Homeowner guides
Property Tax Appeal Guides for Homeowners
Everything here cites the statute or the county's own page, and every guide shows the date its rules were last checked. Start with the complete guide, then jump to your state.
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State rules
- California Property Tax Appeal Deadline 2026: All 58 CountiesThe regular filing period opens July 2 and closes September 15 or November 30, depending on the county. The full 2026 list from the BOE's certified table.
- Prop 8 Decline-in-Value: How to Lower a California AssessmentWhen your home's market value on January 1 falls below its factored Prop 13 base, California must assess the lower number. How the review and the appeal work.
- Georgia Property Tax Appeal: The 45-Day Window ExplainedYour Georgia assessment notice starts a 45-day clock. What the PT-311A asks, the three appeal routes, the temporary tax bill, and the two-year value freeze.
- Florida Property Tax Appeal: TRIM Notice to VAB HearingFlorida gives you 25 days from the TRIM notice mailing to petition the Value Adjustment Board. The informal conference, form DR-486, fees, and the 75% rule.
County guides
- Los Angeles County Property Tax Appeal: Deadline and FeeLos Angeles County's regular appeal window closes November 30. The $46 fee and its hardship waiver, online filing with the Assessment Appeals Board, evidence.
- San Francisco Property Tax Appeal: Deadline and $120 FeeSan Francisco's Assessment Appeals Board closes its regular window on September 15 with no late filings. The $120 fee, its waiver, the online portal, the steps.
- Santa Clara County Property Tax Appeal: Deadline and FeeSanta Clara County closes its regular appeal window on September 15 and charges $290 per residential application from June 2026. When it pays and how to file.
- Fulton County Property Tax Appeal: 45 Days, No FeeHow an Atlanta-area homeowner appeals a Fulton County assessment: the 45-day deadline on the notice, PT-311A, and the three hearing routes, with no filing fee.
- Miami-Dade Property Tax Appeal: VAB Petition and $15 FeeMiami-Dade's 2026 Value Adjustment Board petition deadline was September 18. The $15 per-folio fee, the AXIA online filing system, and the 75 percent rule.
- Broward County Property Tax Appeal: VAB Petition and $25 FeeBroward County homeowners petition the Value Adjustment Board within 25 days of the TRIM notice. The 2026 deadline, the $25 fee, and how the hearing works.
Evidence and filing
- How to Find Comparable Sales for a Property Tax AppealWhich sales count, which the board will ignore, how to adjust for size and condition, and how to present comps so a hearing officer takes them seriously.
- Property Tax Appeal Letter: What to Write (With Template)California and Florida require a form; Georgia accepts a letter. What each one needs, a fill-in template, and the three mistakes that get an appeal dismissed.
- How Much Does a Property Tax Appeal Cost?County filing fees run from $0 to a few hundred dollars. Then there is your time, an optional appraisal, or a contingency-fee service. Real numbers by state.
- Is Appealing Your Property Taxes Worth It? Do the MathA five-minute calculation that tells you whether an appeal is worth your time: the gap between assessed and market value, your tax rate, how long a win lasts.
Your situation
- Appealing Property Taxes After Buying a HouseYou paid one price and the county assessed another. What a purchase does to your assessment in California, Georgia and Florida, and when the gap is appealable.
- Homestead Exemption vs. Property Tax Appeal: Do You Need Both?An exemption lowers the taxable slice; an appeal lowers the value itself. How the two work together in California, Georgia and Florida, and each one's deadline.
- Property Tax Assessment Too High? Check These 7 Record ErrorsBefore you argue value, check the facts. Wrong square footage, a phantom bathroom, a stale condition grade: the record errors that quietly inflate assessments.
- How to Read Your Property Tax Assessment Notice (CA, GA, FL)Assessed value, market value, taxable value, exemptions, and the deadline in the corner. What each line on a California, Georgia or Florida notice means.
What to expect
- What Happens After You File a Property Tax AppealAcknowledgement, evidence review, a settlement offer, a hearing, a decision, then a refund or corrected bill. The sequence in each state and your job at each.
- Can Appealing Your Property Taxes Backfire?The honest answer: a board can raise a value, but it is rare and the rules constrain it. When the risk is real, when it is a myth, and how to file safely.
- How Long Does a Property Tax Appeal Take?From filing to a decision is weeks in Georgia and Florida and often a year or more in California, where the law gives the board two years. Timelines by state.
- Do You Need a Lawyer to Appeal Property Taxes?For a home, almost never. Who may represent you in each state, what a lawyer adds, what a contingency-fee service does instead, and when to file it yourself.
Free review
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Prefer to file yourself? Start with the complete homeowner's guide.