Once the Appraisal Review Board issues its written order, a dissatisfied commercial property owner generally has three paths: a district court petition (available to any property, any value), Regular Binding Arbitration (for qualifying property valued at or below the statutory cap), or a State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) appeal (for qualifying non-industrial property valued over $1 million). Each route has a different deadline, cost structure, and decision-maker — and the right choice depends on your property type, value, and the strength of your evidence.
This guide starts after the ARB has already ruled. If you haven't filed your initial protest yet, see our Commercial Property Tax Protest in Texas guide for the pre-ARB process — filing, evidence, and the informal review stage.
| Factor | District Court Litigation | Regular Binding Arbitration (RBA) | SOAH Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | A judge or jury in the county district court | An independent, Comptroller-registered arbitrator | An administrative law judge |
| Eligible property | Any property type or value | Qualifying property valued at or below the statutory cap | Non-industrial real or personal property valued over $1 million per the ARB order |
| Filing deadline | Petition due within 60 days of receiving the written ARB order | Request and deposit due within 60 days of the ARB order | Notice of appeal due within 30 days; deposit due within 90 days |
| Deposit / cost | Filing fees plus attorney/expert costs; no fixed statutory deposit | Deposit set on a statutory sliding scale by property value | $1,500 deposit |
| Appealability | Can be appealed through the normal court system | Final and binding, with very limited grounds to vacate | Final; SOAH decisions generally cannot be appealed |
| Typical timeline | Can take a year or more depending on the county docket | Generally faster and less formal than litigation | Faster than litigation, more formal than RBA |
| Representation | Requires an attorney for entity-owned property; individuals may self-represent in limited circumstances | Owner or authorized agent may represent the property | Owner or authorized agent may represent the property |
Sources: Texas Comptroller, Texas Tax Code Chapters 41A and 42, and multiple Texas county appraisal district guidance pages. Confirmed current as of September 2026. This is general educational information, not legal advice — confirm your specific eligibility before choosing a route.
All post-ARB deadlines run from the date you receive the written order, not the hearing date itself. Confirm the delivery date and calendar every applicable deadline immediately.
If your property qualifies for SOAH (non-industrial, valued over $1 million), the notice of appeal is due first — the shortest deadline of the three routes.
Both district court litigation and RBA requests (with the required deposit) are due within 60 days of receiving the ARB order.
If a SOAH notice of appeal was filed, the $1,500 deposit must follow within 90 days of the ARB order — a separate, later deadline from the notice itself.
Filing any appeal route generally requires paying the undisputed portion of your property taxes before the delinquency date, regardless of which route you choose.
If the appeal succeeds, the appraisal roll and tax roll are corrected for the tax year at issue, and any resulting refund is handled by the applicable taxing units.
The SOAH deadline is the trap. Because the 30-day SOAH notice deadline is shorter than the 60-day window for district court and RBA, owners who spend the first few weeks deciding between options can lose SOAH eligibility by default — even though they still have time left for the other two routes. If SOAH is a possibility for your property, that decision needs to happen first.
Confirm your property type. SOAH excludes industrial property and agricultural property — if your commercial property falls into either category, SOAH is not available regardless of value.
Confirm the ARB-determined value. SOAH requires a value over $1 million per the ARB order; RBA requires a value at or below the statutory cap for the property type.
Check for prior-year appeal history. Repeated disputes on the same property can affect strategy, evidence needs, and settlement posture.
Confirm your tax-payment status. All three routes generally require paying the undisputed portion of taxes before the delinquency date — unresolved delinquency can jeopardize your appeal rights.
Assess the strength of your evidence. Litigation supports formal discovery and expert testimony; RBA and SOAH are faster but more limited in scope — match the route to how strong and how contested your evidence is.
Confirm who received the ARB order. All deadlines run from the date of receipt — verify the exact date rather than estimating from the hearing date.
| Route | Notice/Filing Deadline | Deposit Deadline | Deposit Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| District Court | 60 days from ARB order | N/A (filing fees apply) | Varies by county filing fee schedule |
| Regular Binding Arbitration | 60 days from ARB order | Same as filing deadline | Statutory sliding scale by property value |
| SOAH | 30 days from ARB order | 90 days from ARB order | $1,500 |
Deposit amounts and eligibility thresholds are set by statute and can be updated. Confirm current figures before filing — see Official Sources below.
Your property doesn't qualify for RBA or SOAH, you need formal discovery to challenge the district's methodology, or you want the option to appeal an unfavorable result.
Your property value qualifies, you want a faster and less formal resolution than litigation, and you're comfortable with a final, binding decision.
Your non-industrial property is valued over $1 million, you want a formal administrative hearing faster than court, and you're prepared to act within the shorter 30-day window.
For a deeper look at each specific route, see our dedicated guides on Texas property tax arbitration and Texas property tax lawsuits.
Property tax consulting firms can prepare valuation evidence and manage the protest and ARB stages effectively — but once a dispute moves to district court, litigation requires a licensed attorney. Consulting firms without in-house legal counsel typically coordinate with an outside law firm at that stage, which can mean a transition between teams at the exact moment your case gets more complex.
PropertyTaxes.Law is led by an attorney with property tax consulting credentials, which means the same team can carry a commercial appeal from the ARB stage through arbitration, SOAH, or district court litigation without handing the case off. See our Texas property tax appeal services page for how this works across all three post-ARB routes.
Also consider your evidence needs. Preserve appraisal district evidence, expert reports, income and expense data, and comparable-sales documentation from the protest and ARB stages — this evidence often carries forward into arbitration or litigation, and gaps discovered late can be costly to fill under a tight deadline.
Generally three routes: a district court petition (any property, any value), Regular Binding Arbitration (qualifying property at or below the statutory value cap), or a SOAH appeal (qualifying non-industrial property valued over $1 million). Each has a different deadline, cost, and decision-maker.
District court and Regular Binding Arbitration both require action within 60 days of receiving the written ARB order. A SOAH appeal has a shorter 30-day deadline for the notice of appeal, with the required deposit due within 90 days.
No. SOAH appeals are limited to qualifying non-industrial real or personal property valued over $1 million. Industrial property is excluded from SOAH eligibility regardless of value, so industrial owners are limited to district court or Regular Binding Arbitration (if the value qualifies).
A $1,500 deposit is required within 90 days of receiving the ARB order, payable and filed through the appraisal district, which forwards it to SOAH along with the appeal.
Generally yes. All three appeal routes typically require payment of the undisputed portion of your property taxes before the delinquency date, regardless of which appeal option you choose.
No. District court litigation requires a licensed attorney, particularly for entity-owned property. Consulting firms without in-house counsel typically coordinate with outside legal counsel at this stage rather than representing the case themselves.
Generally yes. SOAH administrative law judge decisions are final and generally cannot be appealed further, which is an important consideration when choosing between SOAH and the other post-ARB routes.
PropertyTaxes.Law helps Texas commercial property owners evaluate district court, arbitration, and SOAH options after an ARB decision — with attorney-backed representation from the same team at every stage.
Discuss Your Commercial AppealThis article provides general educational information about Texas commercial property tax appeal procedures and is not legal advice. Eligibility, deadlines, deposit amounts, and procedures can vary by property, county, and circumstance, and are subject to change. Confirm current requirements with the applicable appraisal district, SOAH, or qualified legal counsel before making a filing decision.
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