How often are property reassessments done in each state

Last updated 2026-07-09

What is a property reassessment and why does it matter?

A property reassessment is the process where your local assessor updates the estimated market value of your home or building. That value feeds directly into your tax bill. If the assessed value goes up 20%, your bill typically goes up by roughly the same percentage, minus any exemptions you hold.

The timing is where most homeowners get blindsided. You can go years without hearing a word from the assessor, then open a notice and find your value jumped $80,000 overnight. That jump probably reflects genuine market appreciation, but it can also reflect assessor error, bad comparable sales, or a mass appraisal model that misfired on your neighborhood.

Knowing your state's reassessment cycle does two things for you. First, it tells you when to expect a new notice and when to actually read it carefully. Second, it tells you how stale your current assessment might already be, which is sometimes an argument in your favor at an appeal hearing.

Reassessment happens at the county or municipality level in almost every state, but the governing rules, including cycle length and the assessment ratio, are set by state law. So a homeowner in Cook County and a homeowner in rural Pulaski County, Illinois both operate under the same state statute, even though the local administration looks different.

How often does each state reassess property? The full 50-state table

The table below shows the general reassessment cycle for each state. Where a state mandates a specific interval by statute, that number comes from the state code or the state's department of revenue guidance. Where counties have discretion, the range reflects that variation.

One honest caveat: several states let counties reassess more or less often than the statutory maximum, so your actual cycle may differ from the state default. Always check your county assessor's website to confirm the local schedule.

State	Reassessment Cycle	Notes
Alabama	4 years	Statewide reappraisal cycle [1]
Alaska	1 year (varies by borough)	Most boroughs assess annually
Arizona	1 year	Annual valuation date is January 1 [2]
Arkansas	3 years	County-level cycle
California	On transfer / Prop 13	Reassessed only on sale or new construction [3]
Colorado	2 years (odd years)	Biennial cycle, values set each odd year
Connecticut	5 years (or 10 with state approval)	Municipalities may revalue every 5 [4]
Delaware	Varies by county	Sussex: 1983 base; New Castle and Kent vary
Florida	1 year	Annual assessment, January 1 lien date
Georgia	1 year	Annual, but digest approval can lag
Hawaii	1 year	Annual, county level
Idaho	1 year	Annual assessment
Illinois	3 years (Cook County: triennial by township)	Varies; Cook uses rotating township schedule [5]
Indiana	1 year	Annual assessment
Iowa	2 years	Biennial; odd-year reassessments
Kansas	1 year	Annual
Kentucky	4 years	Full reappraisal cycle
Louisiana	4 years	Constitutional 4-year cycle
Maine	1 year (local discretion)	No mandated maximum interval
Maryland	3 years (phased)	One-third of properties per year, 3-year cycle
Massachusetts	3 years (certification cycle)	DOR certifies every 3 years [6]
Michigan	1 year	Annual, capped at 5% or CPI increase
Minnesota	1 year	Annual assessment, January 2 date
Mississippi	4 years	4-year reappraisal cycle
Missouri	2 years (odd years)	Biennial reassessment
Montana	6 years (reappraisal cycle)	DOR runs statewide 6-year cycle
Nebraska	1 year	Annual
Nevada	5 years (rotating)	County assessors rotate through parcels
New Hampshire	5 years (or when ratio drifts)	DRA monitors equalization ratios
New Jersey	1 year (or as ordered)	Annual in theory; many municipalities lag
New Mexico	3 years	Triennial cycle
New York	1 year (varies by jurisdiction)	NYC and most cities annual; some towns less frequent [7]
North Carolina	8 years (maximum; counties can shorten)	Many counties revalue every 4 years voluntarily
North Dakota	1 year	Annual
Ohio	6 years (full) + 3-year update	Full reappraisal at year 6, triennial update at year 3 [8]
Oklahoma	1 year	Annual
Oregon	1 year	Annual, Measure 50 caps apply
Pennsylvania	Varies by county	No mandatory statewide cycle; some counties last reassessed decades ago
Rhode Island	3 years (revaluation)	Statistical update every 3, full every 9 years
South Carolina	5 years	Every 5 years unless reassessment triggers
South Dakota	1 year	Annual
Tennessee	4 years	4-year reappraisal cycle
Texas	1 year	Annual appraisal, January 1 date
Utah	1 year	Annual
Vermont	No fixed cycle	Market value standard; towns assess when resources allow
Virginia	4 years (cities 2 years; some annually)	Varies significantly by jurisdiction
Washington	1 year	Annual
West Virginia	3 years (but annual notice)	Full review every 3 years
Wisconsin	1 year	Annual
Wyoming	1 year	Annual

