Assessed value vs taxable value: what's the difference and why it matters

Last updated 2026-07-09

What is assessed value and how is it calculated?

Assessed value is the dollar figure your local assessor puts on your property to start the tax calculation. In some states it equals 100% of estimated market value. In others it's a fixed fraction, called the assessment ratio, that the legislature sets by statute.

Florida assesses residential property at 100% of just value (market value) under Florida Statutes Section 193.011 ^[1]. Illinois does the opposite. In Cook County, residential property is assessed at 10% of market value under the county classification ordinance, so a $400,000 home carries a $40,000 assessed value before any exemptions ^[2]. California is its own animal. Under Proposition 13, the assessed value is capped at the 1978 purchase price plus no more than 2% a year, no matter what the market does ^[3].

The math matters because everything downstream, including exemptions and appeal thresholds, runs off this number. If your assessor uses a ratio below 100%, you can't compare your assessed value directly to your neighbor's sale price. Convert back to full market value first. The formula is simple: divide assessed value by the assessment ratio to get the assessor's implied market value. An assessed value of $120,000 in a county using a 30% ratio means the assessor thinks your home is worth $400,000.

What is taxable value and how does it differ from assessed value?

Taxable value is assessed value minus every exemption you qualify for. It's the number your local tax rate actually multiplies against. The two figures can sit far apart.

Take a Texas homeowner with a $350,000 appraised value (Texas uses 100% of market value). The standard homestead exemption strips $100,000 off that number under Texas Tax Code Section 11.13(b), as amended in 2023 ^[4]. Owner 65 or older? Another $10,000 comes off under Section 11.13(c). That leaves a taxable value of $240,000, and the tax rate hits only that figure. A neighbor with an identical home and no exemptions pays more every year, not because the property is worth less, but because the state carved exemptions out of the base.

Georgia spells the distinction out. Georgia law treats "fair market value," "assessed value" (40% of fair market under O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-7), and "taxable value" (assessed value minus exemptions) as three separate figures ^[5]. A $500,000 home in Gwinnett County has a $200,000 assessed value. Subtract a $4,000 standard homestead exemption and taxable value is $196,000. Multiply by the millage rate to get the bill. If you're staring at your Gwinnett County tax assessor notice wondering why the numbers don't line up, this layered structure is the reason.

Some states add another layer. Michigan caps taxable value at the prior year's taxable value plus 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, under MCL 211.27a ^[6]. The assessed value (50% of true cash value) resets at sale, but the taxable value cap protects longtime owners from sudden spikes. After a sale, assessed and taxable value snap back together. That surprise hits a lot of new buyers.

How do assessed value and taxable value compare across common state systems?

The table below shows how six states structure the relationship between market value, assessed value, and taxable value. Every figure comes from the cited statutes or state revenue department guidance.

State	Assessment ratio	Assessed value basis	Key exemption reducing taxable value	Post-exemption label
California	AV capped at 1978 base +2%/yr	Purchase price basis (Prop 13)	Homeowner's exemption: $7,000 off AV	Taxable value
Texas	100% of appraised value	Market value	Homestead: $100,000 off (2023+)	Taxable value
Florida	100% of just value	Market value	Homestead up to $50,000; Save Our Homes cap on AV increases	Assessed value after SOH, then taxable value
Illinois (Cook)	10% residential	Market value	Homeowner exemption: $10,000 off EAV	Equalized assessed value (EAV) minus exemptions
Georgia	40% of fair market	Market value	Standard homestead: $2,000 off assessed ($4,000 school)	Taxable value
Michigan	50% of true cash value	Market value	Principal residence: 18-mill school levy exemption	Taxable value, capped at prior year +5% or CPI

The spread is wide and real. A Cook County homeowner comparing their 10% assessed value to a Texas neighbor's 100% figure is comparing two different things. Know your state's ratio before you draw any conclusion. ^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Which number should I appeal: assessed value or taxable value?

You appeal assessed value, almost everywhere. Exemptions run through a separate administrative process. An appeal board isn't the venue to argue you should have gotten a homestead exemption you forgot to file for.

