You Protest Your Appraisal. HB 1088 Says They Can't Counterclaim.

You protest your appraisal. You take it all the way to court. And the appraisal district gets to ask the judge to raise your value instead.

A bill filed in Austin today says that ends.

Plain English summary

On November 12, 2026, State Rep. Mitch Little filed House Bill 1088, "relating to ad valorem tax remedies." (FACT, HB 1088 bill history)

Ad valorem tax is your property tax. Remedies are what you can do when you think the appraisal district got your value wrong.

HB 1088 is a long list of changes that tilt the protest and appeal process back toward the person paying the bill. (FACT, HB 1088 introduced text)

Here are the big ones, straight from the bill text.

The district cannot come back at you. In a court appeal, a chief appraiser, appraisal district, or appraisal review board could not file a counterclaim, and the appraisal district could not seek affirmative relief. (FACT, Sec. 10, new Tax Code 42.23(a-1), (a-2))

Your value cannot go up because you fought it. In binding arbitration, the arbitrator could not set your value higher than what the chief appraiser's own records showed when they went to the review board, unless you ask for it. In an unequal appraisal appeal in district court, the judge could not go higher than that number either. (FACT, Sec. 6, new 41A.09(f); Sec. 12, new 42.26(e))

Your notice has to show its work. The notice of appraised value would list the market value of each structure and improvement on your property, not just the land and one lump total. It would also have to show your account number. (FACT, Sec. 2, Tax Code 25.19(f), (p))

Collections pause while a correction is pending. If you file a motion to correct the appraisal roll under Section 25.25(c), the tax offices get notice and collection on that account is put on hold until the review board rules. If you win, costs that piled up after that notice cannot be charged to you. (FACT, Sec. 3 and Sec. 4)

You get time. A district court could not set trial less than 12 months after the appeal is filed unless the owner asks, and a party gets one continuance on request. (FACT, Sec. 11, new 42.232)

The bill takes effect January 1, 2028, and applies to tax years that start on or after that date. (FACT, Sec. 14 and 15)

Why it matters

Most of us never get past the informal meeting at the appraisal office.

But the folks who do push further know the fear. You spend the money. You hire the help. And the other side can come back asking for more than they started with.

That fear keeps people from fighting at all.

HB 1088 takes that weapon off the table. No counterclaims. And in arbitration and unequal appraisal appeals, the district's own number becomes the ceiling.

In East Texas, that matters to the family with a house and a few acres. It matters to the small shop owner whose building got a big jump. It matters to anybody who opened that notice in April and said, "Where did they get that?"

The receipt

Today's filing came with a companion bill. HB 1087, also by Rep. Little, says if a business owner proves what their equipment and other personal property cost new, the chief appraiser must agree to a value no higher than that cost when the owner asks. (FACT, HB 1087 introduced text, new Tax Code 41.47(g-2))

Both were filed November 12, 2026, ahead of the 90th Legislature. (FACT, HB 1087 bill history)

Appraisal districts trying to push values up in court is not a made-up worry. Law360 has reported on a Texas court denying an appraisal district's attempt to boost valuations. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, Law360 report)

What Ryan says

This is the kind of bill I want to see more of.

Not a slogan. A fix.

When the government tells you what your home is worth, you ought to be able to say "prove it" without risking a bigger bill for asking.

Show me the math on my notice. Break it out. Land, house, barn, shop. Every line.

And when I file to correct a mistake, stop the collection letters until somebody actually rules.

That is not a loophole. That is fairness.

I will be watching who signs on to this and who tries to water it down.

What this does not prove

It does not prove the bill will pass. It was filed today. No committee, no hearing, no vote.

It does not lower anybody's tax rate. HB 1088 is about the process for fighting your value, not the rate your city, county, or school sets.

It does not tell us how often appraisal districts counterclaim or how much money is at stake. The bill does not say, and I do not have those numbers.

Some sections, like the discovery limits and the rule on business registration, will mostly matter to commercial owners in court, not a homeowner at the kitchen table.

What it does prove

A Texas lawmaker has put in writing that the appraisal district's own number should be the ceiling in arbitration and unequal appraisal appeals, and that the district cannot counterclaim when you take it to court.

It proves the notice in your mailbox could be required to break out every structure.

And it proves the protest fight will be on the table in January.

The bottom line

You should never be punished for asking the government to show its work.

HB 1088 says when you fight back, they cannot counterclaim, and their own number is the ceiling.

Read the bill. Then ask your state rep where they stand.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.