Three states run cycles so unusual they confuse homeowners every year.

California is the famous outlier. Under Proposition 13, which voters passed in 1978, assessed value is locked to the purchase price and can only rise 2% per year unless the property sells or new construction happens. ^[3] So a neighbor who bought in 2010 and a neighbor who bought in 2023 on the same block can have assessed values that differ by several hundred thousand dollars.

Pennsylvania has no mandatory reassessment schedule at all. Some counties there have not done a full reassessment in more than 30 years. Philadelphia did a full reassessment in 2022, its first citywide update since 2014. That kind of lag creates enormous inequity, and state courts have repeatedly ordered counties to act.

North Carolina lets counties wait as long as 8 years between full revaluations by statute, though the state Department of Revenue can require shorter cycles if assessment ratios drift too far from 100%. ^[1]

What triggers an off-cycle reassessment even if your state's schedule hasn't rolled around?

Your assessed value can change between scheduled cycles. Several common events trigger a fresh valuation.

The most common is a sale. Many states treat an arm's-length sale as a market value benchmark and adjust the assessment to match the sale price. California does this automatically under Proposition 13. Florida does it too, though the Save Our Homes cap limits how fast the assessed value can climb afterward.

New construction or a big renovation is another trigger. Pull a permit for an addition, a new garage, or a major kitchen remodel, and the assessor will almost certainly add the improvement value to your record during the next cycle, sometimes within the same year.

A neighbor's appeal can reach you indirectly. If a comparably sized home on your street argues its value down and wins, assessors sometimes review nearby properties. That happens more in states where the assessor's office tracks assessment uniformity closely.

State-ordered equalization is a less common but real trigger. When a county's assessment ratios fall too far below market (properties assessed at 70% of market when the law requires 100%), state revenue departments can order the county to run an emergency revaluation.

Natural disasters or major physical damage can trigger a mid-cycle reduction. Most states have a process to reassess a property that was partially or fully destroyed. You usually have to file a request rather than wait for the assessor to notice.

Does your assessment go up every reassessment cycle?

Not automatically. Reassessment means the assessor recalculates market value from recent sales data. If your local market dropped, your assessed value can drop too. That happened across many markets after 2008 and again in certain regions in 2023, when mortgage rates choked demand.

In a rising market, though, a reassessment almost always means a higher bill. Some states cushion the blow with caps and phase-ins.

Maryland phases reassessment increases in over three years so you never absorb the full jump in one tax year. Michigan caps annual increases at 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, no matter what the market did. Florida's Save Our Homes amendment caps increases at 3% or the CPI for homestead properties.

Those caps cut both ways. They protect long-term owners in hot markets, but they create large catch-up jumps when a capped property sells, and recent buyers often pay taxes on a higher assessed value than neighbors who've owned for 20 years.

If you live in a state with no caps and a fast-rising market, a reassessment year is the year to pay attention. Pull comparable sales yourself before the notice arrives if you can. Knowing what the assessor is likely to conclude gives you a head start on whether an appeal makes sense.

How do you find out when your county's next reassessment is?

The fastest route is your county assessor's website. Search '[your county] assessor reassessment schedule' or '[your county] reappraisal year.' Most assessor offices post their cycle on the homepage or an FAQ page. Many also post the exact year the current assessments are based on, which matters because your 2025 tax bill might rest on values set in 2024 or even 2023.