When you file an assessment appeal, you're arguing that the assessor's opinion of market value is wrong, or that the assessment ratio got applied incorrectly. Win, and the assessed value drops. Taxable value falls with it automatically, since taxable value is derived from assessed value.

Exemptions you're entitled to but haven't received go through your assessor's office directly, usually by filing the right application before the county deadline. In most states that's a separate form, a separate deadline, and a separate process from an appeal. Miss the exemption filing deadline and no appeal board can grant it retroactively in most places.

One exception is worth knowing. Some states allow a combined challenge when the assessor is accused of discriminatory or unequal assessment. In that case the argument touches both the valuation and the resulting tax burden. But for the ordinary homeowner who thinks their house is valued too high, the path is simple. Appeal the assessed value.

If you're in Bexar County and just got your notice, the Bexar County tax assessor process and the Maricopa property tax process both follow this same appeal-the-assessed-value structure, even though the two states use very different ratios.

What exemptions reduce taxable value the most?

Homestead exemptions are the big one for most owners. They exist in 46 states and the District of Columbia in some form, though the dollar amounts swing wildly ^[8]. Texas's $100,000 homestead reduction (effective 2023) is one of the largest flat exemptions in the country. Florida's $50,000 homestead exemption is another heavyweight under Florida Statutes Section 196.031: the first $25,000 applies to all taxes, the second $25,000 applies only to non-school taxes ^[1].

Senior exemptions stack on more in most states. Georgia gives homeowners 62 and older a school-tax exemption worth tens of thousands of dollars in high-value counties. Cook County offers a Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption worth an extra $8,000 off equalized assessed value, on top of the standard homeowner exemption ^[2].

Veteran and disability exemptions can drive taxable value to zero. Texas veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating pay no property taxes at all under Texas Tax Code Section 11.131 ^[4]. Florida offers a similar total exemption for certain disabled veterans under Section 196.081.

Agricultural and conservation exemptions can slash taxable value on qualifying rural land far below any residential rate. In some states, circuit-breaker programs cap the tax bill as a share of income rather than cutting the assessed or taxable value, but the effect on what you owe is the same.

Here's the part people miss. Exemptions are not automatic in most places. You have to apply, usually once, and meet annual residency or income thresholds. An exemption you qualify for but never filed for is money you hand back every single year.

What is equalized assessed value (EAV) and where does it fit in?

In Illinois and a handful of other states, a fourth number sits between assessed value and taxable value: the equalized assessed value, or EAV. The state applies an equalization factor (also called the multiplier) to county assessed values to pull them toward a uniform percentage of market value across all counties.

The Illinois Department of Revenue sets the Cook County equalization factor each year. For tax year 2022 (bills paid in 2023), the factor was 2.9237, so every Cook County assessed value got multiplied by 2.9237 to produce the EAV ^[2]. Only then do exemptions come off. That's why a Cook County bill looks like a puzzle: the assessed value on your property record card is not the number the tax rate hits.

If you're reading a Cook County tax assessor tax bill, the sequence goes: market value, then 10% assessed value, then multiply by the equalization factor to get EAV, then subtract exemptions, then apply the tax rate. Skip a step and the number stops making sense.

Outside Illinois, most states handle inter-county uniformity through state aid formulas rather than a property-level multiplier. But if your state uses equalization, learn the current factor before you compare your EAV to any sale price.

Can your assessed value go up even when your taxable value stays flat?

Yes, and it trips people up constantly.

Michigan is the clearest case. Assessed value (50% of true cash value) tracks the market and can jump or drop in any year. But taxable value is capped at the lesser of 5% or CPI growth over the prior year, so a long-term owner's taxable value drifts far behind assessed value in a hot market ^[6]. The two numbers separate over time. Your tax bill creeps up slowly even as your property's market value climbs, right until you sell. At sale, Michigan law "uncaps" the taxable value, and the new owner's taxable value resets to the current assessed value. That's the surprise that catches buyers cold.

