By Harsha N Hegde

When you protest your property taxes in Texas, the County Appraisal District (CAD) doesn’t walk into the ARB hearing empty-handed. They’ve got a neatly packaged case file about your property — complete with numbers, photos, and “supporting” properties they claim prove your estimated value is correct. This is called CAD evidence. If you know how to get it and pick it apart, you can often turn it into your biggest weapon in a protest hearing.

What Is CAD Evidence?

In plain English: CAD evidence is the set of documents, data, and exhibits the appraisal district will present to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) to justify their estimate of your property’s value.

Under Texas Property Tax Code §41.461, the CAD must provide this evidence to you at least 14 days before your ARB hearing.
That rule exists so you can prepare your own case — but in practice, you can’t assume it will magically show up in your inbox.

Some CADs automatically post the packet to your online protest account once your ARB date is scheduled. Keep an eye on your online protest dashboard. Others only hand it to you if you ask for it. If you don’t have it well before the hearing, you’re playing with one hand tied behind your back.

Why You Should Always Request CAD Evidence

By law, CAD must provide evidence at least 14 days before the hearing. In practice, some counties don’t send it unless you request it.

Benefits of requesting:

• Gives you time to review and prepare rebuttals.
• Creates a paper trail if CAD fails to deliver on time.
• Allows you to object to late evidence and potentially have it excluded.

Why Request CAD Evidence When the Law Already Requires CAD to Provide It to You?

Texas law (Tax Code § 41.461) says the chief appraiser must deliver CAD evidence to you at least 14 days before your ARB hearing. So why bother asking?

Because in the real world:

1. Some CADs don’t send it unless you request it — they may claim it was “available online” or “mailed” and put the burden back on you.
2. The ARB may still allow it — even if they broke the 14-day rule, some ARBs let CAD use the evidence if they believe you could have accessed it.
3. You lose prep time — waiting to object at the hearing means you walk in cold, without time to find stronger comps or catch errors.
4. Early wins are possible — with the evidence in advance, you might settle informally and skip the ARB entirely.

Bottom line:
Requesting CAD evidence in writing gives you:

• Proof they failed to deliver (if they don’t).
• Leverage to exclude it at the hearing.
• Time to prepare your own case — or even win before the hearing.

It’s a simple, no-cost step that protects your rights and improves your odds.

What’s Inside a CAD Evidence Packet?

While formats vary by county, most CAD evidence packets contain these:

1. Property Record Card (PRC)

CAD’s official record of your property, including:

• Living area and land size
• Year built, quality rating, and condition
• Features (garage, pool, porch, etc.)
• CAD’s depreciation or “effective age”
• Number of beds/baths etc.

Errors here — like wrong square footage (more common than you think!) or incorrect features — can slash your value if corrected. We have seen examples where CADs had incorrect bed/bath counts.

2. Sales Comparables Grid

A table of recent property sales that CAD claims support their market value for your home. Each row usually includes:

• Address and sale date
• Living area, lot size
• Sale price and $/sq ft
• Adjustments for size, condition, features

CAD often cherry-picks higher-value sales or comps from different locations.

The Role of Sale Ratios in CAD’s Sales Comps

When CAD uses a sale as a comparable, the most important number to check isn’t just the price — it’s the sale ratio.

Sale ratio = CAD’s current appraised value of the comp ÷ actual sale price

• 1.00 means CAD’s value exactly matches the sale price.
• Above 1.00 means CAD is valuing that comp higher than it sold for (inflated).
• Below 1.00 means CAD is valuing it lower than the sale price (undervalued).

Why it matters:

• If CAD’s own comps have sale ratios all over the place, it shows their sales grid is inconsistent.
• If they’re undervaluing some properties compared to sale price while keeping yours at or above 1.00, that’s evidence of unequal appraisal.
• If a comp’s value was reduced after protest, the sale ratio drops even more — further undercutting their case.

Example:

Comp Address	Sale Price	CAD Appraised Value	Sale Ratio	Notes
123 Oak St	$500,000	$510,000	1.02	CAD overvalued it
456 Pine St	$520,000	$480,000	0.92	CAD undervalued it
789 Elm St	$495,000	$495,000	1.00	Exact match

Hearing strategy:

1. Calculate the sale ratio for each CAD comp.
2. Highlight any that are inconsistent or inflated.
3. Point out that their sales analysis can’t be trusted if they can’t apply it uniformly.

3. Equity Comparables Grid

A list of similar properties and their appraised values per square foot.
This is used for the equal and uniform argument: “Your home is valued consistently with your neighbors.”
The trick? They often skip lower-valued homes that would help your case.

