Motion preparation services for the Harris County appraisal roll.
Where the appraisal district's record contains one or more factual errors (a structure that no longer exists, an incorrect year of construction, a clerical defect in the property description, a parcel listed under two account numbers, or a homestead-cap miscalculation under Tex. Tax Code §23.23), Texas Tax Code §25.25(c) provides a remedy outside the May 15 protest window, with refund eligibility extending up to five preceding tax years. A single motion can combine multiple error categories at the same fixed fee.
The record review is provided without charge and without obligation. A motion is prepared only where the appraisal district's record materially differs from the supportable facts.
Identify the asserted error
The appraisal district's record for the subject parcel is retrieved and compared against the owner's account. The review is conducted without charge. A motion is prepared only where a material discrepancy is identified; otherwise the matter is closed with no fee incurred.
Select the primary error category here. Additional categories can be added during the motion intake at no extra charge; a single motion can combine up to four error categories.
How the engagement proceeds
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I
No-cost record review
The owner describes the suspected error. The appraisal district's record for the parcel is retrieved and compared against the owner's account. No fee is incurred and no motion is prepared unless a material discrepancy is identified.
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II
Motion preparation
Upon engagement, the supporting motion is drafted citing the applicable subsection of §25.25(c); HCAD Form 25.25RP is pre-filled with the owner's particulars and the appropriate correction-type checkbox; photographic exhibits are numbered M-1, M-2, … and bound into a single PDF for the owner's signature and submission.
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III
Submission and follow-through
Filing instructions accompany the prepared motion (P.O. Box 922004, Houston, Texas 77292-2004; in-person submission also accepted at HCAD's main office). A status-check reminder is issued thirty days after the owner reports submission; should the appraisal district fail to respond, the next procedural step is outlined.
Five preceding tax years
Texas Tax Code §25.25(c) authorizes correction of the appraisal roll for any of the five tax years preceding the year in which the motion is filed. Where the appraisal district has carried an erroneous record across multiple years, the prepared motion includes a written, year-by-year refund-eligibility narrative identifying each preceding tax year for which a refund request may be supportable.
For motions prepared today, the covered tax years are 2021 through 2025. The covered range advances each year as HCAD publishes the next annual edition of Form 25.25RP, typically mid-summer after the appraisal roll is certified.
Specific dollar amounts are not quoted in the narrative. Refunds are computed by the appraisal district and the affected taxing units after a motion is approved, and depend upon each year's adopted tax rates, prior exemption status, and the operation of the §23.23 homestead cap.
Engagement terms
Fixed fee: $19.00 per motion, payable upon completion of the intake. The fee covers all of the work product enumerated below, regardless of the number of error categories asserted within a single motion (up to a working limit of four per filing). No additional or contingency fees apply.
The engagement includes
- preparation of HCAD Form 25.25RP, pre-populated with the owner's particulars and the appropriate correction-type checkbox under §25.25(c);
- a supporting written motion drafted in conventional pleading form, citing the applicable subsection of §25.25(c) (clerical defect, multiple appraisal, ownership defect, or homestead-cap miscalculation);
- numbering and binding of up to twenty-five photographic exhibits as M-1, M-2, …, M-25 within the final filing package;
- a drafted statement of facts subject to the owner's review and revision before signature;
- a qualitative refund-eligibility narrative identifying the preceding tax years (up to five) for which a refund request may be supportable, in accordance with §25.25(c);
- automated review of the appraisal district's record against §23.23 for homestead appraised-value-cap compliance;
- filing instructions, including the appraisal district's mailing address and acceptable submission methods.
The engagement does not include
- legal advice, tax advice, appraisal services, or representation before the appraisal review board or any court of competent jurisdiction;
- the calculation of specific dollar refund amounts, which are computed by the appraisal district and the taxing units following approval of a motion;
- payment of property taxes on the owner's behalf, which must remain current as a precondition to relief under §25.26;
- attendance at any subsequent hearing, conference, or proceeding before the appraisal review board.
Access period
Access to the prepared motion (download, editing of typed details, addition or removal of photographic exhibits, and regeneration of the final PDF) is available for twelve months from the date of purchase. A reminder is sent thirty days before that window closes. On the closing date, the motion PDF, saved motion details, and uploaded photo exhibits are removed from the platform; the order record and the edit-history audit log are retained indefinitely. A motion that has been printed and filed with the appraisal district during the access period is not affected by the closure of platform access.
The refund-eligibility narrative is qualitative. Specific dollar figures are not quoted because actual refunds depend upon data within the appraisal district's exclusive control, including each year's adopted tax rates, prior exemption status, and the operation of the §23.23 homestead cap.
A correction motion is not a protest
A protest under Tex. Tax Code §41 contests the appraisal district's opinion of value; it is filed annually by May 15 and is supported by comparable properties, sale prices, and condition adjustments. A motion under §25.25 contests the factual record: that the appraisal roll reflects a structure that no longer exists, an incorrect year of construction, a clerical defect, a duplicate listing, or a homestead-cap miscalculation. The motion has no May 15 deadline; under §25.25(e) a motion under §25.25(c) may be filed at any time prior to the date the property taxes for the year being corrected become delinquent, and §25.25(c) authorizes corrections reaching back up to five preceding tax years.
The two remedies are independent. Under Tex. Tax Code §25.25(l), a motion under §25.25(c) may be filed regardless of whether the property owner has already protested under Chapter 41 for the same tax year.
Initiate the record review
The review is conducted without charge and produces a written assessment of whether the appraisal district's record materially differs from the supportable facts. Should the record be correct as filed, that conclusion is reported and the matter is closed without further obligation.
Begin the no-cost record reviewNo filing deadline applies under §25.25(c); refund eligibility is calendared from the date the motion is received by the appraisal district.