LET ME HELP REDUCE YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL!

Dear Taxpayer,

I know you’re carefully considering the decision to protest your property taxes and determining if you should trust someone with this important task.

I’m Tiffany L. Hamil, a native Texan and Dallas resident. I began working in the property tax industry in 2005. After obtaining my law degree and Master of Laws in Taxation in 2010, I opened a boutique tax firm specializing in federal and state taxation. I spend the majority of my time assisting taxpayers, like you, with their property tax needs.

Advantages Of Hiring A Professional

ONE AND DONE. It takes about 15 minutes to retain a professional. Once you do that, your work is done. No need to prepare a case. No need to attend a hearing. This saves 2+ hours of your time.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION: To prepare a Comparative Market Analysis, you need access to sales prices. Because Texas is a nondisclosure state, sales information isn’t readily available to the public. My firm has access to this information.

KNOWING THE LAW AND A TAXPAYER’S RIGHTS. Have you ever been in a protest hearing and thought “They can’t do that!”? As a lawyer, I know the Tax Code, and I can reference and provide interpretations of the Tax Code and case law during Appraisal Review Board hearings.

CREDIBLE CASE ANALYSIS. Over the past 15 years, I have obtained extensive knowledge of DCAD’s residential appraisal system. I have developed proprietary software specifically to prepare market and equity analyses using methods and formulas tailored to DCAD’s methods of appraisal.

When you hire the Law Office of Tiffany L. Hamil, PLLC, you also gain a partner with experience. Last year, my firm filed more than 1,550 residential protests for which we obtained a resolution. We aren’t the largest property tax firm, nor do we seek to be. We pride ourselves in supplying honest representation, providing excellent customer service and building lasting relationships with our clients.

If you are considering protesting, we encourage you — AT NO COST — to contact us at 214-369-0909 or email info@relief.tax. With a quick phone call or email, we will quickly review your property to see if it makes financial sense for you to hire us for the 2023 tax season. Simply call or email us these 3 items: 1. Your name,

2. The property address to be protested, and 3. Let us know if anyone is already 65+ or turning 65 within the next 5 years.

I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Tiffany L. Hamil

SO YOUR VALUATION IS STILL TOO HIGH — NOW WHAT?

You’ve negotiated with DCAD, and you’ve presented your case to ARB, and you’re still convinced your home is being overvalued: You have one option left — file a request for binding arbitration with the Texas comptroller’s office or file a lawsuit in District Court. (The lawsuit option typically makes economic sense only for high-dollar homes and commercial properties.)

You’re going to forward the same information you’ve already compiled to the comptroller, along with a check for $450 (or more, depending on your property’s value).

Think carefully about this step, because your deposit, less $50, will be refunded only if the arbitrator sets your home value closer to your proposed valuation than to DCAD’s valuation.

HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

You must file for binding arbitration within 60 days of receiving your ARB determination; for the most part, you’ll be sending the same information you’ve submitted to DCAD and ARB in hopes you can convince the arbitrator to come to a different conclusion.

– You must be current with your property taxes.

– You must complete a Form AP219, Request for Binding Arbitration (PDF) form available online, and send that form, along with a copy of the ARB determination, any relevant documentation and your filing fee to the address on the Form AP-219.

Once you’ve submitted your Form AP-219 and it has been received and acknowledged by the comptroller, you have 45 days to reach a settlement with DCAD prior to your case being assigned to an arbitrator.

The arbitrator will set a date, time and location for a hearing — it can also be held via Zoom. Your success will determine not only your property tax bill but also how much, if any, of your deposit is returned to you

EXAMPLE: You believe your house should be assessed at $400,000, and DCAD believes your house should be assessed at $500,000. If you and DCAD don’t reach a settlement and the arbitrator determines the correct value for your house should be $451,000, your valuation will be set at $451,000 but you will forfeit your deposit since the final value was closer to DCAD’s valuation than to yours.

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE

Once you’ve uploaded the information, a DCAD appraiser may give you a call or send you an email asking for more information or, if you’ve been persuasive, offering a lower value for your property.

“It’s OK not to take their first offer,” Toler says. “It can’t get any worse, and you can always say something like ‘I was expecting more,’ or ‘I don’t think that offer gets me there,’ or ‘Is there any more slack in your rope?’

“If they’re willing to make you an offer, it’s not going to go away — that’s likely their new value for your home,” Toler says.

Remember you have until July 14 to reach an agreement, so work to get your best offer from DCAD no later than July 1 so you have time to take the next step, if you need to.

Editor’s Note: Dates and deadlines are subject to change depending on when DCAD sends out tax notices. Check dallascad.org for up-todate deadlines and information about procedures for filing protests. For more detailed information about protesting your taxes, including how DCAD determines property values, visit our website and search Property Tax Protest.

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