4. Adjustment Tables

CAD’s internal formulas for adding or subtracting value for differences between properties — like $40/sq ft for extra living area, or $10,000 for a pool.
These can be inconsistent or unrealistic.

5. Photos

Street-view or aerial photos of your home and the comparables.
Outdated or misleading photos are common — sometimes hiding defects or showing upgrades you don’t have.

6. Maps

Location maps of your property and the comps.
These can reveal if CAD used comps from across a major road, in a different school district, or miles away.

7. Neighborhood Match

Check if all comps are in the same neighborhood as yours. Inconsistent neighborhood matches can be a sign of unequal appraisal. We have seen examples where CADs used comps from different neighborhoods and in one case in a totally different zip code!

8. Other Supporting Data

• MLS listings
• Building permits
• Market trend reports
• Notes from CAD appraisers

The “Stale Comps” Problem

Here’s a flaw most homeowners don’t know:
CAD builds its comps grids using preliminary values published at the start of the season (April/May).

But as protest season progresses, many of those comps get reduced after their own protests.
CAD doesn’t always update the grids for your case — meaning they may be using inflated numbers against you.

Example:

• CAD evidence shows a comp at $225/sq ft.
• That owner protested and got it lowered to $200/sq ft.
• CAD still uses $225 in your hearing, unless you catch it.

What to do:

• Before your hearing, look up each comp in the CAD’s public database.
• Print or screenshot the current (post-protest) values.
• Bring them to the ARB to show that CAD’s own evidence is outdated.

Why You Should Always Request CAD Evidence

Legally, CAD is supposed to send it. In reality:

• Some do, some don’t.
• If you don’t request it, you may only see it when you walk into the ARB hearing.

A written request creates a paper trail. If CAD doesn’t deliver it at least 14 days before the hearing, you can object and ask the ARB to exclude their evidence entirely.

How to Review CAD Evidence for Errors

Here’s a quick checklist:

1. Square footage – Matches reality?
2. Year built / effective age – Any inflation?
3. Condition & quality ratings – Is “Good” really “Average”?
4. Sales comps – Right neighborhood, size, and condition?
5. Sale ratios – Are they consistent? Inflated?
6. Equity comps – Did they skip lower-valued homes?
7. Adjustments – Are they fair and applied uniformly?
8. Photos – Do they misrepresent condition?
9. Stale comps – Any post-protest reductions?
10. Neighborhood - Are the comps in your neighborhood?

Highlight every mismatch or unfair comparison. And don’t forget — sometimes CAD’s packet accidentally includes comps that actually help your case.

Complimentary CAD Evidence Review from SquareDeal

Not sure where to start with your CAD evidence?
SquareDeal offers a free CAD evidence review for all customers.

• How it works:

  • Upload your CAD evidence pdf
  • Our system automatically combs through every data point to spot errors, favorable comps, stale values, and inconsistencies you can use in your protest.
  • We highlight what helps your case so you can go into the hearing prepared.

• Privacy first:

  • No data is stored in our system.
  • Your file is processed securely and only used to generate your review.

It’s fast, free, and designed to help you win your protest.

Turning CAD Evidence Against Them

• Expose stale comps — Show reductions that happened after their grid was created.
• Highlight inconsistent sale ratios — If CAD overvalues some sales and undervalues others, their “market value” claim crumbles.
• Point out inconsistent adjustments — If they give one comp $50/sq ft for extra space but only $35/sq ft for another, ask why.
• Highlight better-condition properties — If all their comps have remodels, show photos to prove the difference.
• Use their own data — If their packet includes a lower-valued comp, make it part of your case.

Final Tips

• Request CAD evidence early — never assume they’ll send it.
• Review every page and verify every comp’s current value.
• Bring printed proof of every error.
• Remember: The ARB decides based on evidence, not assumptions.

FAQs About CAD Evidence

Q: What is CAD evidence?
A: It’s the County Appraisal District’s documentation to support your property’s value often used by your appraisal district at a property tax protest hearing.

Q: How do I get CAD evidence?
A: Request it in writing at least 14 days before your ARB hearing; some CADs post it online automatically.

Q: What if CAD doesn’t give me the evidence?
A: You can object at the hearing and ask the ARB to exclude it from consideration.

Q: Why is checking sale ratios important?
A: Sale ratios reveal whether CAD is applying values consistently across comparable properties.

Q: How can stale comps help my case?
A: If a comp’s value has been reduced after protest, it weakens CAD’s argument that your value is fair.

About the Author

Harsha N Hegde is the founder of squaredeal.tax, a DIY platform that helps Texas homeowners protest unfair property tax assessments. He has helped thousands of Texas homeowners save money using comps-based evidence and practical guidance.

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