Last updated: September 2026
Everything a Hays County homeowner needs in one place: who sets your appraisal, what exemptions you can claim, and the deadline to push back if your value looks too high.
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Property in Hays County is appraised by the Hays Central Appraisal District (Hays CAD), not by the county tax office — that's a separate office that only collects the bill. Hays CAD sets your home's value every year as of January 1, and it's who you file both exemptions and protests with. Their site, hayscad.com, has your property's current record, your Notice of Appraised Value, and (in most years) an online portal for filing.
Hays County covers San Marcos, Kyle, and Buda. It has repeatedly ranked among the fastest-growing counties in the entire United States, with San Marcos, Kyle, and Buda absorbing most of that Austin–San Antonio corridor growth — appraised values here have climbed fast enough that it's worth checking your notice against actual recent comparable sales.
These are set by state law, so they apply the same way in Hays County as anywhere else in Texas — the only thing that changes by county is which office you file them with:
File Form 50-114 (homestead) or Form 50-135 (disabled veteran) with Hays CAD — it's free, no company needs to be paid to do this for you, and you can still file up to two years late if you missed the window. Some cities and other local taxing units inside Hays County may also offer their own additional exemption on top of these; Hays CAD can tell you what applies at your specific address. See our full property tax exemptions guide for every dollar amount and edge case.
You have until May 15, or 30 days after Hays CAD mails your Notice of Appraised Value — whichever is later — to file a protest. Hays CAD doesn't mail every notice on the same day, so go by the date printed on your own notice rather than assuming May 15 applies to you. File Form 50-132, usually through Hays CAD's own online portal. There's no fee, and no attorney is required.
Protesting in Hays County costs nothing to do yourself — the process above is the same whether or not you hire anyone.
Comparing notes with a neighboring county, or not sure Hays is the right one? Here are the counties closest to it.