Houston CAD Property Tax Protest Guide: HCAD, MCAD, FBCAD, BCAD & GalvCAD — The May 15 Owner's Playbook

The Universal Rule — §41.44 May 15 Deadline

Texas Tax Code §41.44 sets the protest deadline at the later of (a) May 15, or (b) 30 days after the date the appraisal notice was delivered to the owner. The 30-day-from-delivery rule matters when an appraisal notice arrives later in April or early May — your effective deadline shifts. When May 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day per Tax Code §1.06.

The deadline is hard. Outside the narrow §25.25 clerical-correction and §41.411 lack-of-notice paths (covered in the FAQ below), there is no general late-protest hardship procedure. Calendar the notice in early April and file by May 1 to leave a buffer.

Every CAD in Texas — not just the five Houston-area CADs — follows the same §41.44 deadline. The administrative procedures behind the deadline differ by CAD; the deadline itself does not.

The Two Grounds for Protest — Market Value vs. Unequal Appraisal

Texas Tax Code §41.41 lists the statutory grounds for protest. The two that matter for most residential rentals:

• Excessive market value (§41.41(a)(1)). Your appraised value exceeds the property's actual market value as of January 1. Evidence: recent arm's-length sale comparables in the same neighborhood, dated condition photos showing deferred maintenance, completed-repair invoices, or for income properties an actual rent roll plus operating expenses below the CAD's assumed market rent.
• Unequal appraisal (§41.41(a)(2)). Your appraisal exceeds the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties appropriately adjusted. Evidence: the CAD's own appraisal-roll data, queried by neighborhood code or subdivision, with adjustments for square footage, year built, lot size, and amenities. This is often the highest-yield ground because the CAD's own data is the evidence base and the median test is a structural property of any large appraisal roll — some properties will always sit above the median.

File both grounds on the same protest form. There is no penalty for raising both, and the Appraisal Review Board considers each independently if the protest reaches a formal hearing.

HCAD (Harris County) — The Big One

The Harris County Appraisal District is the largest CAD in Texas and one of the largest in the country, covering well over 1.5 million parcels across the city of Houston and the unincorporated and incorporated portions of Harris County. Properties in the Heights, Montrose, EaDo, Galleria, Midtown, Uptown, Rice Military, Bellaire, West University Place, and Cypress are all under HCAD jurisdiction.

Filing options. HCAD offers three filing paths: iFile online (the fastest path; you'll need the iFile number printed on your appraisal notice), iSettle electronic settlement (online negotiation, frequently resolves at this stage), and the paper Form 50-132 mailed or hand-delivered to HCAD (current office address on the HCAD website). iFile / iSettle are the dominant residential paths.

HCAD-specific quirks. HCAD's online portal exposes the appraisal-roll data for unequal-appraisal queries (filterable by neighborhood code and subdivision — the "Property Search" tool). The HCAD ARB is the largest in the state and runs panels essentially year-round during protest season (May through August). HCAD posts hearing schedules on its calendar after the protest is logged. Hearings in Harris County are heavily scheduled and most residential property owners never reach a formal hearing — the iSettle path resolves the majority of protests.

Two HCAD-area frictions worth knowing. First, the Heights Historic District and Tree Protection Overlay can affect market-value comps because COA-restricted properties trade at a different multiple than non-restricted comps in the same ZIP — surface that delta in your evidence. Second, HCAD's reappraisal cadence is annual on the roll for most residential parcels, so the protest cycle repeats every year regardless of last year's outcome.

MCAD (Montgomery County) — The Woodlands & Conroe

The Montgomery Central Appraisal District covers The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring (Montgomery portion), Magnolia, Montgomery, Willis, and the rest of Montgomery County. MCAD is the second-largest CAD a Houston-area owner is likely to encounter and the operations are noticeably more centralized than HCAD: a single office in Conroe, less online self-service, more direct appraiser contact in the informal-review stage.

