Counties · Bexar
Bexar County Property Tax Protest
Property tax protest and appeals for owners in San Antonio and across Bexar County. We file with the Bexar Central Appraisal District, build the evidence, and handle the hearings, every year. No savings, no fee.
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Protesting Property Taxes in San Antonio
San Antonio is home. Our office is here, and Bexar County is where we file the most protests and sit through the most hearings. We know how the Bexar Central Appraisal District builds its values and where those values tend to miss, and we’ve spent years earning a reputation with its appraisers for evidence that holds up.
Daniel Ortiz, Senior Property Tax Consultant, oversees every Bexar County protest we file.
Commercial property is where we spend most of our hearing time in Bexar County, and it’s where the district’s system leaves the most room for error.
How the Bexar Central Appraisal District Values Commercial Property
BCAD’s commercial valuation guidelines show how the district sorts commercial property, how it assigns a class, and which method sets the value. Knowing that system is where a Bexar County commercial protest starts.
Use code, then class.
Every commercial account gets a use code for what the property is, such as strip center, office-flex, or mini-warehouse, and a class from A to D within that use. The class carries into the rent, vacancy, and expense assumptions the district applies, so a property placed one class too high carries that error into every number after it. BCAD’s own guidelines describe parts of classification as subjective, a matter of appraiser judgment, and allow for exceptions. That’s one of the first things we check.
Market ranges, not your numbers.
For apartments, office, and most retail, the value comes from an income approach built on ranges drawn from market publications and income history. The guidelines acknowledge that a property’s actual income, expenses, and vacancy can fall outside those ranges, and that those properties should be looked at individually. That’s the opening. Your rent roll and operating statements are how a property that doesn’t fit the range gets valued on what it actually does.
Submarkets.
BCAD divides the county into work areas and groups them into submarkets by property type, such as the Central Business District, North Central, and Northwest for office and retail. Assumptions are applied by submarket, so a building at the edge of a stronger submarket can inherit numbers it doesn’t earn.
Multifamily.
BCAD classes apartments mainly by where their rents rank among comparable local properties, then weighs age, condition, construction quality, location, and occupancy. The guidelines also call for considering who pays utilities, current concessions, and special lease terms. Where it misses: a property classed by its age or curb appeal while its rents, concessions, or occupancy point lower, or an older property moved up a class for renovations that were never verified.
Office and office-flex.
Office buildings are classed A, B, or C against other buildings in the same submarket, on rent, finishes, building systems, amenities, location, and market perception. Office, office-flex, office loft, and medical office are valued by the income approach. Where it misses: an older Class A building valued like the newer buildings it now competes with, flex space valued as if it were all office, and income models that leave out the concessions and tenant improvements it takes to sign a lease.
Retail.
Shopping centers are typed by size and anchor. A strip center has no anchor, a neighborhood center has one or more, a community center is grocery-anchored, and power and lifestyle centers sit above those. Class follows building quality, location, and tenant mix. Where it misses: a center still typed and classed for an anchor that has gone dark, or a strip center valued off stronger centers nearby.
Industrial and warehouse.
Most industrial property is valued by cost, with market data for some types. Class depends on age, clear height, dock type, bay depth, sprinklers, land-to-building ratio, and location, and metal buildings are valued below comparable non-metal ones. Where it misses: an effective age that ignores the building’s real condition, functional problems like low clear height or tight truck access, and foundation or roof issues that only count once they’re documented.
Self storage.
Self storage is classed by effective age, size, visibility and drive-by traffic, security, climate control, sprinklers, and management. Those are physical and location features. Where it misses: the class doesn’t show how the facility actually leases. Occupancy, in-place rents against street rates, and new competing supply decide what a buyer would pay.
Commercial land.
BCAD values thousands of commercial land accounts from a small number of confirmed land sales. When the sales behind a land value are thin, or don’t match your tract’s size, access, flood exposure, or zoning, that’s a protest point.
