procedures. [1]

The model procedures require each ARB's local procedures to say how a person gives the other party evidence on a small portable electronic device, how the ARB keeps that evidence, and what audiovisual equipment is available. Local procedures cannot contradict the model. The ARB posts the adopted procedures in each hearing room and on the appraisal district website. [2][3]

Form 50-283 says the affidavit and evidence may be on paper or on a small device such as a CD or USB flash drive, which the ARB keeps. The form says not to put that evidence on a smart phone, and not to file the form with the Comptroller. [4]

The model procedures say a property owner can offer evidence or argument by affidavit without being in the room. For a telephone or video hearing, submit a written affidavit of the evidence before the hearing begins. The written request for telephone or video is due at least five days before the hearing, or 10 days before if someone else is authorized to act for you. [3]

Form 50-283 is the Comptroller form for that affidavit. It has a line for the number of pages or images. The form says the ARB is not required to consider the affidavit at the scheduled hearing if you mark that you will not appear, or if you leave that section blank, and you do not choose telephone or video. [4]

The model procedures say that near the start of the hearing the parties provide written and electronic material that has not already been provided. You choose whether to present your papers before or after the appraisal district. Each protested issue gets its own motion. [3]

The protests page says neither the ARB nor the appraisal district sets your property taxes. The ARB can consider general economic and environmental factors. It cannot take your personal finances into account. [1]

Xessr can hold your notice, photos, and notes, and you can open them on your phone at the hearing. Xessr does not file, speak for you, or tell you a number. You choose what to bring.

See a sample home to see how your papers would be organized. Have an invite code? Start with your own home.