How to Appeal Your Property Taxes Yourself

1. Find your value and your deadline

Your assessment notice is the starting point. It shows the value the assessing office set for your home and, in many places, the last day to appeal it. In Cook County, Illinois, the last day to file with the Assessor is printed on each reassessment notice.

Many deadlines run from the notice itself, so the date on the envelope matters:

• Maryland: appeal a new assessment to the Supervisor of Assessments within 45 days of the date of the notice.
• New Jersey: the county board of taxation must receive your appeal by April 1, or 45 days after your town finishes mailing assessment notices, whichever is later.
• Texas: file a written protest by May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice was delivered, whichever is later.
• Washington: petition the county Board of Equalization by July 1, or 30 days after your value notice was mailed, whichever is later (a county may allow up to 60 days; King County uses 60).

Our deadlines page lists every appeal window we track, with its official source.

2. Check what the county has on file about your home

Before arguing about value, read the property record: square footage, number of units, building class, age and features. A wrong fact is the simplest thing to fix. In Cook County, errors in the Assessor's record (square footage, building characteristics, class or data entry) can be reported at any time, and also inside an appeal. The Assessor notes that many of these corrections don't change the assessed value, so treat a correction and a value appeal as two separate questions.

3. Make sure your exemptions are on the bill

An exemption lowers the value you are taxed on whatever your market value is, and a missing one is usually fixed with an application rather than an appeal. Our guide to homestead and other exemptions lists the main ones by state.

4. Decide what your evidence shows

Boards hear a few kinds of arguments. Illinois boards of review, for example, hear appeals showing that the market value is too high, that the assessment level is above the local median, that the property data is wrong, or that similar neighboring homes are assessed lower. In practice that means one or more of these:

• Uniformity: similar homes nearby are assessed lower than yours. Cook County compares uniformity as building assessment divided by building square feet.
• Market value: recent sales of similar homes point to a lower value. California's Board of Equalization says sales of similar properties are usually the most reliable evidence for homes.
• A recent purchase: in Cook County, an arm's-length purchase in the past 3 years below the Assessor's value can support a reduction.
• Errors or damage that the record doesn't reflect.

How the comparison homes are picked matters as much as the numbers; see how comparable homes are chosen.

5. File with the right office, the right way

The first appeal goes to a different office in each state: the Assessor and then the Board of Review in Cook County, the county assessment appeals board in California (on form BOE-305-AH from your county), the appraisal review board in Texas, the Supervisor of Assessments in Maryland, the county board of taxation in New Jersey.

"On time" also differs. A Texas protest mailed first-class is on time if its postmark is on or before the deadline. In New Jersey the county board must receive the appeal by the close of business on the deadline, and a postmark is not enough. California accepts an application delivered in person by close of business, postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, sent by a commercial carrier that verifies the send date, or e-filed where the county allows it.

Fees vary too. There is no fee to appeal to the Cook County Assessor or the Cook County Board of Review, and Orange County, California charges none, while Los Angeles County charges $46 per application and Sacramento County $30.

6. Prepare for the hearing, or waive it

Some offices decide on the paperwork, others hold a hearing. At the Cook County Board of Review a hearing is optional and owners can waive it without penalty; owner hearings are held by phone. In Texas, at least 14 days before your hearing the appraisal district must tell you that you can request the evidence it will use. In California you get at least 45 days' notice of your hearing.

7. Know the risks and the next step

• The value can go up. California appeals boards can raise, lower or keep an assessment based on the evidence, and Illinois boards of review can raise an assessment after notifying the owner.
• Keep paying your taxes. In California you must pay on time while an appeal is pending, and a reduction is refunded with interest. In Illinois, taxes are still due while a Property Tax Appeal Board or circuit court appeal is pending.
• There is usually another level. After the Cook County Board of Review you may go to the state Property Tax Appeal Board or the circuit court. In Texas, an appraisal review board order can be appealed to district court within 60 days after you receive notice of it, or (for a homestead) to binding arbitration. In Maryland the next step is the county Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board and then the Maryland Tax Court.

Where Property Appeal fits

Our free check compares your assessment with similar homes using published rules and shows the result as plain facts. If the data supports an appeal, a flat-fee packet lays out the evidence and the filing steps for your county. You review it, choose the value you ask for, and file it yourself.