Florida's Save Our Homes cap works the same way. Under Florida Statutes Section 193.155, the assessed value of a homesteaded property can rise no more than 3% a year or the change in CPI, whichever is less ^[1]. When market values jump 15%, the assessed value moves only 3%. Move, and the cap resets on the new home.

California's Proposition 13 is the extreme version. The assessed value is basically frozen at the purchase price plus 2% annual growth, and only a sale or new construction triggers a reset ^[3]. A homeowner who bought in 1995 might carry a taxable value of $180,000 on a home now worth $1.4 million.

This matters for appeals. If you're in a capped state and your assessed value looks too high, an appeal that pulls it below the cap threshold has no immediate tax effect, but it sets a lower ceiling for future growth. Often still worth doing.

How do I find my assessed value and taxable value on my tax documents?

The labels on official documents change from county to county, which breeds real confusion. Here's what to hunt for.

Most counties mail two documents. A Notice of Assessed Value (sometimes called a Notice of Proposed Property Taxes or Assessment Notice) and a separate Tax Bill. The notice comes earlier in the year and shows the assessor's value. The bill comes later and shows the actual tax owed after exemptions and rates.

On the notice, look for lines labeled "market value," "appraised value," "just value," or "true cash value." That's the assessor's opinion of what your property is worth. Below it, find "assessed value" or "taxable value," which in many states is the ratio-adjusted number. Then look for exemption lines that subtract dollar amounts.

In Texas, the appraisal district notice shows appraised value, assessed value (same thing in Texas), total exemptions, and net taxable value on one form. In Georgia, the assessment notice shows fair market value and assessed value (40% of fair market). In California, the county assessor's annual bill shows the assessed value net of exemptions and the tax.

If your county posts records online, search by parcel number. Most assessor websites, including those for San Diego property tax and Los Angeles County property tax, have searchable parcel records showing assessed value, exemptions, and net taxable value. Check the assessor's site, not Zillow or any third-party estimate, for the number that drives your bill.

What happens to taxable value when you win an appeal?

When an appeal succeeds, the assessor corrects the assessed value downward. Since taxable value is derived from assessed value (by subtracting exemptions), taxable value drops by the same amount. Your bill for that year gets recalculated on the corrected taxable value.

Already paid before the appeal resolved? Most counties issue a refund or credit for the overpayment. Some process it fast. Others take months. A few states cap the refund period, so a win after a long delay may not recover taxes from prior years beyond a set lookback window. In California, the lookback for supplemental assessments is typically the current year plus two prior years under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 5097 ^[3].

The corrected assessed value usually carries into the next assessment cycle too, which is why even a modest win compounds. A $20,000 reduction in assessed value at a 1.5% effective rate saves $300 a year. Over ten years that's $3,000, before counting the growth the lower base keeps from piling on.

This is exactly why TaxFightBack built its DIY appeal kit around this process. The savings belong to you, not split with a contingency firm charging 25% to 40% of the first year's reduction. The appeal process in most counties is genuinely learnable by a homeowner with organized records and a few comparable sales.

For readers in smaller Georgia counties, the Madison County tax assessor and Coweta County tax assessor follow Georgia's standard appeal process, where a successful appeal resets assessed value to 40% of the corrected fair market value.

How do I know if my assessed value is wrong before I file an appeal?

Start with the assessor's math. Request your property record card (it's public in every state) and check square footage, bedroom count, bathroom count, lot size, construction quality grade, and any improvement values. Errors in these inputs are common and easy to document. If the card says 2,400 square feet and your home is 1,950, you have a clean factual error to argue.

Next, convert your assessed value back to an implied market value using your county's assessment ratio. If the assessor implies your home is worth $520,000 and comparable homes nearby sold in the last six months for $430,000 to $460,000, you have a market evidence argument.

Pull recent sales from your county assessor's website, or use public MLS records if you have access. Look for homes that sold within the last 6 to 12 months, within a mile of your property, with similar square footage (within 15% to 20%), similar age, and similar condition. Three to five solid comps usually make the case.

