By Harsha N Hegde & Robert Maes | Updated: May 11, 2025
If you've filed your property tax protest online, your County Appraisal District (CAD) may respond with a settlement offer—often called "informal offer", "online offer", "iSettle Offer" (depending on your county). But should you accept it, or take your chances at a formal hearing with the Appraisal Review Board (ARB)?
Here’s how to decide.
CADs may give you a settlement offer online, or if you filed your protest by mail or in person, you may get a phone or in-person informal hearing instead. Either way, take the offer seriously.
Consider how close the settlement offer is to your desired value. If the offer is decent, its wise to accept it. Remember: You rarely get the exact requested value. So, a reasonable compromise can be a win. While it's difficult to provide a definite threshold, based on our experience, we can say if the reduction offer is 5% or more, you can accept it and conclude your protest.
Rejecting the offer means:
If you have strong evidence to justify your proposed value, then it's reasonable to approach the ARB. Useful evidences include:
If the ARB hearing is scheduled online, your date and time are set and you can login at the specified time for your ARB hearing. In case you choose a physical hearing, you should plan to set aside a half day for your case. You will be driving down to the appraisal district, checking in at the counter and will wait in queue to be called in. The actual hearing will typically last about 15 minutes. Be sure to check out our guide on how to prepare for and present your case at a formal property tax protest hearing.
Some appraisal districts and ARB panels are notoriously unreceptive to homeowner protests. If your county has a history of siding with the district, an informal offer might be your best shot.
Even if you’ve declined the CAD’s initial offer, you will usually meet or request to meet with a county appraiser right before the ARB hearing. This is a golden opportunity to negotiate one last time. Appraisers often prefer to settle cases outside the ARB room—it saves everyone time. If you’re prepared with evidence, you might still walk away with a reduction without ever setting foot in the hearing. Don’t miss this chance.
CADs usually give you a limited window to accept their settlement offer—sometimes just a few days. Be proactive:
We have seen people ignore the offer or put off taking a call, only to miss the offer entirely!
In Summary, if the informal offer is good enough, accepting it may be wise. Without strong evidence to justify your value reduction, the district apraiser's evidence will prevail. This is not to say that you should never go to the ARB. Our advise is to weigh your evidence and then decide. There are enough instances where homeowners have obtained better reductions at the ARB by presenting justifiable evidences.
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.
Robert Maes comes with a vast experience in the property appraisal field. He is a former Chief Appraiser at Colorado County Appraisal District. He has been a Registered Professional Appraiser for over a decade and half and also a licensed Texas Property Tax Consultant. Robert carries in-depth experience in mass appraisal, real estate market analysis, property value appeals, USPAP, IAAO Standards and the Texas Property Tax Code.
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