Commercial property tax protests in Denton County
Figures as of November 9, 2026, from the Denton Central Appraisal District protest case export, 2023 and 2024. Updated each year after the protest season. How we counted
- 96% of Denton protests on $5M+ commercial property ended lower in 2023, and 91% in 2024
- Denton’s 2024 reductions took $8.91 billion off the noticed value of $5M+ commercial property
- 98% of Denton protests on commercial property noticed at $50M and up ended lower, 2023 and 2024
In Denton County, owners protest the value the Denton Central Appraisal District sets for their property by May 15 or 30 days after the notice is mailed, whichever is later. In 2024, 91% of protests on commercial property noticed at $5 million or more ended in a lower value (1,425 of 1,566), with a median cut of 21.3% among those reductions.
Sources: HB 2228 (2017); Texas Comptroller, protests.
Half of the 1,425 Denton County reductions on $5M+ commercial property in 2024 took off between 13.2% and 30.4%
Source: Denton Central Appraisal District protest case export, 2024. Commercial property noticed at $5 million or more. Paradox Property Tax, paradoxpropertytax.com/report
One dot per protest. The block on the left holds the 141 that ended no lower; every other dot sits at the share of its noticed value that came off, from 0% to 41% and up.
The shape is the year’s protests: the block on the left ended no lower, and the rest spread out by the share of the noticed value that came off, from 0% to 41% and up. The counts are in the table below.
Where did your protest land?
Type the value on your notice and the value you ended with, from the settlement or the board’s order.
Example
9.7% off
A $12.4M notice settled at $11.2M is 9.7% off, deeper than about 15 in 100 of 2024’s Denton reductions on $5M+ commercial property. Yours appears here and on the chart.
Your numbers stay in this browser. Nothing is sent.
Download the chart’s numbers (CSV)
Counts behind the chart (43 rows)
| Outcome | Protests |
|---|---|
| Ended no lower | 141 |
| Lower by under 1% | 13 |
| 1% to under 2% | 15 |
| 2% to under 3% | 22 |
| 3% to under 4% | 21 |
| 4% to under 5% | 21 |
| 5% to under 6% | 19 |
| 6% to under 7% | 23 |
| 7% to under 8% | 22 |
| 8% to under 9% | 39 |
| 9% to under 10% | 31 |
| 10% to under 11% | 45 |
| 11% to under 12% | 38 |
| 12% to under 13% | 39 |
| 13% to under 14% | 41 |
| 14% to under 15% | 42 |
| 15% to under 16% | 40 |
| 16% to under 17% | 54 |
| 17% to under 18% | 46 |
| 18% to under 19% | 46 |
| 19% to under 20% | 38 |
| 20% to under 21% | 44 |
| 21% to under 22% | 43 |
| 22% to under 23% | 56 |
| 23% to under 24% | 41 |
| 24% to under 25% | 28 |
| 25% to under 26% | 40 |
| 26% to under 27% | 35 |
| 27% to under 28% | 41 |
| 28% to under 29% | 33 |
| 29% to under 30% | 38 |
| 30% to under 31% | 37 |
| 31% to under 32% | 32 |
| 32% to under 33% | 38 |
| 33% to under 34% | 28 |
| 34% to under 35% | 20 |
| 35% to under 36% | 20 |
| 36% to under 37% | 17 |
| 37% to under 38% | 18 |
| 38% to under 39% | 18 |
| 39% to under 40% | 13 |
| 40% to under 41% | 21 |
| 41% and up | 109 |
What changes for 2027?
The 20% limit on yearly appraisal increases for non-homestead real property expires December 31, 2026, unless the Legislature acts in 2027. In 2026 it covered property valued at $5,320,000 or less. A bill to extend it died in committee.
Sources: SB 2, 88th Legislature, 2nd called session; Texas Comptroller, valuing property; Texas Comptroller, January 2026; SB 322 history (2025).
Unequal appraisal protests stay as they were: the bill to bar market-value evidence in them did not pass.
Source: SB 2063 history (2025).
When does the notice come?
The 30-day count runs from the day the district mails the notice, so the notice from the district governs.
Source: Texas Comptroller, protests.
When and how do you file?
The deadline is May 15 or 30 days after the notice is mailed, whichever is later, and a deadline on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day. For 2027 that makes Monday, May 17, by our count; the date on your notice governs.
Sources: HB 2228 (2017); Texas Comptroller, protests; Texas Comptroller, deadlines calendar.
