Best Property Tax Protest Companies in Houston (2026)

At the Harris County median — a $255,000 home carrying a $4,382 tax bill — the answer is not the one we would like it to be. A 25% contingency costs less than our flat $129 on that property. Above roughly $300,000 in assessed value, the flat fee wins and keeps winning.

Here is every firm working Harris County and greater Houston, what each charges, and the point where the models cross.

Every fee, as each company states it

What each one costs on a median Houston home

Harris County homeowners pay a median property tax of $4,382 a year on a median home value of $255,000 — an effective rate of 1.72%. Say a protest knocks 10% off that assessment, which is the low end of what a well-prepared case does. That is $25,500 off the value and about $439 off the bill.

That last column is the one worth carrying around. A flat fee costs less per $1,000 the bigger your reduction gets; a percentage costs exactly the same per $1,000 forever. It is also the only column you can check on the day your reduction lands — every contingency fee here is charged on tax savings, which depend on rates that are not set until the autumn.

On a median Houston home a contingency firm is cheaper, and we would rather say so than bury it. A percentage of $439 is a small number. That is the whole argument for contingency pricing and it is a good one.

Where the flat fee takes over

A $129 flat fee beats a 25% contingency once annual savings clear about $516. At Harris County’s 1.72% effective rate, that means an assessment reduction of about $30,000 — roughly a $300,000 home taking a 10% cut, or a smaller home taking a bigger one.

Against the 40% and 50% firms the crossover comes far sooner: about $18,800 and $15,000 of reduction respectively. Most of Houston’s move-up and newer-construction stock sits well past all three lines.

• Under about $300,000 assessed? Use a contingency firm, or file it yourself.
• Over it? A flat fee costs less, and the gap widens with every dollar of reduction.
• Well over it? The gap gets absurd. A $6,000 reduction still costs $129, and costs a 25% firm about $1,500.

What HCAD actually requires

The Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) sets the value. The protest deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice of appraised value is delivered, whichever is later. Late protests are accepted up until the day before the Appraisal Review Board approves the records. There is no filing fee.

Harris County informal protests succeed at roughly 93.5%, among the highest in Texas per Texas Comptroller Operations Survey data, and the Appraisal Review Board approves reductions in roughly 60% of properly prepared cases. The phrase doing the work there is “properly prepared”.

You need three things: the Notice of Protest form, evidence of market value (comparable sales or an independent appraisal), and your assessment notice. The evidence is the part that decides it. Comparable sales have to be adjusted for size, age and condition, and a comp the board rejects hurts you more than no comp at all.

Full detail on the local process is on our Harris County protest page.

Which of these firms are actually in Houston

Houston is the deepest market in the country for this. O’Connor is headquartered here and pursues binding arbitration and judicial appeals most residential firms will not — that is what the 50% buys. Texas Protax runs licensed agents in-house from Houston and Austin.

Five Stone and Home Tax Shield are volume residential operations across Texas; Home Tax Shield’s $30 + 30% is the lowest full-service contingency here. Ownwell is the cheapest pure contingency at 25%.

Abode is a $99 annual membership bundling several homeowner money services — cheapest on price alone, but you are buying the bundle.

How to choose

• Below the $300,000 line? Contingency, or DIY. Ownwell’s 25% is the lowest pure contingency here.
• Above it, and you want it handled? Full service, accepting that the fee scales with your win and recurs each year they win again.
• Above it, and you will spend twenty minutes filing? Flat-fee evidence. You keep the whole reduction and the working file.
• Not sure you are even over-assessed? Check before you enrol anywhere. Roughly 30–60% of properties are over-assessed, which means plenty are not.

Where TaxDrop lands

TaxDrop One is $129 flat per property, per tax year: we build the evidence — sales comps, equity comps, the adjustments and a defensible number — and you file it and speak for yourself. If your property is already assessed fairly, we tell you before you pay.

If you would rather not file it yourself

TaxDrop Pro is full-service representation in Harris County: a licensed agent registers as your representative, builds the case, negotiates with the district and presents at the Appraisal Review Board. You do not attend. 1% of the assessment reduction we win, no fee unless we reduce it. It is a different product from the filing services priced above, which is why it is not in that table. Full Pro details: Texas property tax consultant.

• You know the fee the day the reduction lands. Every contingency fee above is charged on tax savings, which depend on rates that are not set until the autumn.
• Your fee does not rise when your district raises the tax rate. A percentage-of-savings fee does.
• It is checkable against your own notice — one percent of a number already printed on a document you hold.

The honest trade: as a share of first-year tax savings, 1% of the reduction is not the cheapest way to buy an appeal. What you are buying is representation rather than a filing. If price is the only filter, TaxDrop One at $129 is the cheaper TaxDrop.

Check what your Houston property is really worth — free, about two minutes →

How we verified these fees

Every figure is taken from the company’s own published pricing, checked in August 2026, except O’Connor’s, last confirmed July 2026. Contingency rates vary by region, property type and product tier, and companies change them — confirm the current rate for your property before you sign. Median value, tax bill and effective rate for Harris County are from our own Harris County property tax data. The dollar examples assume a 10% assessment reduction and are illustrations, not predictions.

Comparing more than Houston? See the full national breakdown: every property tax protest company and what each one charges.

Related TaxDrop guides

• Harris County property tax protest
• Texas property tax consultant