Appeal basics
How to Read Your Property Assessment Notice
An assessment notice tells you three things an appeal depends on: the value the office set for your home (often both a market value and a lower assessed or taxable value), last year's value to compare it with, and how long you have to appeal. Find those three first. Tax rates and exemptions usually show up later, on the tax bill.
Market value and assessed value are different numbers
Most notices print an estimate of what the home would sell for, then a second figure the tax is based on. How the two relate depends on the state:
- Cook County, Illinois: homes are assessed at 10% of the estimated market value.
- Illinois outside Cook County: property is assessed at 33 1/3% of fair cash value.
- California: a home is assessed at the lower of its market value on January 1 or its Proposition 13 base year value plus inflation adjustments, which can rise by no more than 2% a year.
- Oregon: the assessed value is the lower of the maximum assessed value and the real market value, and the maximum assessed value grows by 3% of last year's assessed value each year (more only for exceptions such as new construction).
An appeal argues about the market value (or about how your assessment compares with similar homes). The assessed figure follows from it by the state's formula.
Where to look on common notices and bills
| Place | Document | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County, IL | Assessor's reassessment notice | Top right: "The estimated Fair Market Value of this property is:". The Property Valuation & Assessment History table lists the Estimated Market Value for this year and the two years before, and the Total Assessed Value (AV). |
| Maryland | SDAT Notice of Assessment | MARKET VALUE ASSESSMENT box: the Total Market Value line, CURRENT column (new value) and PRIOR column (previous value). The ASSESSMENT PHASE-IN box lists the phased-in value for each of the three tax years. |
| Los Angeles County, CA | Annual Secured Property Tax Bill | VALUATION INFORMATION, column CURRENT ASSESSED VALUE (land, improvements, total). NET TAXABLE VALUE is printed below TOTAL and LESS EXEMPTION. |
| Riverside County, CA | Annual Secured Property Tax Bill | The value box lists Land, Full Taxable Value, the exemptions and Net Taxable Value; the total rate is Tax Rate Per $100 Value. |
| San Francisco, CA | Notification of Assessed Value | Line A is the Factored Base Year Value (Proposition 13); line G, Net Assessed Value, is the value the tax bill is based on. |
| Clatsop County, OR | Property tax statement | Total RMV (real market value) and Total AV (assessed value), each in a Last Year and a This Year column. |
Compare this year with last year
A big jump is worth a closer look, but a few rules change what the jump means for your bill:
- Maryland phases increases in. An increase in value is phased in over three years, one third a year; a decrease takes effect in full at once. The homestead tax credit also limits the yearly increase in the taxable assessment of an owner-occupied home (10% for the State tax, and the county's own percentage for county tax).
- Texas caps homesteads. A homestead's appraised value can rise by at most 10% a year over the prior year's appraised value, plus new improvements.
- Oregon's two values. If the appeals board lowers your real market value but it stays above your maximum assessed value, your assessed value, and your tax, don't change. Check both numbers before you appeal.
Check the description of your home
Notices and online records also describe the property. Compare the square footage, building class and features with what you know about your home. In Cook County, the Assessor accepts corrections to these facts at any time, separately from an appeal.
Find your deadline
The deadline is often on the notice or counted from it:
- Cook County: the last day to file with the Assessor is printed on each reassessment notice.
- Maryland: within 45 days of the date of the notice; a first-level appeal counts as on time if it is filed or postmarked by the date stated on page two of the notice.
- South Carolina: you have 90 days after the assessor mails the notice to give written notice of objection.
- New Jersey: if you receive a Notification of Change of Assessment, you have 45 days to appeal it.
For this year's dates by county, see our deadlines page.
What the notice doesn't tell you
A notice shows your own value, not whether similar homes nearby are assessed lower. That comparison is what most appeals rest on. Our free check runs it for covered counties, choosing similar homes without looking at their price or assessment; read how comparable homes are chosen for the method.
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Sources
Official pages and documents this article relies on. Rules and dates can change each year; check the source before you file.
- Cook County Assessor: Sample reassessment notice (New Trier Township)
- Cook County Assessor: Your assessment notice and tax bill
- Maryland SDAT: Assessment notice explanation
- Maryland Code, Tax-Property § 8-103 (phase-in)
- Los Angeles County: Annual secured property tax bill
- Riverside County Treasurer: Sample secured tax bill
- San Francisco Assessor: Sample Notification of Assessed Value
- Clatsop County, Oregon: Understanding your tax statement
- Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapter 308 (assessed value)
- Texas Tax Code, Chapter 23 (homestead limit)
About this article
Written by
Property Appeal Team
Written by our research team and checked against the official sources listed above. Facts about counties come from the same verified records as our county guides; see how we verify facts.
Reviewed by
Daniel Callahan
Real Estate Tax Specialist
Daniel takes a data-driven approach to assessment reviews. He reviews our guides on reading assessment notices and lowering property taxes.