Tax Appeals Tip Sheet

Submit Your Evidence With Your Petition

You will need to present evidence about the market value of your property as it existed on the assessment date - Jan. 1, 2023. Evidence might include an apprais­al report of your property done by an independent appraiser or a comparison of your property with simi­lar properties that have sold in your area near the assessment date. Comparing the value on the tax roll of your house to the value on the tax roll of your neighbor’s house, or comparing the taxes you pay to the taxes your neighbor pays is generally not considered satisfactory evidence. Please submit five (5) copies of any evidence you would like admitted. The center bottom of all pages will include a page number for easy reference by the board, hand written page numbers are acceptable. (If you need the County Clerk to make copies, they will cost $0.25 per black and white page)

Attending Your Hearing

If you plan to attend the hearing, please write on the petition any dates you will not be available due to prior commitments. Once your hearing is scheduled, it cannot be changed.

Hearings are limited to 15 minutes. Prior to the hearing, prepare the important points you wish to convey to the board. The 15 minutes are divided between review of the Assessor's information, review of your petition and evidence previously submitted, your presentation to the board, any questions from the board, discussion and finally the decision. 

As you can see there is a lot of ground covered in each 15-minute hearing. Be ready to discuss the important points you want to be sure are covered.

Basic Terms To Know

RMV (Real Market Value): The real market value (RMV) on your tax statement represents the market value of the property as of Jan. 1, 2023.

AV (Assessed Value): The assessed value (AV) on your tax statement is the value used to calculate your property taxes. For most property, the maximum assessed value (MAV), was established in 1997 under Measure 50 by taking 90% of the 1995-96 market value and has continued to grow by 3% annually.

Please Note: A reduction in RMV will not mean a reduction in taxes unless the RMV is reduced below the AV—except in some situations such as new construction and remodeling.