Filing options. MCAD's online protest portal accepts the protest filing; alternative paths are the paper Comptroller Form 50-132 mailed or hand-delivered, or email submission. Informal reviews are commonly handled by phone or email after filing; a full-formal-ARB hearing is the fallback.

MCAD-specific quirks. The Woodlands village structure does not affect taxable value directly — village-association assessments are separate from CAD valuations — but village-by-village amenity differences can affect comparable selection for unequal-appraisal protests. Pull comps within your specific village (Grogan's Mill, Panther Creek, Cochran's Crossing, etc.) rather than across The Woodlands as a whole. Conroe's valuation cycle has been more aggressive in recent years as out-of-county investment has poured north up I-45; protest yields have been correspondingly higher in Conroe than in stabilized Woodlands neighborhoods.

FBCAD (Fort Bend Central) — Katy West, Sugar Land, Missouri City

The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District covers the Fort Bend County portions of Katy (west of the Harris-Fort Bend line), Sugar Land, Missouri City, Richmond, Rosenberg, Stafford, and the unincorporated master-planned communities (Cinco Ranch, Aliana, Telfair, Riverstone, First Colony, Sienna, Cross Creek Ranch, Avalon). FBCAD is one of the larger non-HCAD CADs in the state and has a strong online presence with comp-data search nearly as accessible as HCAD's.

Filing options. FBCAD's online portal accepts e-filed protests using the property's account number and the access PIN printed on the appraisal notice. The portal supports document upload for evidence. Paper Form 50-132 and email submissions are also accepted; confirm the current FBCAD office address before mailing.

FBCAD-specific quirks. Master-planned-community comp pools are tight (Cinco Ranch Section 12 properties really do trade in a tight band against each other) which makes unequal-appraisal protests harder to win on the median test — you may find your property is genuinely close to the section median. The strongest FBCAD protest path is often market-value with arm's-length sale comps from outside the immediate section to show macro-market softening. Katy ISD's tax rate is one of the higher composite rates in the Houston metro, which makes the dollar value of a successful protest correspondingly higher than the Harris County baseline.

BCAD (Brazoria County) — Pearland South, Alvin, Manvel

The Brazoria County Appraisal District covers the Brazoria County portion of Pearland (south of the Harris line), Alvin, Manvel, Angleton, Lake Jackson, Clute, Freeport, and the unincorporated portions of Brazoria County. Pearland sits on a tri-county fault line (Harris, Brazoria, with small Fort Bend slivers on the western edge — the city-limits boundary is irregular, not a single street), so a Pearland owner needs to confirm BCAD jurisdiction by parcel ID before assuming the Brazoria process applies. Friendswood spans Harris (north) and Galveston (south) counties — Friendswood owners need to confirm whether HCAD or GalvCAD has jurisdiction by parcel ID.

Filing options. BCAD's online portal accepts e-filed protests; paper Form 50-132 mailed or hand-delivered to BCAD in Angleton (county seat of Brazoria County); email submissions are also accepted. BCAD is smaller than HCAD or FBCAD and the informal-review stage often involves a direct phone call with an assigned appraiser — a less self-service feel than HCAD's iSettle portal.

BCAD-specific quirks. The Pearland MUD and PID overlays add to the composite tax rate, so the dollar value of a successful protest compounds quickly. Shadow Creek Ranch is in the Brazoria portion of Pearland with its own master-plan HOA structure; that doesn't affect taxable value but does affect comp selection. Coastal-flood-zone status (FEMA AE / VE) is a material market-value factor in the southern reaches of Brazoria County and is fair evidence for a market-value protest.

GalvCAD (Galveston Central) — League City, Galveston, Friendswood

The Galveston Central Appraisal District covers League City, Galveston Island, Texas City, Dickinson, La Marque, Friendswood's Galveston portion, and the rest of Galveston County. GalvCAD is the smallest of the five Houston-area CADs by parcel count but has some of the most distinctive valuation considerations because of coastal-flood-zone status, wind-pool insurance dynamics, and the Galveston Island short-term rental overlay.

