Our fee is based on the service plan that you choose and your protest results. The Essential Plan is $79 or 45% of the tax savings, whichever is greater. If your success fee is greater than your service fee, the service fee is waived. The Essential Plus Plan is $149 or 40% of the tax savings, whichever is greater. If your success fee is greater than your service fee, the service fee is waived. To learn more about these plans, click here. 

For Commercial properties, our fee structure is here. 

Simply fill out the registration form by following this link. There’s no need to fax, mail, or email any files. 

We serve clients with Residential Properties in Central Texas (Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties). We serve clients with Commercial Properties in all Texas counties.

1. Makes it harder for the government to increase the value in the following year, per the law
2. Helps future protests so that the government can’t argue you agreed with this year’s number
3. Decreases the banked amount (cap) of tax increases in the out years (think liability)
4. Helps neighbors, in that successful protests gain momentum and equity arguments strengthen
5. Other issues are reviewed, such as characteristics, which will adversely affect the long term if not fixed now
6. Having us as your agent and protesting keeps the government honest, as they know we’re watching and scrutinizing their work

Exemption Monitoring is a service to educate and equip clients of potential exemptions that your property(s) may be eligible for. With this service, Five Stone will notify you in the event that the appraisal district removes an exemption from your property. This service is included in the Essential Plus Plan. 

To help you maximize your tax savings, we will assist you with the exemption application process by answering any exemption related questions you have and providing guidance on the exemption process. This service is included in the Essential Plus Plan.

After your formal hearing is complete, Five Stone will analyze the outcome and contact you if it would be beneficial to proceed with arbitration. Arbitration Review includes a thorough cost-benefit analysis, as filing for arbitration comes with a significant fee to the client. We only recommend proceeding with arbitration if we feel you have a very strong case of winning. This service is included in the Essential Plus Plan.

Yes! We file business personal property renditions as well as business personal property tax protests.

It depends, and the results typically aren’t as good when we don’t handle the entire process. We strongly encourage you to allow us to handle everything, including the filing of the protest. How the protest form is completed matters and can significantly affect the outcome of the case. If you already filed your own protest and want to hire us, please contact our Property Tax team prior to completing the online registration.

Notices are typically issued by the appraisal district in early to mid April. Follow the steps in this blog post to find your Notice of Appraised Value. 

The fee structure for commercial property tax representation varies based on the specific needs of the client. Please contact us directly for your free quote at 512-833-5503.

Each year, the protest schedule allows for cases to be heard starting in late-March, and hearings go through October. Depending on when your case is worked and a number of other factors, you can expect to hear from us anytime from late June to early November.

Appraised values can increase without limit as long as the Central Appraisal District feels that the increase is justified. If your property has a homestead exemption in place, then the amount you can be taxed on is limited to a 10% increase each year. This amount is known as your assessed value.

Yes, but this requires the Essential Plus Plan. If you’d like help with exemption application and exemption monitoring, select Essential Plus when you register your property(s).

The deadline to file a property tax protest is 30 days after your Notice of Appraised Value is made available to you, or May 15th, whichever is later.

“Location, Location, Location!!!” The real estate market in Austin is booming, to say the least. More and more people are moving to the city and the surrounding area, which has resulted in an increase in property values.

Reducing your appraised value will not affect your sale or list price. Think of your appraisal from the Central Appraisal District as an estimation of “taxable value” and not as what your property should be listed for. Remember, in Travis and Williamson County the Central Appraisal Districts use a mass appraisal system. This means they are unaware of the details about your property that may point to a higher or a lower value. In reality, many homebuyers will see a lower appraised value as a benefit since it means lower taxes for them.

• January 31st – Deadline to pay your tax bill and the deadline to file for Homestead and Over 65 exemptions to be applied to the previous year
• April 15th – Deadline to file business personal property rendition (or an extension)
• April 30th – Deadline to file annual exemption applications
• May 15th – Deadline to file a property tax protest

The Service Fee. Our fee is based on the plan that you choose and your protest results. The Essential Plan is a $79 service fee or 45% of the tax savings, whichever is greater. If your success fee is greater than your service fee, the service fee is waived. The Essential Plus Plan is a $149 service fee or 40% of the tax savings, whichever is greater. If your success fee is greater than your service fee, the service fee is waived.

Our agreement contains a continuous representation clause. This means your contract will remain in effect until you cancel it. We will continue to protest every year on your behalf and send you a bill for our services. You may cancel the agreement in writing any time prior to your filing your protest.

Check out this blog post for FAQs about Five Stone’s invoicing process.

Check out this blog post for detailed information regarding tax savings with an escrow account.

No. The Appraisal District and Appraisal Review Board cannot increase your appraised value at a hearing. 

A consultant from Five Stone may contact you to ask specific questions about your property; however, only in extremely rare circumstances will a consultant inspect your property in person.

Not likely. The Central Appraisal Districts in both Williamson and Travis County use mass appraisal techniques to instead of appraising properties individually, although they do occasionally conduct “field checks” in which they look into the characteristics of certain properties in person. If you do have an appraiser request to come on your property and do a field check, KINDLY request they leave and contact us. NEVER allow an appraiser to enter your home without Five Stone by your side.