If the county website is unclear, go to the state department of revenue or department of taxation. They publish equalization tables or assessment ratio studies that list the current assessment year for every county. Ohio's Department of Taxation publishes this. Maryland's State Department of Assessments and Taxation does too. ^[9]

Your property tax notice itself usually states the tax year and the assessment year. Those are sometimes different numbers, which trips people up. The assessment year is when the value was set; the tax year is when you're billed for it. Many states run a one-year lag.

Cook County homeowners get a reassessment calendar by township, since different parts of the county reassess on a rotating three-year schedule. ^[5] For your area, see our detailed breakdown of the cook county tax assessor tax bill.

In Texas, where every county appraises annually, the date that matters is January 1. Values are set as of that date, and notices typically go out between April and May. ^[10]

What is the deadline to appeal a reassessment notice?

This is where most homeowners lose their shot at a reduction. The appeal deadline is short, it is firm, and missing it means waiting until the next cycle.

Deadlines vary sharply by state and sometimes by county. A few representative examples:

• Texas: 30 days from the date of the notice of appraised value, or May 15, whichever is later. ^[10]
• California: July 2 through September 15 (or November 30 in some counties) for the regular roll. Appeals filed outside this window get rejected.
• Illinois (Cook County): 30 days from the publication date of the assessment roll for that township.
• New York: Varies by jurisdiction. In NYC the deadline for most property classes is March 1 to challenge the tentative assessment before it's finalized in late spring. ^[7]
• Florida: 25 days from the mailing date of the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice, typically sent in mid-August.
• Ohio: 31 days from the date the county auditor certifies the tax duplicate, usually in January.

The pattern is clear: you almost always have 30 to 90 days from the date the notice is mailed, not from when you open it. Let a notice sit on the counter for three weeks and you may have burned half your window.

Set a calendar reminder for the day any assessment notice lands. Read it that same day. Compare the assessed value to what you think the property would sell for right now. If those numbers sit more than 5 to 10% apart, an appeal is worth investigating. Homeowners who file their own appeals with organized documentation, without paying a contingency firm that takes 25 to 40% of the savings, tend to see outcomes similar to those who hire help. Nobody has rigorous data on this; the closest evidence comes from county-level appeal outcome reports that rarely break down results by representation type.

How does reassessment frequency affect your tax bill over time?

States that reassess annually keep assessed values close to market. Your bill tracks the market in real time, which hurts in a hot market but also means values fall fast when prices drop.

States with long cycles (6 to 8 years) create a different dynamic. During a bull market, homeowners there pay taxes on stale, lower values for years, which feels like a gift. But when the reassessment finally lands, the jump can be brutal. A home that appreciated 40% over six years might see its assessed value jump 35 to 40% in a single notice, and the state may not phase in the increase.

Pennsylvania is the extreme case. Some counties carry base years so old that commercial and residential properties are both assessed at values from decades ago. That freezes inequities in place and has triggered multiple state supreme court challenges.

Here's the planning takeaway. In a state with a long cycle, the reassessment year is the year to be most active. Mark it on a multi-year calendar. In North Carolina (up to an 8-year cycle) or Montana (6-year cycle), a single reassessment notice sets eight or six years of tax bills, so even a modest reduction in the assessed value saves real money over the full cycle.

The math also argues for appealing modest overvaluations. In an annual-reassessment state, an $8,000 overvaluation might cost you $100 to $200 in extra taxes before the next cycle corrects it. In a 6-year-cycle state, that same overvaluation costs $600 to $1,200 before you get another shot.

What is an assessment ratio and how does it relate to reassessment timing?

The assessment ratio is the percentage of market value at which your property is officially taxed. Some states assess at 100% of market value. Others set legal ratios below that: Louisiana assesses residential property at 10% of market value, while commercial property is assessed at 15%. ^[11]

The link to timing is that ratios drift when markets move and cycles run long. If your state's legal ratio is 100% but the assessor hasn't updated values in four years while prices rose 30%, the actual effective ratio has fallen to about 77%. That feels good until the reassessment hits and the assessor closes the gap all at once.

