How to Read Your Property Tax Assessment Notice (CA, GA, FL)

A property tax assessment notice states a value the county assigned to your home, not a bill, and each state labels the lines a little differently. California, Georgia and Florida notices all answer the same three questions: what value did the county assign, what portion of that value is actually taxed, and how long do you have to challenge it. This guide walks through what each line on a California, Georgia or Florida notice means, so you know what you are looking at before you decide anything.

California: the annual value notice

California counties that mail an annual value notice do so under the notice described in Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code section 1603(b)(3) as "a notice, as described in Section 619." Proposition 13, codified at section 51(a)(2), sets what that notice compares: your assessed value is the factored base year value, adjusted annually by the lower of the change in the California Consumer Price Index or 2 percent. Some notices also show the property's current market value alongside that factored figure, because when market value falls below the factored base year value on the January 1 lien date, the county has to enroll the lower number under Proposition 8. The Board of Equalization describes the review as one the assessor repeats every year once a property is in decline-in-value status, with the value able to rise back toward the factored figure as the market recovers.

If you bought your home partway through the year, expect a second document: a supplemental assessment notice. The Board of Equalization's Publication 30 states that a supplemental or escape assessment carries its own appeal window, 60 days from that notice, separate from the regular filing period.

What a California notice often will not tell you is your actual appeal deadline. The regular filing period under section 1603(b)(1) runs July 2 through September 15, extended to November 30 under section 1603(b)(3) for a county that does not mail its annual value notices by August 1. For 2026, eleven counties (Alameda, Alpine, Inyo, Kings, Mono, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Sierra, and Ventura) close September 15; the other 47, including Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego, close November 30, per the Board of Equalization's Letter to Assessors 2026/023. A county's status can change year to year, so treat a silent notice as a cue to check that year's county table.

Georgia: the Notice of Assessment

Georgia's annual Notice of Assessment states your home's fair market value as of January 1, defined by O.C.G.A. section 48-5-2 as "the amount a knowledgeable buyer would pay for the property and a willing seller would accept for the property at an arm's length, bona fide sale." Below that line, the notice shows your assessed value, which O.C.G.A. section 48-5-7 sets at 40 percent of fair market value; the assessed value, not the fair market value, is what your millage rate is applied to. The notice also carries an estimate of the taxes you would owe at current rates, and, printed on the notice itself, your appeal deadline. The Georgia Department of Revenue states that you must "submit your property tax appeal to the County Board of Tax Assessors within 45 days from the date the Assessment Notice was sent."

The notice format itself changed recently. Chatham County's Board of Assessors describes its notices as reflecting House Bills 581 and 92, which added an estimate of the taxes you would owe under the local rollback millage rate alongside the standard estimate, and changed how the notice explains a floating homestead exemption freeze. Under that legislation, "the sale price is no longer the maximum allowed value for the following tax year," per the same FAQ. If your jurisdiction opted out of the HB 581 floating exemption, your tax bill has to say so.

Florida: the TRIM notice

Florida's Notice of Proposed Property Taxes, universally called the TRIM notice for "Truth in Millage," is mailed by the property appraiser every August. It starts with just value, Florida's name for market value, as of January 1. Below that is your assessed value, which is just value after whichever cap applies: the Save Our Homes cap for a homestead, capped under section 193.155(1) at the lower of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index; or the 10 percent cap for non-homestead residential property under section 193.1554(3), for every levy other than school district taxes. Next come your exemptions, including the homestead exemption under section 196.031, subtracted to reach taxable value, the number your millage rate is actually applied to. The notice also lists the proposed millage rate from each taxing authority on your bill and the date and location of the public hearing where the rate can be discussed.

The line to act on fastest is the deadline. The Florida Department of Revenue states that an owner who wants to appeal "must file a petition (one of the DR-486 forms) with the clerk of the court within 25 days of the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes," and Fla. Stat. section 194.011(3)(d) sets that window as 25 days "following the mailing of notice by the property appraiser." That is 25 days from your own notice's mailing date, not a fixed calendar date, so it moves by county and by year; the Florida VAB guide has the 2026 dates by county. Most 2026 Florida windows had already closed by the time this guide was checked, on September 13, 2026; if yours has too, the informal conference under section 194.011(2) and next year's TRIM notice are where to start.

Glossary: what each term means

The three questions that matter

Once you can read the notice, three questions decide what to do next.

Is the market value plausible? Compare the market or just value line, or in California your factored base year value against current market value, with what similar homes nearby have actually sold for around the valuation date. If sales cluster well below it, that is a market question worth pursuing.

Is the record correct? A high value is sometimes just wrong facts, not a wrong market read. Square footage, room counts, condition, and exemption status all sit behind the number on your notice. Seven record-card errors to check walks through what to look for before you argue value at all.

What is the deadline? Georgia and Florida print it on the notice itself. California often does not, so check your county's status for the year against the Board of Equalization's annual letter. Whichever state you are in, the complete appeal guide covers the process once you have decided to file.

Common questions

Why does my California notice not show a deadline?

Because the deadline depends on whether your county mailed its section 619 annual value notices by August 1 that year, and that status can change annually. Counties that meet the August 1 date close September 15; the rest close November 30. Check your county for the current year rather than assuming last year's date still applies.

Is the assessed value on my Georgia notice my whole tax bill?

No. The assessed value, 40 percent of fair market value under O.C.G.A. section 48-5-7, is only the base your millage rate multiplies, and any homestead or other exemption reduces it further before the rate is applied.

What is the difference between Florida's Save Our Homes cap and the 10 percent cap?

Save Our Homes, section 193.155(1), applies to a homestead and caps the annual increase at the lower of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index. The 10 percent cap, section 193.1554(3), applies to non-homestead residential property and allows up to a 10 percent increase, for every levy other than school district taxes.

My Florida TRIM notice's proposed taxes look different from last year's bill. Is that an error?

Not necessarily. The notice shows proposed millage rates that taxing authorities have not finalized yet, and the public hearings listed on the notice can still change them before the final bill goes out. The TRIM notice is not the same document as your actual tax bill.

My Georgia notice mentions HB 581 or HB 92 and I do not recognize the terms.

Those are the 2024 and 2025 Georgia laws that added the statewide floating homestead exemption and changed how counties describe value freezes and rollback-rate estimates on the notice. Chatham County's own FAQ on the changes is a useful plain-language explanation if your county's notice references them.

If your notice raises more questions than it answers, Drop Property Tax reviews the record and the comparable sales for you, at no cost unless the appeal wins.