Property tax appeal comparison · 2026
O'Connor & Associates vs AppealMyTax
O'Connor keeps roughly half of your first-year savings. We charge $49 flat, one time, and you keep 100%. On a $1,155 reduction that is about $529 more in your pocket.
What 5 years of protests costs you
Drag to your annual tax savings. Contingency firms charge a cut of your savings every single year. We charge a flat fee and you keep all of it.
Assumes you protest every year for 5 years: our $49 protest kit each year, Ownwell at a contingency fee starting at 25% of savings per year (ownwell.com pricing example, retrieved June 2026), and O'Connor at 50% of current year savings per their published residential terms (poconnor.com, retrieved June 2026). Ownwell's rate varies by region, so we use their own 25% example as the conservative case.
Them
O'Connor & Associates
Contingency: roughly 50% of the first year's tax savings, no upfront fee
About $578 in year one
O'Connor charges no upfront fee and takes roughly 50% of your first-year tax savings as a contingency. On a $1,155 first-year reduction (a $50K overassessment at Harris County's 2.31% effective rate), that is about $578 out of your savings. AppealMyTax is $49 flat, one time, and you keep 100% of every dollar saved.
Coverage
Texas (O'Connor, plus some other states). Texas, 14 county appraisal districts (us).
Us
AppealMyTax
Flat-fee packet, no contingency, no recurring cut.
$49 flat
One time. You keep 100% of your savings every year. Ownwell keeps 25-35%, O'Connor keeps half. See your exact overpayment free first, no signup.
Coverage
Texas, 14 county appraisal districts (HCAD plus 13 others), with Harris County (Houston) live
Feature by feature
An honest side by side. Both get you a real protest, the difference is what it costs and what you see along the way.
Price
Us:$49 flat, one time
O'Connor & Associates:Roughly 50% of first-year tax savings (poconnor.com, retrieved June 2026)
Your savings
Us:You keep 100% of your savings, every year
O'Connor & Associates:About half of year-one savings goes to the firm; about $578 on a typical $1,155 reduction
Risk
Us:Free check first: you see your overpayment and real comps before paying a cent
O'Connor & Associates:No fee unless they win, but when they win the fee is the largest cut among major Texas options
Control
Us:You own the filing record and can escalate to the ARB, arbitration, or district court yourself
O'Connor & Associates:Case handled inside a high-volume operation with limited visibility into your comps
Transparency
Us:Every comp is a checkable parcel in your county's public appraisal roll
O'Connor & Associates:Limited visibility into which comparables were used or how the case was argued
Real-world cost comparison
Houston homeowner in Harris County, $50K overassessment, $1,155/yr savings
Annual savings on appeal
$1,155
O'Connor & Associates cost
About $578 (roughly 50% of $1,155 first-year savings)
About $577/yr in year one after their cut
AppealMyTax cost
$49 one-time
$1,106/yr, every year, and you keep 100%
Multi-year math
In year one alone, O'Connor's roughly 50% contingency takes about $578 of a $1,155 reduction. Our $49 one-time fee captures the same reduction and leaves you with about $529 more in year one, and the gap widens every year you hold the lower assessed value because we never take another cut.
O'Connor & Associates: pros & cons
Strengths
- ✓ No upfront cost, you only pay if they win a reduction
- ✓ Long-established Texas firm with decades of ARB and litigation experience
- ✓ Handles residential and complex commercial property at scale
Limitations
- ✗ Takes roughly half of your first-year savings, the single most expensive cut among the major options
- ✗ You hand off control of the case and the filing record to a high-volume operation
- ✗ Limited visibility into which comparables were used or how aggressively your case was argued
- ✗ On a large reduction, the 50% contingency can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars
Why AppealMyTax wins
- ★ Flat $49, one time, and you keep 100% of the savings. O'Connor keeps about half of year one. Ownwell keeps 25-35% every year.
- ★ See your exact overpayment and your actual comps free in 30 seconds, no signup, no email, before you pay anything
- ★ You own the filing record and can escalate to the ARB, binding arbitration, or district court yourself
- ★ Deep, verifiable Texas county data (HCAD §41.43(b)(3) unequal-appraisal framing) across 14 appraisal districts
Where O'Connor genuinely wins
O'Connor is a decades-old Texas firm with real ARB and litigation experience, it handles complex commercial property at a scale we do not touch, and its no-win-no-fee model means a homeowner who loses pays nothing. If you want a person to handle everything including the hearing, and you accept giving up roughly half of your first-year savings for that, O'Connor is a legitimate choice.
Our case is for the homeowner who can file a 10-minute online protest themselves: the same class of comparable evidence, $49 flat, and you keep 100 percent of the reduction every year.
O'Connor & Associates vs AppealMyTax: common questions
How much does O'Connor & Associates charge?
O'Connor charges no upfront fee and takes roughly 50 percent of the current year's property tax savings as a contingency, per its published residential service terms (poconnor.com service terms and FAQ, retrieved June 2026). On a typical $1,155 first-year reduction for a Harris County home, that is about $578 out of your savings. It is the largest cut among the major Texas options.
Is AppealMyTax cheaper than O'Connor & Associates?
Yes, in any year your savings exceed about $100. AppealMyTax is $49 flat per packet and you keep 100 percent of the reduction. O'Connor keeps roughly half of your first-year savings. On the same $1,155 reduction, you keep about $529 more with us in year one, and the gap repeats any year you protest again.
Do I pay O'Connor if they don't win a reduction?
No. O'Connor's contingency model means no reduction, no fee, and that is a genuine point in their favor. Our answer to that risk is different: we show you your exact over-assessment and your actual comparable properties free, before you pay anything, so you only buy the $49 packet when the public record shows you have a real case. And if any comp in your packet is not a real, verifiable parcel, we refund you in full.
Can I protest my property taxes myself instead of hiring O'Connor?
Yes. Texas law lets any homeowner file their own protest, and filing through your county's online portal takes about 10 minutes. The packet gives you the same class of evidence a firm would bring, a comparable table from your county's own appraisal roll and an unequal-appraisal argument under Tax Code Section 41.43(b)(3), and you keep the filing record and every dollar of the savings.
How do O'Connor and Ownwell compare on fees?
Ownwell's contingency starts at 25 percent of savings in its own pricing example, charged each year the service renews (ownwell.com/pricing, retrieved June 2026). O'Connor takes roughly 50 percent of first-year savings (poconnor.com, retrieved June 2026). Both cost a multiple of a $49 flat packet in a typical Harris County case.
Try it free
Search your address. Get your specific overassessment estimate in 30 seconds. No credit card.
Check my address · FreeThe free check is genuinely free: no signup, no email. Optional $49 packet only if you want a pre-filled iFile-ready protest letter, and you keep 100% of your savings.