Property tax appeal annual calendar: what to do each month

Last updated 2026-07-11

Why does the property tax calendar matter so much?

Miss your appeal deadline and the assessor keeps whatever value they picked. You can't appeal mid-year just because you finally read the notice sitting on your counter. Most states give you exactly one window per year, and some give you as few as 30 days from the date the notice lands. ^[1]

The stakes are real. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy estimates that 30 to 60 percent of taxable properties in the United States are over-assessed, while fewer than 5 percent of homeowners file an appeal in any given year. ^[2] That gap between what people could save and what they actually do is mostly a calendar problem. They don't know when to act.

This guide treats the property tax year as a 12-month operating calendar. Some months are pure prep. Some are action. Some are watching and waiting. Knowing which is which is half the fight.

How does the property tax cycle actually work from January through December?

The cycle has four phases that repeat every year: assessment, notice, appeal, and billing. They don't line up neatly with the calendar year in every state, but the sequence never changes.

Phase	Typical Timing	What You Do
Assessment date (lien date)	Jan 1 in most states; April 1 in Maine and Maryland	Nothing yet, but your property's condition on this date is what the assessor uses
Assessment notices mailed	Feb through May, varies heavily by county	Read it the day it arrives, calendar your deadline
Appeal filing window	30 to 90 days after notice, varies by state	File your appeal
Informal review / hearing	Spring through fall	Present your evidence
Board of Equalization / ARB hearing	Summer through fall	Formal fallback if informal fails
Tax bills mailed	Oct through Dec in most states	Pay, or pay under protest in some states
Payment deadlines	Nov through Feb	Pay on time even while appealing

Florida shows how far the variation goes: the assessment date is January 1, notices go out in August, and the Value Adjustment Board deadline is typically 25 days after the notice mails. ^[3] Cook County, Illinois runs a triennial reassessment cycle, so your township's appeal window depends on which third of the county gets reassessed that year. ^[4] Texas sets the assessment date at January 1 and gives most owners until May 15 or 30 days after the notice, whichever is later. ^[5]

The table above is a rough national template. Your county's real dates are what govern. Look them up before you do anything else.

What should you do in January and February to prepare for an appeal?

January is the best month to get ahead, even though nothing urgent has happened yet. In the states that use January 1 as the lien date, your property's condition on January 1 is legally the snapshot the assessor sets value from. ^[1] If your roof caved in on December 30, document it with dated photos before any repairs. If the house flooded, get a written repair estimate before the end of January.

Pull last year's assessment record from your county assessor's website right now. Every county in the country has a public property search, and almost all of them are free. Confirm your recorded square footage, bedroom count, bathroom count, lot size, and construction quality grade. Errors in these fields happen more than people expect. A square footage error of even 150 feet can mean thousands of dollars in over-assessment. Write down anything that looks wrong.

February is for comparable sales. Your appeal, if you file one, rests mostly on evidence that similar homes sold for less than what the assessor says yours is worth. Pull three to six sales from the six months before your county's assessment date. Zillow, Redfin, and your county recorder's deed database are all fine starting points, but the county's own sales database carries the most weight at a hearing because it's the same data the assessor used.

Bought your home in the past 12 months for well under the assessed value? Keep that closing disclosure. In many states a recent arm's-length sale is the single strongest thing you can put in front of a board.

What happens in March and April, and what should you be watching for?

Notices start arriving in many counties in March and April. This is where people either act or quietly forfeit their rights for the year.

When the notice arrives, do three things the same day. Write the appeal deadline on a physical calendar and set a phone reminder two weeks out. Check that the notice correctly identifies your property (address, parcel ID, legal description). Compare the assessed value to recent sale prices for similar homes near you.

Don't sit on the decision. Most appeal deadlines run 30 to 60 days from the notice date. ^[1] In Texas, the deadline is May 15 or 30 days after the notice, whichever is later. ^[5] In California under Proposition 13, the assessment is locked at purchase price plus 2 percent annual inflation unless there's new construction or a change in ownership, so a straight value appeal rarely applies. You can still appeal base year value errors or supplemental assessments within 60 days of the notice. ^[6] In Georgia, owners get 45 days from the date the notice is mailed. ^[7]

If your county sends notices in early spring, March or April is when you file, not when you keep researching. File first. Refine your evidence before the hearing.

