Number Appealed to Binding ArbitrationSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Number Determinations appealed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Texas has one of the best systems for appeals for property owners.
Zapata County Appeals after ARB Hearing
Zapata County has two types of property tax appeals. Administrative appeals and Post administrative appeals. Administrative appeals – includes the informal and appraisal review board. Post administrative – includes judicial, binding arbitration and State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). Post-administrative appeals are summarized by property type.
Zapata CAD Binding Arbitration Cases – after ARB
Binding arbitration is a great option for owners of property valued at less than $5 million (homesteads have no limit for binding arbitration), when there is a clear cut case on market value. The hearing officer is an attorney, appraiser, or CPA. In our experience, unequal appraisal is not usually considered in binding arbitration. The property owner must pay a deposit which is refunded if they prevail and lost if not successful.
Number Appealed to Binding Arbitration
Zapata County owners of 0 properties filed a binding arbitration appeal in 2018, out of 4,682 in the state of Texas.
Appealed to State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH)Source: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Appealed to SOAH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Zapata CAD State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) – after ARB
The SOAH (State Office of Administrative Hearings) has been an available option for over 10 years. However, there are very few judicial appeals. For example, in Zapata County, in 2019, there were 0 SOAH appeals.
Judicial AppealsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Judicial Appeals | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Zapata County Judicial Appeals – after ARB
Zapata County Appraisal District has a substantial number of judicial appeals in gross terms, but only a very small number relative to the total number of protests and accounts. Only about 1 in 500 accounts is protested through the judicial appeal level. (A judicial appeal is a lawsuit in state district court.)
Judicial appeals are lawsuits in district court filed to continue the property tax appeal after the appraisal review board. However, judicial appeals can be coordinated by O’Connor at no cost to you, except a portion of the savings. O’Connor pays the legal fees, expert witness fees and filing fees, and is only paid when successful.