Which Appraisal District? Denton County Split-City Guide
Your appraisal district follows your county, not your city. Here's how to tell if your Frisco, Carrollton, Prosper or Celina home protests with Denton CAD.
Key Takeaways:
- Your appraisal district follows your county, not your mailing city.
- 27,595 Frisco-address homes and 21,588 Carrollton-address homes are on Denton CAD's 2026 roll.
- Your notice names your district. File your protest there.
- The 2027 deadline is the same everywhere: Monday, May 17, or 30 days after your notice.
Reviewed November 4, 2026.
Quick answer: your appraisal district follows the county your home sits in, not the city on your mailing address. Frisco, Carrollton, Prosper, Celina, Plano, Dallas, Fort Worth, Coppell and Southlake all cross the Denton County line. If your home is on the Denton side, you protest with Denton Central Appraisal District (Denton CAD), even if your address says Frisco or Dallas. Deadlines and steps are on our Denton County property tax protest guide.
Why this trips people up
North Texas cities grew right over county lines. So two homes on the same street name, in the same city, can get notices from two different appraisal districts. Different appraisers. Different comparable sales. Different review boards.
File with the wrong district and nothing happens. Your protest has to go to the district that actually appraises your home.
How many Denton CAD homes carry another city's name?
We counted single-family homes on Denton CAD's 2026 roll by the city in their address. These are all Denton CAD accounts, so they protest in Denton County.
| City in address | Single-family homes on Denton CAD roll | Median 2026 market value | Other appraisal district(s) in that city |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frisco | 27,595 | $678,000 | Collin CAD |
| Carrollton | 21,588 | $408,000 | Dallas CAD, Collin CAD |
| Prosper | 6,037 | $709,848 | Collin CAD |
| Fort Worth | 2,963 | $371,142 | Tarrant AD and others |
| Dallas | 2,007 | $378,705 | Dallas CAD, Collin CAD and others |
| Plano | 1,259 | $853,000 | Collin CAD |
| Celina | 1,202 | $573,000 | Collin CAD |
| Coppell | 289 | $526,617 | Dallas CAD |
| Southlake | 213 | $1,760,000 | Tarrant AD |
Source: TaxDrop analysis of Denton CAD 2026 appraisal roll, state class A1 (single-family), market value over $50,000. "City in address" is the property's site-address city, which can differ from city limits. Values are Denton CAD market values, not sale prices.
How to tell which district you're in
- Read the top of your notice. Your Notice of Appraised Value names the district that sent it. That's the one you protest with.
- Search both districts. Look up your address on dentoncad.com and on the other county's site. Match the legal description, parcel number and situs address; do not rely only on whether an address search returns a result.
- Check your tax bill. The county listed on the bill is your county. Denton County homes pay Denton County's rate, which was $0.183394 per $100 in 2026.
What changes when you're on the Denton side
- Your comps. Use sales that are genuinely comparable and explain location differences. A county boundary alone does not make a sale irrelevant. For unequal-appraisal arguments, identify comparable appraisal records and make appropriate adjustments.
- Your portal. You file on Denton CAD's eProtest site with the PIN on your notice, not on Collin CAD's or DCAD's portal.
- Your hearing. If you don't settle, the Denton County Appraisal Review Board hears your case. In 2025 that board issued 87,563 determinations, and 94.2% lowered value (Denton protest statistics).
- Your county rate. Denton County's rate is lower than Dallas County's. That is one possible difference; school, city and special-district rates and exemptions also affect the bill. See the Carrollton rate table.
The deadline doesn't change. For 2027 it's Monday, May 17 (May 15 is a Saturday), or 30 days after your notice, whichever is later.
City guides for split-county homes
- Frisco property tax protest (Collin and Denton)
- Carrollton property tax protest (Dallas, Denton and Collin)
- Lewisville property tax protest (mostly Denton)
- Collin County property tax protest
- Dallas County property tax protest
- Tarrant County property tax protest
Want someone to handle it?
TaxDrop's licensed Texas consultants file with the right district, build the evidence and handle the hearing. Start with the free over-assessment check at app.taxdrop.com.
Sources: TaxDrop analysis of the Denton CAD 2026 roll; Denton CAD; Denton County Tax Office truth-in-taxation; Texas Comptroller: protests; Comptroller 2025 operations survey. General information, not legal advice.
Build your file with our Texas property tax protest evidence checklist. It explains how to organize comparable sales, appraisal comparisons and condition evidence.
Paying Too Much in Property Taxes?
Let our licensed property tax experts assess your tax bill for potential savings. 92% of Texas protests we closed in 2026 got a reduction. It takes less than 3 minutes to enroll.
⏰
🏠
💵
No Savings No Fee
FAQs
I live in Frisco. Do I protest with Collin CAD or Denton CAD?
It depends on which county your home is in. Check the county and district named on your appraisal notice. Your notice names your district. If it's Denton CAD, protest there.
Can I use comps from the other county?
You can submit any relevant evidence, but relevance depends on comparability, location and adjustments, not solely the county boundary. Distinguish sales evidence from unequal-appraisal evidence.
Is the protest deadline different in each county?
No. Texas uses one rule: May 15 or 30 days after your notice, whichever is later. In 2027, May 15 is a Saturday, so the general deadline is Monday, May 17.
Why is my property tax rate different from my neighbor's across the county line?
Each county sets its own rate, and school districts don't follow county lines either. Two homes in the same city can have different county, ISD and special-district rates.
What if I filed with the wrong appraisal district?
Contact the correct district right away and file there before your deadline. A protest filed with the wrong district doesn't protect your right to protest with the right one.
Ryder Meehan
Ryder Meehan is the Co-Founder of TaxDrop and a Licensed Property Tax Protest Consultant