For counties like those in Cook County, Illinois, the township-specific calendar means your window could open anytime from March through October. Check the Assessor's site by township name.

What should you file and when during the May through July appeal window?

May through July is peak appeal season across most of the country. If your state mails notices in spring, your filing deadline probably falls here.

The standard filing needs three things: a completed appeal form (from your county's assessor or Board of Equalization website), your evidence of value (comparable sales, a recent appraisal, photos of condition problems, or a repair estimate), and sometimes a filing fee (usually $0 to $50 for residential, so check your county). ^[1]

A few state-level facts to keep straight. In Texas, the Appraisal Review Board hearing process runs May through July in most counties, with informal meetings often available in May before the formal ARB hearing. ^[5] In New York City, the Tax Commission hearing window opens March 1 and most residential hearings wrap by June. ^[8] In Bexar County, Texas, ARB informal hearings typically run May through July. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, the Board of Assessors has 180 days to respond after the appeal deadline.

At the informal hearing (where one exists), you meet with a county appraiser, show your comps, and try to settle before the formal board. Take a fair offer. The informal stage resolves most appeals without a formal hearing, and the savings are identical whether you settled at the desk or won at a board.

Want a structured way to organize evidence and hearing prep? TaxFightBack's DIY appeal kit walks through comparable selection, form completion, and hearing scripts so you keep 100 percent of any reduction instead of handing 30 to 40 percent to a contingency firm.

Homeowners looking at Los Angeles County property tax appeals should note the Assessment Appeals Board filing deadline is typically November 30. That's a big exception to the spring-heavy national pattern.

What do August and September look like if you've already filed?

If you filed in spring, August and September are the waiting months. Formal board hearings get scheduled, and your county should have mailed or emailed a hearing date by now. No date yet? Call the board's office. Backlogs are real. The Bexar County ARB and similar large Texas counties process tens of thousands of cases and sometimes reschedule.

Use this time to refresh your comps. If your hearing isn't until September, sales data from nine months back can look stale to a board. Pull new comps from the three months closest to your county's assessment date. For Texas, that's January 1. For most other states, also January 1, but confirm.

August is when Florida's Notice of Proposed Property Taxes (the TRIM notice) goes out. The Florida Department of Revenue requires county property appraisers to mail TRIM notices by August 24 each year, and the Value Adjustment Board petition deadline is typically 25 days after that mailing. ^[3] Florida homeowners who sleep on the TRIM notice miss one of the shortest windows in the country.

If you're in a state with a triennial or quadrennial reassessment cycle (Illinois, Pennsylvania, a few others), your county might not be reassessing this year at all. August is a good time to check the assessor's website and find out when your next mass reassessment lands, so you can plan your evidence-gathering ahead.

What should you do if your appeal is denied or you get a bad outcome?

A denial at the informal stage is not the end. Most states have a formal tier: a Board of Equalization, a Board of Assessment Appeals, an Appraisal Review Board, or something similar. After that you can usually take the case to state district court, though that gets expensive fast.

Each step has its own clock. In Texas, after an ARB hearing you have 60 days to file suit in district court, or you can request binding arbitration for properties valued under $5 million (residential under $3 million qualifies for the lower-cost track). ^[5] In Georgia, you appeal to the county Board of Equalization, then to Superior Court. ^[7] Most state-level administrative appeals must be filed within 30 to 90 days of the board's written decision.

If you're in Montgomery County or a similar multi-tier jurisdiction, know which tier you're on and the next tier's deadline before you walk out of the hearing room.

For Hennepin County, Minnesota and similar large metro counties, the Minnesota Tax Court runs a small claims division for properties under $300,000 (as of 2024) that costs far less than full district court litigation. ^[9]

Document every contact: dates, names, what was offered, what was denied. If you end up in court, your paper trail is your case.

What happens in October and November when tax bills arrive?

Tax bills land in most counties between October and December. The number reflects the assessed value, the tax rate, and any exemptions the county applied.