Filing options. GalvCAD's online portal accepts e-filed protests; paper Form 50-132 mailed or hand-delivered to GalvCAD (current office address on the GalvCAD website); email submissions are accepted. Informal review is most often handled by phone or email with the assigned appraiser.

GalvCAD-specific quirks. Coastal flood-zone exposure (FEMA AE, VE, and the LiMWA designation) is material to market value and is reliable evidence for a market-value protest — surface the elevation certificate and FEMA zone designation in your evidence. Long-term residential rentals in Galveston city limits are treated differently from short-term rental properties for permitting purposes but the CAD valuation does not currently bifurcate — a rental income approach using long-term-rental rates is fair evidence on a property that the owner does not operate as short-term. League City's composite rate is in the mid-range of the Houston metro; valuations on the I-45 corridor have moved rapidly in recent years and unequal-appraisal protests have correspondingly higher yields.

The 5-CAD Comparison Table

Deadline cell shows the statutory May 15 date — the actual effective deadline shifts later for notices delivered after April 15 (§41.44 30-days-from-delivery rule). Always confirm your specific deadline against the date printed on your appraisal notice.

What Flat Fee Landlord Does (and Does Not Do) on Protests

What we don't do. Flat Fee Landlord does not file property-tax protests, does not assemble protest packages, does not act as your tax-protest agent, and does not hold the Comptroller Form 50-162 designation that would be required to do any of those. The standard residential management agreement does not include tax-protest representation. This is owner-handled work — you DIY, you hire a licensed property-tax consultant (most operate on a 30–50% contingency of first-year savings), or you skip the protest.

What we do. Two things, both designed to make whichever path you choose easier:

• Rent-roll and condition documentation in one place. Whatever the CAD assumes about market rent or property condition, we keep a year-by-year record of actual leased rent, vacancy periods, repair history, and timestamped inspection photos. Pull the relevant year's records from your owner portal when you start the protest.
• Specialist-firm referral on request. If you want introductions to Houston-area property-tax consultants, we know multiple firms and can share names. We do not earn a referral fee or markup on that introduction — just a name and the firm's public contact info.

Our pricing is unrelated to whether you file a protest or whether the protest succeeds. Management starts at $139/mo on annual billing (Basic) — the full tier breakdown is $139 (Basic) / $179 (Preferred) / $349 (Concierge), annual billing. The tax-protest line stays squarely between you and the CAD.

Sources & Last Reviewed

Last reviewed: May 2026.

Reviewed by: Mo Hashem, Designated Broker, Texas Real Estate License #686637.

Primary statutory sources:

• Texas Tax Code, Chapter 41 — Local Review (§§41.41 through 41.71)
• §41.41 — Grounds for protest (market value, unequal appraisal, exemption denial, etc.)
• §41.44 — Filing deadline (May 15 or 30 days from notice delivery, whichever is later)
• §41.411 — Late protest for lack of notice
• §41.413 — Authorized parties to file (owner, agent, lessee responsible for taxes)
• §25.25 — Correction of appraisal roll (clerical errors, substantial-value errors, no deadline / 5-year look-back)
• Texas Tax Code §1.06 — Computation of time (weekend and holiday rollover)

Agency and CAD references: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — property-tax assistance division; Harris County Appraisal District; Montgomery Central Appraisal District; Fort Bend Central Appraisal District; Brazoria County Appraisal District; Galveston Central Appraisal District (search the county name plus "central appraisal district" for the current website); the Comptroller's Form 50-132 (Property Owner's Notice of Protest) and Form 50-162 (Appointment of Agent for Property Tax Matters).

Related reading: our Texas Property Code Chapter 92 landlord guide covers the tenancy-side statute (security deposits, repair-and-deduct, retaliation, mandatory disclosures). For the Houston Heights historic-district and Tree Protection Overlay context, see our Heights property management page.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Each CAD's procedures and online portal evolve year over year — confirm the current-year process on the CAD's own website before filing. For complex or high-value protests, consider engaging a licensed property-tax consultant.