The right to appear before the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) is the most important remedy available to property owners. ARB members are private citizens appointed for two-year terms. The ARB's primary duty is to hear and decide disputes between property owners and the appraisal district. The ARB is also charged with ensuring that the chief appraiser has granted exemptions and special-use appraisals properly. Taxing units and taxpayers may come before the ARB and challenge appraisals, exemptions, inclusion of property on the rolls, situs, and other matters.
Unless the property is located in more than one appraisal district, the ARB decision in each case it hears applies to every taxing unit in which the property is located. This is consistent with centralizing property appraisals and appeals. The Smith County ARB meets throughout the year to carry out its duties. Panels of board members are present to conduct hearings on designated days throughout the year. Protest hearings normally begin on June 15 and continue until all protests have been resolved.
The ARB is funded by the Smith County Appraisal District and appointed by its board of directors, but it is a separate governmental body. No employees or officials of the appraisal district or the taxing units it serves may sit on the ARB. To qualify for service on the ARB, a person must have lived in the appraisal district for at least two years prior to taking office. The person's close relatives can't work as professional tax agents or tax appraisers within the appraisal district. Lawmakers intended the ARB to serve as a neutral body to resolve disputes between the appraisal district and property owners.
If you need help:
Under the law, the Appraisal Review Board has these duties:
Like a court, the Appraisal Review Board only has authority over matters submitted to it. These matters generally concern problems with the current year's appraisals (protests and challenges) and problems with previous years' appraisals (correction motions).
You may protest the following:
Once we receive your protest, we enter it into our computer system. Our ARB coordinator then schedules the protest for a hearing appointment. Most appointments are scheduled within a few weeks, but depending on when you file your protest and the nature of your concerns your protest hearing appointment may take 2 or 3 months. At least 15 days before the scheduled date, we'll send you a notice of the appointment. The notice includes a great deal of valuable information you can use in preparing your protest.
The law allows you to protest any action by the appraisal district or the ARB that applies to you and adversely affects you. If you protest on time, you have a right to have your case heard and decided by the ARB. You also have the right to appeal the ARB's decision to district court. If you don't protest on time, your rights are very limited.
The protest process follows three stages: (1) owner files a written protest; (2) informal meeting with appraiser; and (3) formal hearing before ARB.
ARB formal hearings are generally conducted by three-member panels. The ARB panel begins the hearing by introducing its members. Each panel member will sign an affidavit stating that the member has not discussed anything about your property prior to the hearing. You'll be asked to sign an affidavit that you are the owner or agent for the property.
The ARB panel will then ask the district's appraiser to describe the property. The SCAD appraiser will give a legal and physical description of the property as shown on the district's records. Listen carefully; you'll be asked if you agree with the description. After the description is corrected, if needs be, the ARB chair will ask the SCAD representative to present the district's evidence and opinion of value. You may question the appraiser about the testimony. Next the chair will ask you (the property owner) to present testimony and evidence to support your opinion of value. The ARB members or SCAD representative may want to question you about your testimony. After your presentation the district will have an opportunity to offer a rebuttal.
The chair will then announce that the hearing is complete, and the panel will confer to reach a decision. The chair will announce the decision and the basis for changing or not changing the value. The ARB panel decision must be approved by the entire membership of the Appraisal Review Board (9 members) before it becomes final. There may be some delay between your hearing and the time you receive the formal written ARB order. Also, the full ARB occasionally will not approve a panel decision; in such a case, it normally orders the case to be reheard and you will be notified of a new hearing date.
The final decision of the Appraisal Review Board is issued in writing and will be mailed to you by certified mail. This written order directs the chief appraiser to make the appropriate changes to the district's current records. If you are dissatisfied with the ARB's findings you have the right to appeal its decision to the state district court within forty-five days of receiving the written order.
Summary:
Most hearings are allotted 15 minutes. Prepare a simple but well-organized presentation. Generally, the party filing the protest has the burden of providing proof or evidence. Values from prior years or the decisions of previous review boards do not bind the current ARB -- each year stands alone. Because time is short, plan to stress key facts and figures. It is a good idea to write the key facts and figures down in logical order and make at least 4 copies. If your protest is well supported by factual data, your chances for success are greater since the board can quickly and easily understand your arguments.