State revenue departments track this with equalization studies. They compare assessed values to actual sale prices on a sample of recent transactions. When the effective ratio drifts too far from the legal ratio, the state may require the county to reassess ahead of schedule.

For you, the ratio matters because it sets your appeal target. If your state assesses at 100% of market and your assessor valued your home at $400,000, you need to show market value is lower than that. If your state assesses at 80% of market and the assessor values it at $400,000, you need to show market value is below $500,000 (because $400,000 is 80% of $500,000). Knowing the ratio keeps you from arguing the wrong number at your hearing.

Which states have the most homeowner-friendly reassessment rules?

Friendliness depends on what you value. If you want predictability and shelter from market spikes, California's Proposition 13 model is about as protective as it gets. Your assessed value locks at purchase price plus 2% a year until you sell. ^[3] The downside is that new buyers carry a lopsided share of the tax burden.

If you want low effective rates and infrequent reassessments, states like Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina give you long cycles with relatively low base rates.

If you want strong appeal rights with clear procedures, Texas has a fairly accessible process. Every property owner has the right to an informal hearing with the appraisal district before the formal Appraisal Review Board hearing, and the Texas Property Tax Code spells out the evidence standards plainly. ^[10]

New Jersey and Pennsylvania are among the least predictable. New Jersey nominally requires annual assessments, but many municipalities let them drift far from market, then compress the gap with large adjustment orders. Pennsylvania's patchwork of county base years means two neighbors can pay wildly different effective rates with no clear fix until a court orders a county-wide reassessment.

Gwinnett County, Georgia reassesses annually, and the process is well defined with clearly published appeal instructions. See our guide to the gwinnett county tax assessor process for specifics.

Can you challenge your assessment even if you're not in a reassessment year?

Yes, in most states. The right to appeal usually exists every year, whether or not a formal reassessment occurred. If your assessed value didn't change this year, you can still argue it's wrong based on current market evidence.

The practical catch is that assessors and appeal boards give less weight to appeals filed in non-reassessment years, because they know the value was set recently. You'll need stronger evidence to move an assessor who just finished a full reappraisal.

Still, there are good reasons to appeal in an off year. If your property has physical damage that reduces value, if you found new comparable sales that weren't available during the last reappraisal, or if you can show assessment errors (wrong square footage, wrong bathroom count, misclassified property type), those arguments hold regardless of the cycle.

In states with annual assessments, you can appeal every year. In multi-year-cycle states, check your state law. Some explicitly allow annual appeals even between full reappraisals. Ohio allows it. Maryland allows it. California limits appeal rights more tightly, to Proposition 8 decline-in-value situations between base year review periods.

If you want to build a complete evidence package, the TaxFightBack DIY appeal kit walks through how to pull comparable sales, calculate your target value, and format your argument for a board hearing, and you keep 100% of whatever reduction you win.

In high-cost markets, local rules matter enormously. The la county property tax and santa clara property tax pages cover California-specific rules in detail.

How do reassessment cycles differ for commercial vs. residential property?

In most states, commercial and residential property share the same reassessment schedule. But the treatment splits in ways that matter.

The assessment ratio often differs. Louisiana is a clean example: residential is assessed at 10% of fair market value, commercial land at 15%. ^[11] A commercial owner and a residential owner with identical market values pay taxes on different assessed values.

The appeal process for commercial property is usually more complex. Commercial values lean on income-approach analysis (capitalizing net operating income) rather than plain comparable sales. Assessors in multi-year-cycle states sometimes lag on updating income data, which creates both overassessments and underassessments on commercial parcels.

The dollar stakes are higher on commercial property, so assessors scrutinize those appeals harder and resist reductions more aggressively. You'll typically need a certified MAI appraisal or a detailed income-and-expense analysis to be taken seriously.

