Montgomery Judicial Appeals Save $2 MM / Year
Most administrative appeals offer both the common homeowner and the billion-dollar business to sue the Montgomery Central Appraisal District (MCAD) for their overzealous and inaccurate property taxes and values. From the binding arbitration of a single family home, to the judicial appeal of an office park, judicial appeals are the final arrow in the quiver of a well-prepared property tax protest. O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program(TM) is the key to a successful post-administrative appeal, as you are provided an expert legal team with years of experience in the courts against appraisal districts. There are no upfront costs, and all legal fees will be paid by O’Connor. You will only pay if your lawsuit against MCAD is successful. Enroll, relax, and save.
Number Appealed to Binding ArbitrationSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Number Determinations appealed | 83 | 40 | 219 | 398 | 85 | 82 | 182 | 229 | 225 | 220 | 532 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Texas has one of the best systems for appeals for property owners.
Montgomery County Appeals after ARB Hearing
Divided into informal and formal categories, administrative appeals are typically enough to get property tax relief for the average property. But, for the most expensive or prized properties in Montgomery County, there is one final bite at the apple that a taxpayer can take: post-administrative appeals. These are lawsuits against the Montgomery Central Appraisal District(MCAD) and require a skilled team to pull off. Thankfully, O’Connor can take care of your judicial appeal for you, building and paying your perfect legal team. One of America’s biggest tax protest firms, O’Connor has the people and assets needed to take on MCAD in district court and win.
MCAD Binding Arbitration Cases
Binding arbitration is the simplest of the post-administrative appeals, as it only deals with single family homes that are worth $5 million or less, though a homestead has no value cap. The plaintiff must put up a deposit, one which they will reclaim upon victory, or surrender upon defeat. If anything could be considered a judicial appeal for the average person, binding arbitration would be it. Montgomery County saw 220 cases of binding arbitration in 2023.
Appealed to State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH)Source: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Appealed to SOAH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
MCAD State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH)
State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) cases are something like binding arbitration on steroids. They too are built for single family homes, but while binding arbitration has a cost cap, SOAH hearings have a cost floor of $1 million. SOAH hearings generally fill in the gap between binding arbitration and judicial appeals. Being somewhat esoteric and relatively new, SOAH hearings are generally so underused that years can go by without a single one being held. In the previous decade, only two SOAH hearings were held in Montgomery County.
Judicial AppealsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Judicial Appeals | 107.00 | 95.00 | 107.00 | 120.00 | 118.00 | 115.00 | 135.00 | 271.00 | 603.00 | 504.00 | 623.00 | |
Montgomery County Judicial Appeals
Judicial appeals are the most common form of post-administrative appeal, so much so that the terms are almost synonymous. Judicial appeals are lawsuits meant for the most expensive and expansive properties. Apartment buildings, commercial properties, industrial works, and power plants are only a few things that judicial appeals cover. They are typically meant for putting on the finishing touches to a long property tax protest campaign and usually bring back significant returns for the taxpayer with the resources to contest them.
While rare for most of the previous decade, judicial appeals exploded in 2022 with 603 lawsuits being filed, more than double that of 2021. 2023 saw 504 lawsuits sent to the courts. Rising property costs for both businesses and residential properties have made judicial appeals more viable than ever in Montgomery County, along with a somewhat difficult path through administrative appeals. Judicial appeals have become a significant part of tax savings in some of the trendier counties across Texas, and Montgomery County could be next to follow this path.