If your appeal is still pending when the bill shows up, you almost certainly owe the full amount by the due date anyway. Don't withhold payment betting your appeal will shrink it. Most states require you to pay the undisputed portion (or the full bill if the appeal covers the whole value) to dodge interest and penalties. Texas is the clearest example: you must pay at least the lower of the prior year's tax or 90 percent of the current year's tax to avoid penalties while an ARB appeal is pending. ^[5]

Some states let you pay under protest. That flags your payment as contested, which can matter for certain refund claims. California homeowners who paid while a base year assessment appeal was pending can get a refund with interest if the appeal wins. ^[6]

October is also when you check whether you've been granted every exemption you qualify for. Homestead, senior freeze, disability, and veterans exemptions all cut your taxable value before the rate hits, and many carry annual renewal requirements or one-time filing deadlines that fall in autumn. For Santa Clara County, California, the homeowners' exemption claim typically must be filed by February 15, but confirming in October that it's active on your current bill gives you time to fix it for next year.

If you're handling online tax payment for property, most county portals open payment for the full year's bill in October or November and close with a penalty on a date set by state law.

What should you do in December to set up next year's appeal?

December looks quiet. It isn't.

This is the month to review the year. Did you get a reduction? Was it meaningful? Did you miss a deadline? Did you find record errors that never got corrected? Write it all down.

If you won an appeal, check whether the reduction carries forward automatically or whether the assessor can reset your value next January 1. In most states outside California, the answer is reset. Your value gets re-estimated every year (or every reassessment cycle), so winning this year buys you nothing next year.

If your county has a December 31 exemption deadline (some do, especially for senior and disability exemptions that take effect the following tax year), file before the month ends. New York's senior citizen exemption, for example, has deadlines that vary by county but often fall in winter. ^[8]

Pull your December property record one more time. If the assessor updated your characteristics after a permit you pulled during the year (an addition, a pool, a new structure), you want to know before the January 1 assessment date locks in the higher value. December is exactly the time to check.

For St. Louis County personal property tax owners, December 31 is the assessment date for personal property, so everything you own on that date is taxable the following year. Selling an old vehicle or business equipment before December 31 cuts next year's bill.

Which states have the most unusual or high-stakes appeal deadlines?

Most people assume their state follows the spring-notice, summer-hearing pattern. Plenty don't.

State	Assessment Date	Notice Mailed	Appeal Deadline	Governing Authority
Texas	Jan 1	April/May	May 15 or 30 days after notice	Tax Code §41.44
Florida	Jan 1	By Aug 24	25 days after TRIM mailing	F.S. 194.011
California	Jan 1 (or change in ownership)	July/Aug (supplemental)	60 days after notice	Rev & Tax Code §1603
New York City	Jan 5	Jan	March 1 to Tax Commission	NYC Admin Code §163
Georgia	Jan 1	Spring	45 days after notice	O.C.G.A. §48-5-311
Illinois (Cook)	Jan 1	Township-specific	30 days after publication	35 ILCS 200/16-55
Maryland	Jan 1	Feb (triennial)	45 days after notice	Tax-Property Art. §14-502

Texas Tax Code Section 41.44 states: "A property owner who appeals an order of the appraisal review board must file a petition for review in the district court within 60 days after the date the property owner receives notice of the order." ^[5] California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 1603 requires that an application for a reduced assessment be filed "not later than 60 days after the date of mailing" of the notice. ^[6]

The lesson is simple: never assume your state matches the national average. Look up the exact statute for your county before you trust any generic advice, this article included.

What evidence should you have ready before your hearing, and when should you gather it?

The evidence question is really a timing question. Here's when each type is worth gathering.

Comparable sales (gather 3 to 4 months before your hearing): You want arm's-length sales of similar properties that closed within 12 months of your county's assessment date. Older sales lose their punch. The county's own sales database, on most assessor websites, gives you the same data the assessor used. ^[2]

Property condition documentation (gather immediately after any damage, before repairs): Photos with embedded timestamps, contractor estimates, and insurance adjuster reports all count. A hearing officer looking at 40-year-old wood rot in dated photos is far more persuaded than by a verbal description.