Source: Bexar Central Appraisal District, 2026 Commercial Valuation Guidelines.
Last reviewed October 2026
Commercial Protests Go Further in Bexar County
Some commercial cases settle with BCAD’s appraisers informally. Larger properties usually end up in front of the Bexar Appraisal Review Board, and that’s where most of our formal hearing time goes. A value built from your property’s actual performance, and checked against BCAD’s own classification rules, carries the most weight there.
If the review board’s order still leaves the value too high, a commercial case can go further: binding arbitration if the property qualifies, or a lawsuit in district court.
The stakes are rising. BCAD’s 2026 reappraisal raised commercial values overall while home values held roughly flat.
“Daniel and his firm have been successful in significantly reducing the valuation on many of my properties over several years. The professionalism, coupled with industry expertise makes for a very compelling case!”
— Eric Holman, Residential & Commercial Investor
Commercial property or portfolio over $5 million? Request a Portfolio Review
Residential Protests in Bexar County
Most of our Bexar County residential cases settle informally. We exchange market sales and equal-and-uniform evidence with BCAD’s appraisers, and the two sides usually find the right value. The cases that need more, like serious condition problems, unusual properties, or a real disagreement over the evidence, go to a formal hearing.
A protest isn’t about winning every case. It’s about making sure you don’t pay more than your fair share compared with similar properties around you. Every account gets the same review, whether it settles informally or goes to the board.
Rental portfolios.
San Antonio has a large single-family rental market, including the housing around Joint Base San Antonio. Rentals don’t get the homestead cap, so the assessment follows the market every year and comes straight out of the return. We protest single rentals and full portfolios, including properties held in an LLC.
Older neighborhoods.
In established neighborhoods, the district often values an original-condition home off the sales of renovated homes on the same street. Condition evidence, like photos, repair estimates, and inspection reports, is how that gets corrected.
How to Protest Property Taxes in Bexar County
Every protest follows the same path. Here is how it runs with the Bexar Central Appraisal District.
Read your notice.
The Bexar Central Appraisal District values your property as of January 1 and mails notices of appraised value in the spring. The notice shows the value you’re protesting and your deadline.
File by the deadline.
May 15, or 30 days after the notice is mailed, whichever is later. A protest filed on time keeps every later option open.
Get the district’s evidence.
You’re entitled to see the evidence the district will use before your hearing. It shows how the district reached its number and where to challenge it.
Meet with the district’s appraiser.
Most protests start with an informal meeting with a Bexar Central Appraisal District appraiser. Many settle here.
Go before the Bexar Appraisal Review Board.
If the informal meeting doesn’t resolve it, a panel of local residents hears the protest and issues a written order.
Appeal further if needed.
Within 60 days of receiving the order, you can request binding arbitration or file suit in district court.
Or sign up, and we handle every step, every year. You don’t have to attend.
How Protests Run at the Bexar Central Appraisal District
A few BCAD practices shape how a Bexar County protest is won.
Informal reviews are remote.
BCAD holds informal reviews by phone or Zoom, not in person. Owners who file online can let BCAD review the protest and email a settlement offer, with no meeting at all.
Evidence has limits.
Evidence uploaded to BCAD must be PDF or JPEG files, with no more than 10 photos, and it should be uploaded within 7 days of filing. Ten photos is not many. The ones that count show problems a buyer would pay less for, not cosmetic wear.
Formal hearings are short.
Bexar Appraisal Review Board hearings are usually scheduled for about 15 minutes. A hearing that short rewards a clear argument: the value you’re asking for, the strongest reason first, and the documents that prove it.
Remote hearings need paperwork first.
To appear by phone or Zoom, the request goes in at least 10 days before the hearing, and the evidence goes in with a written affidavit before the hearing begins. At an in-person hearing, evidence comes on paper or a USB drive. Phones aren’t accepted.
Request the district’s evidence in writing.
It shows which sales BCAD relied on and what it assumed about your property. The strongest response answers the district’s case directly.