Nobody has clean national data on how often assessment appeals succeed. Local reporting fills part of the gap. The Cook County Assessor's own figures showed that in some recent years, the majority of residential appeals produced a reduction ^[2]. That doesn't mean every appeal wins. It does mean the process isn't rigged against you when your evidence holds up.

The Cherokee County tax assessor and Bibb County tax assessor pages on this site walk through the Georgia-specific steps if that's your jurisdiction.

What is the difference between appraised value, assessed value, and taxable value in Texas?

Texas uses different terminology than most states, and it confuses a lot of people. Here's the exact sequence under Texas Tax Code Chapters 11 and 23 ^[4].

Appraised value is the appraisal district's opinion of market value as of January 1. This is the number the district defends at a protest hearing.

Assessed value in Texas is technically the same as appraised value for most residential property, because Texas assesses at 100% of appraised value. For property with special appraisal (like agricultural land appraised at productivity value), the assessed value can be much lower than appraised value.

Taxable value is appraised value minus every exemption the owner qualifies for. For a homesteaded property, that means at least $100,000 off the top (post-2023 law), plus any senior, disability, or other exemptions.

So on a $350,000 home with a standard homestead exemption, the Texas sequence reads: appraised value $350,000, assessed value $350,000, taxable value $250,000. Your county, city, school, and other taxing units each apply their own rate to the $250,000 taxable value.

When you file a protest with your appraisal district, you're contesting the appraised value. A successful protest down to $310,000 makes taxable value $210,000 instead of $250,000. That's a $40,000 cut to the taxable base.

Frequently asked questions

Is assessed value always lower than market value?

Not always, but in most states it is by design. States with assessment ratios below 100% (Georgia at 40%, Cook County at 10%) produce assessed values well below market. States like Texas and Florida that assess at 100% have assessed values equal to the assessor's market value estimate. If your assessed value tops what you could realistically sell for, that's grounds for an appeal.

Do I pay property taxes on assessed value or taxable value?

You pay on taxable value, which is assessed value minus every exemption you qualify for. The tax rate (millage rate) multiplies against taxable value to produce your bill. Assessed value is the intermediate step before exemptions come off. This matters because two identical homes can carry very different bills if one owner filed for homestead, senior, or veteran exemptions and the other didn't.

What reduces taxable value the most?

Homestead exemptions are the most widely available and often the largest reduction. Texas now removes $100,000 from appraised value. Florida removes up to $50,000. Senior, veteran, and disability exemptions can add thousands more, and some states exempt qualifying disabled veterans entirely. Agricultural land use designations can cut taxable value dramatically for rural property owners.

Can taxable value ever be zero?

Yes. Texas veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating receive a total property tax exemption under Texas Tax Code Section 11.131, making taxable value effectively zero. Several other states, including Florida, offer similar full exemptions for certain disabled veterans. Some states also exempt qualifying non-profit and religious property entirely, though those owners generally aren't filing homeowner appeals.

If I win my appeal, does my taxable value automatically go down?

Yes. Taxable value is assessed value minus exemptions. If a successful appeal reduces assessed value, taxable value drops by the same amount and your bill gets recalculated. Already paid? Most counties issue a refund or credit. The reduced assessed value typically carries into future years too, compounding your savings over time.

How often is assessed value updated?

It depends on the state and county. Texas appraisal districts reassess annually. Georgia counties reassess annually in most cases. California reassesses only at sale or new construction because of Proposition 13. Michigan reassesses annually but caps growth in taxable value. Some rural counties reassess only every two to four years. Your assessment notice shows the valuation date, usually January 1 of the tax year.

What is the equalization factor and does it affect my taxable value?

An equalization factor (or multiplier) is applied in some states, most notably Illinois, to pull assessed values toward a uniform percentage of market value across counties. In Cook County, the assessed value is multiplied by the state equalization factor (2.9237 for tax year 2022) to produce the equalized assessed value (EAV). Exemptions are then subtracted from the EAV, not the raw assessed value, to reach taxable value.

