O’Connor advertise “no savings, no fee”. What they do not advertise is what the fee is. Here is what we found when we went looking, and every other route you have — including doing it yourself free and a $39 one-time evidence kit.
Check your home FREE →Checked against O’Connor’s own Property Tax Protection Program page on 24 August 2026. Terms change — read their current agreement before you sign anything.
What we could verify, and what we could not. O’Connor’s own page states plainly that there are no upfront fees and that you pay only if you save — “no savings, no fee”. That is a real consumer protection and it is worth having.
What is not on that page is the percentage. We read it looking specifically for a contingency rate and there isn’t one — the only percentage anywhere on the page is inside a Woody Allen quote about showing up. So we are not going to tell you what O’Connor charges, because we could not verify it from them.
You will find a “50%” figure repeated on comparison sites. Some of those sites sell a competing service. Ask O’Connor directly and get it in writing — that is the only number that binds anyone.
A contingency fee is a share of your first-year tax saving. If the protest is repeated annually — and a good one is — the fee is charged again on each year’s saving. That is not a criticism; it is how the model works. But it is the part a single percentage never shows you.
| Route | Year 1 | 5 years | What you own afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contingency at 25% | $300 | $1,500 | Nothing — the work is theirs |
| Contingency at 40% | $480 | $2,400 | Nothing |
| Contingency at 50% | $600 | $3,000 | Nothing |
| $39 evidence kit | $39 | $39, or buy it again | The comparables, the forms and the filing record |
| Do it yourself, no kit | $0 | $0 | Whatever you assembled |
Illustrative arithmetic on a $1,200 annual saving, shown at three common contingency rates. It is not a claim about what O’Connor charges. Your figure will differ, and no route guarantees any reduction.
The fair criticism of any flat fee is that you pay it whether or not the protest works. So here is ours, and it is on every page of this site:
Our guarantee: no reduction, next year free. We guarantee the evidence, not the verdict — HCAD decides values. If you protest and HCAD doesn’t bring your market value down by at least $2,000, next season’s kit is free. Nothing to claim and no proof needed: in late August we check HCAD’s certified value ourselves and email you the free code.
“Nothing to claim” is the load-bearing part. A guarantee you have to apply for is a guarantee designed not to be used.
Under §41.43(b) an unequal-appraisal protest is decided in your favour unless the appraisal district disproves it, and §41.43(b)(3) lets you make that case using the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties, appropriately adjusted.
Two rules worth knowing before you decide you need representation. §41.461 entitles you to HCAD’s evidence before the hearing. §41.67(d) means anything they fail to hand over at least 14 days beforehand cannot be used against you.
And your value cannot be raised simply because you protested. The downside of trying is your time.
A protest argues the value is too high. An exemption takes a fixed amount off before the tax is worked out. The homestead exemption alone removes $140,000 from your school-district value under §11.13(b), plus Harris County’s 20% local option under §11.13(n).
HCAD’s public roll shows 1,157,293 single-family homes in Harris County, and 328,310 with no homestead exemption on record — about 28%. That is not proof those owners are overpaying: rentals, second homes and recent purchases legitimately have none. But if it is the home you actually live in, filing is free, you file it yourself, and Texas lets you back-file two years with the difference refunded.
We complete exemption forms at no charge — homestead, over-65, veteran and the rest. You sign and send them. You only ever pay for a protest kit.
We are a Houston homeowner and software that organises HCAD’s public appraisal roll. We are not agents and not attorneys, and we do not file anything for anyone. You sign your own forms and file them yourself — by mail, in person, or through HCAD’s iFile. No outcome is ever guaranteed; HCAD decides every protest and every exemption.
They do not publish a percentage on their Property Tax Protection Program page, so we will not put a number in their mouth. They do state there are no upfront fees and no fee without a saving. Ask them for the rate in writing.
Filing yourself costs nothing. Our kit is $39, once. Whether either is cheaper than a contingency depends on how much you save and over how many years.
Yes. In Texas you may file your own protest in any year.
May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice was delivered — whichever is later (§41.44(a)). Never rely on a bare “May 15”.
Start with the free check. About a minute, plain questions, no account, and nothing you type is kept. If you are not over-assessed, it tells you that too.
See also: every route compared side by side · Ownwell · Five Stone · Texas Protax · Home Tax Shield · Resolute.
Sources: O’Connor, Property Tax Protection Program, read 24 August 2026 · Harris County figures derived from HCAD’s public appraisal roll · statute text from the Texas Tax Code.