Independent appraisal (gather 2 to 3 months before the hearing if you plan to use one): A licensed residential appraisal typically costs $300 to $600 and is the most persuasive single document you can present. It's overkill for small disputes. It's worth it when the tax savings justify it.

Property record errors (pull the record in January and again right before the hearing): If the record shows 2,400 square feet and your house is 2,100, bring a floor plan or a measurement. This error is fixable at the hearing and often produces an immediate reduction.

Neighborhood market data (pull 30 to 60 days before the hearing): If prices in your neighborhood fell between the assessment date and your hearing, that trend backs your argument that the value was aggressive. Regional MLS data, Redfin market reports, or the FHFA House Price Index for your metro all work. ^[10]

What are the most common deadline mistakes homeowners make?

The biggest mistake is treating the appeal deadline like the bill due date. They're not the same. The appeal deadline and the payment deadline are two different clocks, and confusing them is how people throw away a year of savings.

The second: waiting to file until the evidence is perfect. File first. You can usually add evidence up to a few days before the hearing. A filed appeal with thin evidence beats a missed deadline with a flawless case every single time.

Third: skimming the notice. Most notices print the appeal deadline right on the face of the document. If yours doesn't, the assessor's office has to tell you. Call them. The deadline is public information.

Fourth: assuming a denied exemption can be fixed mid-year. In most states, exemption applications for the current tax year close once the assessment rolls are certified. Miss the homestead deadline and you wait until next year.

Fifth: letting a contingency firm blow your deadline. If you hired a firm on contingency, get written confirmation that they filed before the deadline. Some firms carry so many cases that individual deadlines slip through the cracks. You lose the appeal right, not the firm.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common property tax appeal deadline in the United States?

The most common window is 30 to 60 days after the assessment notice is mailed, though some states give as few as 25 days (Florida) and some allow up to 90. Because the mailing date varies by county, the practical deadline lands anywhere from April through November depending on where you live. Always check your specific county's deadline instead of relying on a national average.

Can I appeal my property tax assessment after the deadline has passed?

In almost every state, no. Most states treat the appeal deadline as jurisdictional, meaning a board cannot legally hear a late appeal. A handful allow late filings in extraordinary cases, such as when the notice was never delivered, but the bar is high. Your only practical option after a missed deadline is to build a stronger case for the following year's assessment cycle.

Do I have to pay my property tax bill while my appeal is pending?

Yes, in nearly all states. Missing the bill's due date triggers interest and penalties that usually swamp any savings from a successful appeal. Texas requires payment of at least 90 percent of the current year's levy (or the prior year's, whichever is lower) while an ARB appeal is pending. Check your state's specific rule, but assume you have to pay on time.

When do property tax assessment notices go out in most states?

Most states mail notices between February and May for a January 1 assessment date. Florida is a major exception: TRIM notices go out by August 24. New York City sends notices in January. California mails supplemental assessment notices year-round, triggered by ownership changes. Your county assessor's website lists the specific mailing schedule for your area.

How far back can I get a property tax refund if I win my appeal?

Most states limit refunds to the current year or the year under appeal. Some allow appeals of prior years if you can prove the assessment was fraudulent or the result of a clerical error, but those exceptions are narrow. A few states allow rollback to one or two prior years if you can show a continuing error. Check your state's assessment correction statute or the assessor's website for the refund scope.

What happens if the assessor raises my value after I win an appeal?

In most states, the assessor can reassess every year and raise the value the following January 1 even if you won a reduction this year. California is the major exception: Proposition 13 caps annual increases at 2 percent unless there's a change in ownership or new construction. Everywhere else, winning an appeal is a one-year fix.

How long does a property tax appeal take from filing to resolution?

Informal reviews often close in 30 to 60 days. Formal board hearings typically take two to six months after filing. Appeal to state court and you add one to three years. In a busy county like Cook County, Illinois, or Los Angeles County, California, the total can stretch to 12 to 18 months from filing to a final written order, especially for contested cases.

Can I appeal my property taxes every year?

Yes. In states with annual reassessment (Texas, Florida, most others), you can file every year. In states with triennial or quadrennial cycles (parts of Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland), you can only appeal in a reassessment year unless your value changed outside the normal cycle. There's no penalty for filing and losing, so if you believe you're over-assessed, filing is almost always worth it.