Someone paid to represent an owner must be a property tax consultant registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, or a Texas attorney or CPA, and is named on Comptroller form 50-162.
Sources: TDLR, property tax consultants; Comptroller form 50-162.
The roll files we hold for this county don’t mark tax-exempt property, so the share that protested isn’t shown.
What evidence can you ask the district for?
At least 14 days before the hearing, the district must tell the owner they may ask for “the data, schedules, formulas, and all other information” it will use. What was asked for and not given “may not be used or offered in any form as evidence.”
Source: SB 2 (2019).
On an unequal appraisal protest, the owner wins unless the district shows the value “is equal to or less than the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties appropriately adjusted.”
Source: Tax Code §41.43(b)(3), bill text.
How does a protest end?
A protest ends in a settlement, a panel’s order, a withdrawal or a dismissal. Since September 1, 2025, review board decisions come by written order, and a dismissal must say why.
Source: HB 1533 (2025).
Where Denton County’s 2024 protests landed is the chart at the top of this page.
What if you disagree with the order?
| Route | For | When |
|---|---|---|
| Binding arbitration | Property the board valued at $5 million or less. Most of this report’s buildings are above that line. | Within 60 days Sources: SB 731 (2017); Texas Comptroller, binding arbitration. |
| State Office of Administrative Hearings | Non-industrial property the board valued above $1,000,000 | Notice within 30 days of the order, and a $1,500 deposit within 90 |
| District court | Any property | A petition within 60 days of the final order, with tax on the undisputed value paid first Sources: Tax Code §42.21, HB 986; §42.08, HB 585. |
96% of Denton County’s $5M+ protests ended lower in 2023, and 91% in 2024
This page counts the 1,566 protests on commercial property noticed at $5 million or more in 2024. Their 2024 reductions took $8.91 billion off noticed value, about $177 million in tax at a 1.99% combined rate (Denton County, the City of Denton and Denton ISD, 2025), used here as an illustration.
| Year | Cut among reductions | Ended lower |
|---|---|---|
| 20241,566 protests | 13.2%21.3%30.4%39.0% |
91% ended lower1,425 of 1,566 |
| 20231,535 protests | 19.2%27.3%35.3%43.2% |
96% ended lower1,467 of 1,535 |
Source: Denton Central Appraisal District protest case export. Paradox Property Tax, paradoxpropertytax.com/report
Each bar spans the middle half of that year’s reductions, and the dark tick is the median. The thin line runs on to the cut that nine in ten stayed under. The roll files we hold for this county don’t mark tax-exempt property, so the share that protested isn’t shown.
Buildings noticed at $50M and up ended lower 98% of the time
| Noticed value | Protests | Ended lower | Median cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5M to $10M | 1,124 | 89% | 24.2% |
| $10M to $25M | 930 | 93% | 23.5% |
| $25M to $50M | 513 | 97% | 25.7% |
| $50M and up | 534 | 98% | 25.6% |
Denton County, 2023 and 2024 together.
Apartments ended lower in 95% of protests, commercial buildings in 93%
| Property type | Protests | Ended lower | Median cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartments | 843 | 95% | 27.3% |
| Commercial | 2,233 | 93% | 23.6% |
Denton County, 2023 and 2024 together.
Using these numbers
A sentence you can quote
In Denton County, 91% of 2024 protests on commercial property noticed at $5 million or more ended in a lower value (1,425 of 1,566), according to Paradox Property Tax’s count of the Denton Central Appraisal District protest case export.
How to cite this page
Paradox Property Tax. Commercial property tax protests in Denton County, from the DFW Commercial Property Tax Protest Report, 2026 edition. November 9, 2026. paradoxpropertytax.com/report/denton/
Counted from the Denton Central Appraisal District’s protest case export for 2023 and 2024, released under the Public Information Act: one protest per property per year, on apartments, commercial and industrial property noticed at $5 million or more. A protest ended lower when the final market value came out below the beginning market value; withdrawn and dismissed protests count as not reduced. The full method
Download the data
This county’s years: paradox-protests-denton-by-year.csv. Its latest year, cut by cut: paradox-protest-cuts-denton-2024.csv. All four counties: report-2026.csv. The dot chart at the top downloads as a picture too.
Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties have their own pages, and all four sit side by side in the full report, each on its own years.
Want a second read on a building?
Send us a property and we read the record: the notice, the district’s evidence and the year’s results. Then we tell you whether there’s a case. Some years, for some properties, there isn’t, and we’ll say so.