What's the difference between assessed value and appraised value in Texas?

In Texas, appraised value is the appraisal district's market value opinion and assessed value is generally the same number for residential property, since Texas assesses at 100%. The distinction matters for special-use property like agricultural land, where assessed value can be much lower because it's based on productivity rather than market value. Taxable value is then appraised or assessed value minus exemptions.

Does my mortgage lender use assessed value or market value?

Lenders use an independent appraisal to set market value for lending purposes. They don't rely on the assessor's assessed value. The two numbers often differ a lot, especially in states with low assessment ratios or caps like California's Prop 13. Your lender's appraisal and your property tax assessment are separate processes run by different parties using different methods.

Can I appeal my taxable value directly, or only my assessed value?

In nearly all jurisdictions you appeal the assessed value, not the taxable value. Exemptions that reduce assessed value to taxable value are handled through a separate administrative process with the assessor's office, usually by filing an exemption application. If you believe you qualify for an exemption you're not receiving, contact your assessor's office directly rather than going to an appeals board.

Why did my taxable value go up even though I didn't improve my property?

Your assessor can raise the assessed value based on market conditions, neighborhood sales, or a mass reassessment cycle, without any change to your property. If assessed value rises and your exemptions hold constant, taxable value rises by the same amount. In states without caps like Georgia or Texas, there's no limit on how much assessed value can jump in a single year, which is why reviewing your notice every year pays off.

What is Save Our Homes and how does it affect taxable value in Florida?

Save Our Homes is a Florida constitutional amendment codified in Florida Statutes Section 193.155 that caps annual increases in the assessed value of a homesteaded property at 3% or the change in CPI, whichever is less. In a rising market, the assessed value (and therefore taxable value) grows far slower than market value. When the home sells, the cap resets and the new owner's assessed value jumps to full market value.

How do I find both my assessed value and taxable value in public records?

Most county assessor and tax collector websites allow parcel searches by address or parcel number. Search your parcel and look for a property detail page showing assessed value, exemptions, and net taxable value as separate line items. If the site doesn't show it clearly, request your property record card and a copy of your exemption file from the assessor's office directly. Both are public records in all 50 states.

Sources

1. Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes Chapter 193 (Assessments) and Section 196.031 (Homestead exemption): Florida assesses at 100% of just value; homestead exemption up to $50,000; Save Our Homes cap limits assessed value increases to 3% or CPI annually
2. Cook County Assessor's Office (official homepage): Cook County assesses residential property at 10% of market value; 2022 state equalization factor was 2.9237; Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption adds $8,000 off EAV
3. California State Board of Equalization, Property Taxes section: Proposition 13 caps assessed value at 1978 purchase price plus maximum 2% annual increase; resets at sale; Revenue and Taxation Code Section 5097 governs refund lookback
4. Texas Legislature, Texas Tax Code Sections 11.13 and 11.131: Texas homestead exemption is $100,000 off appraised value (2023 amendment); veterans with 100% service-connected disability receive full property tax exemption under Section 11.131
5. Georgia Department of Revenue (official homepage), O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-7: Georgia assesses residential property at 40% of fair market value; taxable value is assessed value minus exemptions
6. Michigan Legislature, MCL 211.27a (Taxable Value Cap): Michigan taxable value is capped at prior year taxable value plus 5% or CPI, whichever is less; cap is removed at sale and taxable value resets to assessed value
7. Illinois Department of Revenue (official homepage): Illinois Department of Revenue sets annual county equalization factors; Cook County equalization factor was 2.9237 for tax year 2022
8. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Significant Features of the Property Tax: Homestead exemptions are available in 46 states and D.C. in some form; dollar amounts and eligibility rules vary widely by state
9. Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes Section 193.155 (Save Our Homes): Save Our Homes limits annual increases in assessed value of homesteaded Florida property to 3% or CPI change, whichever is less
10. National Conference of State Legislatures (official homepage): Multiple states use assessment ratio systems ranging from 10% to 100% of market value; assessment caps and circuit breakers are common tools to limit taxable value growth