Texas Protax are a long-established Austin firm with a real record. But every performance figure they publish is Travis and Hays County, and their own pricing link goes nowhere. Here is what that means if your house is in Harris County — and every other route, including free and a $39 one-time kit.
Check your home FREE →Read off Texas Protax’s own site on 24 August 2026. Sites change — check theirs before deciding anything.
Credit first. Texas Protax have been doing this since 1988, they publish a 95% success rate, they say they take more cases to the Appraisal Review Board than any other firm, and they hold an A+ BBB rating and 4.8 stars on Google. Those are their figures, not ours, and we have no way to audit them — but a firm that has lasted 38 years in this business is not nothing.
Texas Protax say they serve the Greater Houston area. But look at what they actually publish:
None of that means they cannot do good work in Harris County. It does mean that if you are in Houston, the numbers they are showing you are from somewhere else. Ask them for their Harris County results specifically before you sign.
Their site footer carries a link labelled “how much does your service cost”. We followed it. It redirects to their homepage — there is no pricing page behind it. We read the residential page too. No percentage, no minimum, no fee of any kind is stated.
So we are not going to put a number in their mouth. Ask them directly and get it in writing, along with whether it is charged again each year and whether a failed protest costs you anything.
We went to four firms’ own websites looking for one number. Here is what was actually there:
| Firm | Fee published on their own site? |
|---|---|
| Ownwell | Yes — flat 25% contingency, no minimum |
| Five Stone | Yes — 40% of actual tax savings |
| O’Connor | No percentage. “No savings, no fee” only |
| Texas Protax | No. The pricing link redirects to the homepage |
| Us | $39. On every page, including this one |
Checked 24 August 2026 against each firm’s own website. Not a judgement on service quality — a statement about what was published on the day we looked.
A contingency fee is a share of your first-year saving. Protests are worth repeating annually, and the fee is charged again on each year’s saving.
| 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, on a $1,200 annual saving, at three common contingency rates. Not a claim about what Texas Protax charge — they do not publish it. No route guarantees any reduction.
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 part that matters. A guarantee you have to apply for is 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 argue it with the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties, appropriately adjusted. §41.461 entitles you to HCAD’s evidence before the hearing; §41.67(d) means anything they withhold past 14 days beforehand cannot be used against you. Your value cannot rise because you protested. The downside is your time.
Homestead 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 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. You sign and send them. You only ever pay for a protest kit.
A Houston homeowner and software that organises HCAD’s public appraisal roll — Harris County, which is the only county we claim to know. Not agents, not attorneys, and we do not file anything for anyone. You sign your own forms and file them yourself. No outcome is guaranteed; HCAD decides.
They do not publish it. Their own “how much does your service cost” link redirects to their homepage. Ask them in writing.
They say they serve the Greater Houston area. Their published results, case studies and savings estimator are Travis and Hays County. Ask for their Harris County numbers.
May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice was delivered — whichever is later (§41.44(a)).
Start with the free check. About a minute, plain questions, no account, 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 · O’Connor · Five Stone · Home Tax Shield · Resolute.
Sources: Texas Protax residential page and their homepage, read 24 August 2026 · Harris County figures derived from HCAD’s public appraisal roll · statute text from the Texas Tax Code.