What is a homestead exemption and does it affect my appeal deadline?

A homestead exemption reduces the assessed value (or capped tax) on your primary residence. It's separate from a value appeal. Most homestead applications carry their own annual deadline, often January 1 through April 30 depending on the state. It won't change your appeal deadline, but failing to claim one means you pay tax on a higher effective value no matter how accurate your assessment is.

What does an appraisal district or county assessor actually do between January and April?

The assessor's office analyzes sales from the prior calendar year, applies mass appraisal models to every parcel in the county, and produces a preliminary assessment roll. Staff appraisers review parcels flagged for large value swings. Notices then get printed and mailed. The assessor is not inspecting most properties individually. Mass appraisal runs on statistical models, which is exactly why errors in your recorded characteristics produce systematic over-assessments.

Is there a difference between a property tax appeal and a property tax exemption application?

Yes, they're separate processes with different forms, deadlines, and outcomes. An appeal challenges the market value the assessor assigned. An exemption application (homestead, senior, disability, veteran) asks for a reduction in the taxable portion of that value. You can file both in the same year. Many homeowners skip one or the other because they assume the two are the same thing.

What if my county mails the assessment notice to the wrong address?

Most state statutes require proper notice as a condition of a valid assessment, but the burden of proving non-delivery falls on you. Courts generally hold that mailing to the address on record counts as proper notice even if you never got it. Update your mailing address with the county assessor right after any move, and check your property record online every January whether or not a paper notice shows up.

Do I need a lawyer or appraiser to appeal my property taxes?

For most residential appeals, no. Boards of Equalization and Appraisal Review Boards are built for self-represented owners, and the evidence standards are administrative, not judicial. A licensed appraisal ($300 to $600) can strengthen your case but is usually overkill unless the potential savings top $500 per year. Attorneys make sense for commercial property or court-level appeals.

Sources

1. International Association of Assessing Officers, 'Standard on Mass Appraisal of Real Property': Most states allow one appeal window per year, typically 30 to 90 days from notice, and use January 1 as the assessment date
2. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 'Assessment Inequity' research summary: 30 to 60 percent of taxable properties in the U.S. may be over-assessed, yet fewer than 5 percent of homeowners file appeals annually
3. Florida Department of Revenue, 'Property Tax Overview': Florida requires TRIM notices to be mailed by August 24 and the Value Adjustment Board petition deadline is typically 25 days after mailing; governed by F.S. 194.011
4. Cook County Assessor's Office, 'Appeal a Valuation': Cook County operates on a triennial reassessment cycle, with township-specific appeal windows and a 30-day filing period after notice publication
5. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, 'Property Tax Code Chapter 41': Texas Tax Code §41.44 sets the appeal deadline at May 15 or 30 days after notice, whichever is later; property owners have 60 days after ARB order to file in district court; payment of 90% of current levy required while appeal is pending
6. California State Board of Equalization, 'Assessment Appeals': California Rev & Tax Code §1603 requires an assessment appeal application be filed within 60 days of the notice mailing; Proposition 13 caps annual increases at 2 percent absent a change in ownership or new construction; refunds with interest available on paid taxes if a base year appeal succeeds
7. Georgia Department of Revenue, 'Property Tax': Georgia property owners have 45 days from the notice mailing date to appeal under O.C.G.A. §48-5-311; appeals proceed to the county Board of Equalization and then to Superior Court
8. Minnesota Tax Court, 'Property Tax Appeals': The Minnesota Tax Court small claims division handles properties valued under $300,000 (as of 2024) at lower cost than full district court litigation
9. Federal Housing Finance Agency, 'House Price Index': FHFA House Price Index provides metro-level price trend data usable as supporting evidence in property tax appeal hearings
10. Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, 'Real Property': Maryland uses a triennial reassessment cycle with notices mailed in February and a 45-day appeal deadline under Tax-Property Art. §14-502
11. Illinois General Assembly, '35 ILCS 200/16-55 Assessment appeal deadline': Illinois property owners have 30 days after the publication of the assessment list to file a complaint with the Board of Review under 35 ILCS 200/16-55