New York City is a well-known case where commercial and residential property fall under a four-class system. Class 2 (large residential) and Class 4 (commercial) are assessed differently from Class 1 (1-3 family homes), and the appeal deadlines differ too. ^[7] See our dedicated nyc property tax guide for the full breakdown.

Hennepin County, Minnesota sets values annually for both homes and commercial property, but the county runs a specific petition process worth understanding. See hennepin county property tax for the local specifics.

What documents should you keep ready for any reassessment year?

Preparation before the notice arrives is what separates homeowners who win appeals from those who don't. Here's what to have on hand.

Your property record card is the starting point. Get it from the county assessor's website or request it at the office. Confirm the square footage, the bedroom and bathroom counts, the year built, the lot size, and any listed improvements. Errors here are surprisingly common, and fixing a factual error is the easiest appeal you can win.

A list of recent comparable sales from the past 6 to 12 months, ideally within a half-mile of your property, is your core evidence. Zillow, Redfin, and your county recorder's deed records all carry this. The trick is finding homes genuinely similar in size, age, condition, and location, rather than the cheapest sales you can dig up.

If your home has problems that reduce value, document them with photographs and written estimates from a licensed contractor. Foundation problems, roof damage, deferred maintenance, and proximity to nuisances (a busy road, a commercial property) are all legitimate value-reduction factors.

A recent appraisal helps but isn't always necessary for a residential appeal. An independent fee appraisal typically runs $300 to $600 and carries real weight at a hearing. It pays off most when the potential tax savings are large, say a reassessment that would raise your annual bill by $2,000 or more.

Montgomery County, Maryland runs a three-year phased cycle, so keep records of both the assessed value and the phased-in taxable value. The montgomery county property tax page explains how that phase-in works and when each figure matters for your appeal.

Frequently asked questions

How often is property reassessed in Texas?

Texas appraisal districts reassess all property every year. The valuation date is January 1, and the notice of appraised value typically goes out between April and May. You have 30 days from the notice date or until May 15, whichever is later, to file a protest with the Appraisal Review Board. Texas law requires that value equal market value as of January 1 each year.

How often does California reassess property?

California does not reassess on a fixed cycle for most property. Under Proposition 13 (1978), a property is reassessed to current market value only when it sells or when new construction occurs. Between those events, the assessed value can only rise by 2% per year. So a longtime owner's assessed value can sit far below what a recent buyer on the same street is taxed on.

Does a reassessment automatically increase my property taxes?

Not necessarily. A reassessment updates your market value estimate. If local home prices fell since the last reassessment, your value might go down. If prices rose sharply, it likely goes up. Some states (Maryland, Michigan, Florida) also cap how much the assessed value can increase in a single year even when the reassessment shows a larger jump.

What state has the longest property reassessment cycle?

North Carolina's statute allows up to 8 years between full revaluations, the longest maximum cycle in the country by statute. Montana runs a 6-year statewide cycle. Pennsylvania has no mandatory cycle at all, and some counties have not formally reassessed in decades, though courts have increasingly challenged that practice.

Can my assessed value go up between reassessment years?

In most states, the assessed value on existing properties stays fixed between cycles. But new construction, a permit-triggering renovation, or a sale can all trigger a mid-cycle value update. Some states also adjust for appeals, which can raise or lower a value outside the normal schedule.

How do I find out what year my current assessment is based on?

Look at your most recent property tax notice. It states the assessment year, which is sometimes one year behind the tax year. Your county assessor's website usually shows the valuation date on your property detail page. If neither source is clear, call the assessor's office and ask specifically: 'What is the appraisal date for my current assessed value?'

Do all counties in a state follow the same reassessment schedule?

Not always. States like Illinois, Virginia, and New York give counties and municipalities significant discretion. Cook County, Illinois uses a rotating triennial schedule by township. Virginia cities must reassess every 2 years while many counties assess every 4. Always verify your specific county's schedule rather than relying on the state default.

How long do I have to appeal after a reassessment notice arrives?

