A Los Angeles County homeowner appeals an assessment by filing an Application for Changed Assessment with the county's Assessment Appeals Board, which sits as the county Board of Equalization, during the regular filing period that opens July 2 and, for 2026, closes November 30. The county charges a $46 non-refundable filing fee, waivable for financial hardship, and accepts applications online, by mail, or in person at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration. You keep paying your tax bill while the appeal is pending, and a win comes back as a refund.
Who decides your appeal in Los Angeles County
The Assessment Appeals Board is the body the county established to "sit as the Board of Equalization of the Los Angeles County." It is independent of the Assessor. The Assessor sets the value; the board hears your argument that the value is wrong. Applications are received by the Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors, Assessment Appeals section, at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Room B4, 500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The office's phone number is (213) 974-1471.
The complete homeowner's guide explains what an appeal argues and what evidence wins. This page covers what is specific to Los Angeles County.
The 2026 deadline: November 30
California's regular filing period opens July 2 in every county and closes September 15 or November 30, depending on whether the Assessor mails value notices to all secured-roll owners by August 1 (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code section 1603(b)). Los Angeles County is on the November 30 list in the Board of Equalization's Letter To Assessors 2026/023, which certifies every county's 2026 date. The California deadline guide has all 58 counties.
Two cautions. First, the county's date can change in a future year, because it depends on the Assessor's mailing practice that year; check the new letter each June. Second, a supplemental or escape assessment, such as the one that follows a purchase, has its own 60-day window from the notice, separate from the regular period (Publication 30). If you bought recently, appealing after buying a house explains the supplemental notice.
The $46 fee and the hardship waiver
The county's own page states: "On August 31, 2021, the Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to LA County Code Title 2 establishing a $46 non-refundable filing fee for assessment appeal applications." It is per application, and it is not returned if you lose or withdraw.
The same page describes a waiver: "If paying the fee would cause undue financial hardship, you may request a fee waiver. Waiver forms must be submitted online, in the mail, or in-person along with your application." Submit the waiver with the application, not after; the fee is due at filing.
Compared with the rest of California, $46 sits in the middle. Orange and San Diego charge nothing; Santa Clara charges $290 for a home. The cost guide has the verified table.
How to file
| Method | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Online | The county's assessment appeals portal at lacaab.lacounty.gov | Fastest; upload the application and pay the fee |
| Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors, Assessment Appeals, 500 West Temple Street, Room B4, Los Angeles, CA 90012 | Postmark by the deadline | |
| In person | Same address, Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Room B4 | Bring the fee or the waiver form |
Whichever route you use, the form is the state's BOE-305-AH, Application for Changed Assessment. It asks for the parcel number, the value on the roll, your opinion of value, and the basis for it. The number you write matters more in California than anywhere else: under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code section 1604(c), if the board does not hear and decide your application within two years of a timely filing, your opinion of value becomes the assessed value unless you agreed in writing to an extension. Los Angeles hears a very large volume of appeals, so write a number you can defend, not a lowball. What to write on the form walks through each field.
Try the informal route first
The Board of Equalization's homeowner guide, Publication 30, says: "Before filing an application, you should first meet informally with the assessor to discuss the assessment." In Los Angeles that usually means asking the Assessor's office for a decline-in-value review. If your home's market value on January 1 was below its Proposition 13 factored base year value, the Assessor must enroll the lower number under Rev. & Tax. Code section 51(a)(2), and the Prop 8 guide explains how that review works.
The informal review does not extend the filing deadline. If November 30 is approaching and the Assessor has not agreed, file the formal application and keep talking.
What to bring
For a home, the strongest evidence is a short set of closed sales of similar homes near your street, close to January 1. For a decline-in-value case, Publication 30 says comparable sales should be no later than 90 days after the lien date. How to find comparable sales shows how to pick and adjust them. Pull the Assessor's record of your home as well; a wrong square footage or bathroom count is the simplest argument you can make.
For an owner-occupied home, Rev. & Tax. Code section 167(a) gives you "a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof in favor of the taxpayer" once you have supplied the information the law requires. The Assessor has to justify the number, not the other way around.
Keep paying the bill
Publication 30 is blunt: "Filing an application does not excuse the payment of taxes." Pay each installment on time. If the board lowers your value, the county refunds the difference for the appealed year.
Common questions
Is the Los Angeles deadline always November 30?
Not necessarily. The date is certified to the State Board of Equalization each year and turns on whether the Assessor mails notices to everyone by August 1. For 2026 it is November 30. Check the new Letter To Assessors each June before relying on it.
Can I get the $46 back if I win?
No. The county describes the fee as non-refundable. The waiver is the only way to avoid it, and it must accompany the application.
Do I have to attend a hearing downtown?
If the case is not resolved by the Assessor before the hearing, you or an authorized agent present to the board. An agent may represent you if you provide written authorization on the application (Publication 30). Drop Property Tax handles the record check, the comparable sales, the filing, and the hearing, and charges nothing unless the appeal wins; start with a free review.
What if I missed November 30?
The regular appeal for 2026 is closed. You can still ask the Assessor for an informal decline-in-value review, watch for any supplemental or escape notice with its own 60-day window, and prepare for the window that reopens July 2, 2027.
Sources
Every deadline, fee, and rule above comes from the statute or the agency's own page, never from a summary of one. Last verified September 14, 2026. Rules change. Confirm against your own notice before relying on a date.
- Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Assessment Appeals
- California State Board of Equalization, Letter To Assessors 2026/023: County Assessment Appeals Filing Period for 2026
- California State Board of Equalization, Publication 30: Residential Property Assessment Appeals
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code section 1603 (filing period)
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code section 1604 (two-year rule)
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code section 167 (presumption for owner-occupied homes)
- California State Board of Equalization, Proposition 8 decline in value