Sorry, I know I have posted a lot threads regarding our house situation, but wondering if anyone has any advice on protesting our taxes after a total loss due to fire.

We lost our house January 13 to a fire. There's literally nothing but dirt where the house used to be. I thought for sure protesting our taxes would be a slam dunk, but apparently not so much. I did the online protest and they basically came down about 2% even though I suggest suggested the property be valued at about $100,000 which is just a little bit less than the appraisal district has for our land value.

I rejected that and asked for a hearing. Unfortunately, I had to miss it, and I had to have my wife do it. She said they basically asked her to state her argument for what we think it's valued at and she did so. They then came back and all gave a value which was basically the original appraised value. Zero discuss discussion. Apparently they told her the value is based on the property as of January 1.

Does anyone know if that is true? I will do some digging online to see if I can find that in writing.

Someone suggested that I hire a protest company but they take 50% and as far as I'm concerned, they should take my taxes from like $12,000 down to $2000. I really don't wanna pay somebody 50% of those savings since I think this should be a no-brainer.

You can apply for a temporary fire damage exemption. You give them date of the fire and proof. They will then reinspect it to confirm that value of the loss and then update the value. It is one of the few situations that allow them to go with a date other than January 1st. You will pay a higher value that will then be prorated based upon the date of the fire.

Ok thank you I'll look into this

You might have just missed your 180 day window. Sucks they didn't tell you about this when you were protesting.

For protesting I use Steevens & Williamson. They charge a flat rate of $250 and well worth it for time savings. That way you don't have the unknown on the services that charge a %. website here

Info from GhatGPT:
Beginning with fires occurring in 2026, Texas Tax Code 11.351 provides a temporary exemption when:

• The structure was the owner's residence homestead.
• It was habitable immediately before the fire.
• It was completely destroyed, not merely damaged.
• It remained uninhabitable for at least 30 days.

The owner should file Form 50-339, Temporary Exemption for a Residence Homestead Destroyed by Fire, with the Bexar Central Appraisal District no later than 180 days after the fire. Supporting evidence can include the fire marshal's report, insurance adjuster's total-loss determination, photographs, demolition records and repair estimates.
How the reduction works
The exemption applies only to the improvement value the house and related structures not the land. It is prorated for the portion of the year remaining after the fire:

Quote:

---

Improvement value x days remaining after the fire / 365

---

For example, if the home's improvement value was $400,000 and it was destroyed around July 1, approximately half of the improvement value could be exempted for that tax year. The land would remain taxable. If the taxes were already paid, the statute provides for a refund; otherwise, a corrected tax bill should be issued.
Important: An insurance company calling the property a "total loss" is strong evidence, but BCAD makes the final determination. A significantly damaged but repairable house generally will not qualify under this particular exemption.

bam02 said:

---

I am afraid I never came back to update but I think we got it worked out. Our neighbor in our rental house works for the city and helped my wife with some kind of waiver application and they did accept it and it looks like they did basically accept our proposed value, which is basically what the BCAD appraised value of the land is.

---

That is great news!