We handle all of this for you, from filing to the final hearing.
What Evidence Carries Weight in a Bexar County Protest
Every Bexar County protest makes one of two arguments: the market value on January 1 is too high, or the property is valued unequally compared with similar properties. The evidence for each is different.
Closed sales over listings.
A completed arm’s-length sale shows what a buyer actually paid. An asking price doesn’t. A recent purchase of your own property, close to January 1, is often the strongest single piece of evidence.
Condition, backed by numbers.
A photo shows a problem exists. An inspection report and a contractor’s estimate show what it means to a buyer. A repair estimate isn’t a dollar-for-dollar reduction, but it makes the condition credible.
The district’s own record.
Wrong square footage, a pool that isn’t there, a quality grade that’s too high. When the record is wrong, the fix can matter more than any comparable sale.
Comparables that are actually comparable.
For unequal appraisal, Texas law looks at the median of a reasonable number of comparable properties, appropriately adjusted. Three low values picked from a neighborhood won’t hold up.
What carries little weight.
Higher taxes, a neighbor’s lower value without adjustments, online estimates, and a stack of cosmetic photos. The board decides value, not tax rates.
Bexar County Property Tax Exemptions
Exemptions lower your taxable value. A protest lowers your market value. They work together, and they’re filed in different places. Exemptions are filed with the Bexar Central Appraisal District, and filing is free.
Last reviewed September 2026
Residence homestead.
Your primary home qualifies for a $140,000 exemption from school district taxes. Cities, the county, and other taxing units can add their own homestead exemptions on top. A homestead also gets the 10% cap on yearly increases in appraised value.
Age 65 or older, or disabled.
An additional $60,000 exemption from school district taxes, plus a ceiling that limits future school taxes on the home.
Disabled veterans.
Partial exemptions based on the VA disability rating. A veteran receiving 100% VA disability compensation, based on a 100% rating or individual unemployability, can have the homestead fully exempt.
We’ll tell you if we see an exemption you may qualify for. Filing and keeping exemptions current stays with you, directly with the Bexar Central Appraisal District. Nobody needs to charge you to file one.
Bexar County Tax Rates and Estimates
Your bill is your taxable value times the combined rate of every taxing unit your property sits in: the county, the city, the school district, and special districts. The rate isn’t protested. The value is.
Bexar County Property Tax Reduction Results
Retail
- Notice value
- $12,272,540
- Final value
- $8,616,000
Retail
- Notice value
- $9,562,700
- Final value
- $7,900,000
Retail
- Notice value
- $7,993,680
- Final value
- $6,500,000
Industrial
- Notice value
- $4,721,040
- Final value
- $3,500,000
Industrial
- Notice value
- $1,311,190
- Final value
- $490,550
Retail
- Notice value
- $1,404,990
- Final value
- $700,000
Past results don’t guarantee future outcomes. Every property is different.
Bexar County Property Tax Protest FAQs
How do I protest property taxes in Bexar County?
File a protest with the Bexar Central Appraisal District by the deadline, request the district’s evidence, and present your own at the informal review and, if needed, before the Bexar Appraisal Review Board. Or sign up with us, and we handle all of it every year.
When is the Bexar County protest deadline?
May 15, or 30 days after the notice is mailed, whichever is later. If it falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Is the Bexar Central Appraisal District the same as the tax office?
No. The Bexar Central Appraisal District sets your property’s value. The Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector sends the bill and collects the tax. You protest the value with the appraisal district.
How do I choose a property tax protest company in San Antonio?
Ask who will actually handle your case, whether they’re licensed, whether every property is reviewed individually, and what their reductions look like in appraisal district records, not in their advertising.
Do you handle property outside San Antonio city limits?
Yes. We protest property anywhere in Bexar County, and in seven other counties.
Protest Your Bexar County Value
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Property outside our service area? Tell us about it, and we’ll let you know if we can take the case.