Most hearings deal with the market value of property. Market value is defined by law as:
the price at which a property would transfer for cash or its equivalent under prevailing market conditions if: (A) exposed for sale in the open market with a reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser; (B) both the seller and the purchaser know of all the uses and purposes to which the property is adapted and for which it is capable of being used and of the enforceable restrictions on its use; and (C) both the seller and purchaser seek to maximize their gains and neither is in a position to take advantage of the exigencies of the other.
Under this definition, a foreclosure, liquidation, or distress sale usually doesn't represent market value. The value of a business inventory is defined by law as the price for which the inventory would sell "as a unit" to a person who would continue the business.
The strongest evidence you can bring is physical evidence. If you bought or sold the property close to the notice date, the closing documents or bill of sale will be best, especially if you can bring a certified copy of your closing documents. Appraisals and sales contracts are also useful. If you believe the condition of your property reduces its value, bring pictures showing unusual deterioration, estimates of repairs, and any other documents that reflect the physical condition and value of the property.
The Appraisal District or the ARB must have evidence on which to make a ruling in all Business Personal Property cases appearing before them. Normally the form of relevant documents in order of importance are: 1.) balance sheets; 2.) inventory cost records, accounting records, journals, fixed asset ledgers showing acquisitions by year of purchase; 3.) CPA statements of costs; 4.) leases pertaining to the property in question; 5.) a statement of general accounting policy and procedures, especially concerning the capitalization and expense policy; and 6.) the basis of depreciation. The statement should also address inventory methods and whether physical inventory equals book inventory.
Be on time and prepared for your appointment. Your case can be dismissed for failure to appear if you are not present when called. You should be ready to present your protest, along with multiple copies (at least 4) of all supporting documents, at the assigned time. The law requires the ARB to keep at least one copy of every document you submit in its files. If you want to use a valuable document or photograph, bring both the original and four copies. You can normally use the copies in the hearing, but you'll need to have the original in the event the ARB asks to see it.
Stick to the facts of your presentation. The Appraisal Review Board has no control over appraisal district operations, tax rates for the various taxing units, inflation, local politics, your ability to pay taxes, or personal opinions.
Be direct, concise, and honest. Be sure that the information and comments you bring before the board concern only the matter(s) stated in your notice of protest.
You have three choices: you can appear in person; you can appoint someone else to appear for you; or you can file a notarized affidavit stating your facts and presentation.
If you are unable to come in person, you can appoint someone to come in your place. Texas law requires you to appoint an agent in writing, and the appointment must be filed with the appraisal district in order to be effective. You must use a special form to appoint an agent. You can download the form here. You can also get a copy of the form from the appraisal district's office or the Texas State Comptroller's office. The agent may represent you in one or more areas that you designate on the form: to file notices of protest to present before the Appraisal Review Board, to negotiate on any value disputes, to receive notices or tax bills, or to handle any other specific action. The agent may alternatively represent you for general property tax purposes. Be careful filling out this form; it affects your legal rights. If you simply want to have a friend or family member appear for you, there is a simplified version of the form on the back of the protest form.
You can also send in your evidence in writing (appear by affidavit). Your written evidence must be in the form of a sworn affidavit. The affidavit must describe the property and indicate some dissatisfaction with an action by the appraisal district or the appraisal review board. It must contain a statement by you stating you swear or affirm it is true and correct. You must sign it in front of a notary. If you use an affidavit it is a good idea to hand-deliver it. In any case, be sure it gets to us before your hearing date. Be sure it contains your name, your address, the property account number, the property description, and the time and date of your hearing.
During the peak, summer months (June through September), the appraisal review board handles well over 6,000 protests. Consequently, you may have to spend time waiting to have your protest hearing during these months.
After the Appraisal Review Board has heard and decided substantially all protests, it will formally approve the appraisal records for the year. When this is done, the appraisal records become known as the district's appraisal roll for the year. The chief appraiser then certifies the appraisal roll to each individual taxing unit within the appraisal district. This is how the individual taxing units (school districts, the county, cities, and special districts, i.e. hospital, MUD, rural fire) receive their values. Once they have the values, they finalize their annual budgets for the following year and adopt their individual tax rates. After the tax rate is set, the tax office multiplies the tax rate by the value shown on the appraisal roll, after subtracting all applicable exemptions, to determine how much you owe as a property tax.
Properties still awaiting their protest hearing at the time the Appraisal Review Board approves appraisal records are moved into what are often called the ”supplemental" appraisal records. The Appraisal Review Board approves these records after the protest hearing, and the chief appraiser then certifies the results to the taxing units on what is referred to as a "supplemental appraisal roll."