The typical window is 30 to 90 days from the mailing date, but deadlines vary sharply by state. Texas gives 30 days from the notice (or until May 15). Florida gives 25 days from the TRIM notice. California has a fixed window from July 2 to September 15 in most counties. Miss the deadline and you wait for the next assessment cycle to appeal.

What is an assessment ratio and does it affect how often I'm reassessed?

The assessment ratio is the fraction of market value at which property is officially taxed. It doesn't directly affect how often you're reassessed, but it sets the number you need to argue in an appeal. If your state assesses at 80% of market and you believe market value is $350,000, your target assessed value is $280,000. States monitor ratios and may order earlier reassessments if ratios drift too far from the legal standard.

Can I appeal my property taxes in a year when no reassessment occurred?

Yes, in most states you can file an appeal any year, whether or not a formal reassessment happened. The burden is higher because the assessor set the value recently, but if you have new comparable sales, documented physical damage, or evidence of factual errors on your property record, those arguments are valid in any year. Check your state's specific appeal eligibility rules before filing.

Does selling my home trigger a reassessment in all states?

In California and some other states, yes, a sale triggers an automatic reassessment to the sale price. In most other states, the assessor uses sales as market evidence during the regular cycle but doesn't automatically reset your value on sale. Many assessors do review recently sold properties even in non-reassessment years, since sale prices are public record and provide clear market data.

What is the difference between a full reappraisal and a triennial update?

A full reappraisal reviews (or mass-models) every parcel in the jurisdiction to set new market values from scratch. A triennial or interim update (as Ohio does at year 3 of its 6-year cycle) adjusts values using statistical modeling of market trends without a full parcel-by-parcel review. Full reappraisals are more accurate but costly; updates are faster but can miss property-specific changes.

How does reassessment frequency vary for commercial vs. residential property?

Most states use the same cycle for both, but assessment ratios often differ: commercial property is sometimes assessed at a higher ratio than residential. Appeals for commercial property typically require income-approach analysis in addition to comparable sales. In places like New York City, residential and commercial properties fall under different assessment classes with different rules and deadlines.

What should I do if my state's reassessment year is coming up?

Pull your property record card from the county assessor now and check it for errors. Gather comparable sales from the past 6 to 12 months within a half-mile of your home. Photograph any physical defects that reduce value. When the notice arrives, compare the assessed value to your comps immediately and check your appeal deadline. If the assessed value sits more than 5 to 10% above what comparables support, file an appeal.

Sources

1. North Carolina Department of Revenue, Property Tax Division - Revaluation: North Carolina statute allows a maximum 8-year interval between county revaluations; the NC DOR can require more frequent cycles if ratios drift.
2. Arizona Department of Revenue - Property Tax Overview: Arizona assessors value all property annually as of January 1 each year.
3. California State Board of Equalization - Proposition 13 Overview: Under Proposition 13, California property is reassessed to current market value only upon sale or new construction; annual increases are capped at 2%.
4. Connecticut Office of Policy and Management - Property Tax and Assessment: Connecticut municipalities must conduct revaluations at least every five years.
5. Cook County Assessor's Office - Reassessment: Cook County reassesses property on a rotating triennial schedule, with different townships reassessed in different years.
6. Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Property Taxes Guide: Massachusetts requires DOR certification of local assessments every three years to ensure assessed values reflect full and fair cash value.
7. New York City Department of Finance - Property Assessment: NYC assesses property annually; Class 1 (1-3 family residential), Class 2 (larger residential), and Class 4 (commercial) have different assessment rules and appeal deadlines.
8. Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT): Maryland reassesses one-third of all properties annually on a 3-year rotating cycle and phases in increases over three years.
9. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - Property Tax Basics: Texas appraisal districts appraise all property annually as of January 1; the deadline to file a protest is 30 days from the notice or May 15, whichever is later.
10. Louisiana Tax Commission - Assessment Ratios: Louisiana assesses residential property at 10% of fair market value and commercial property at 15% of fair market value, as established by the Louisiana Constitution.