Property Tax & Decline-in-Value Appeals
If your county's assessed value is higher than what your property is actually worth, an independent appraisal is the documented evidence an assessment appeal needs.
How Assessed Value Works
Why this affects your tax bill
Your county assessor sets an assessed value for your property each year. That value, multiplied by the local tax rate, determines your property tax bill. The assessment appeals process addresses only that assessed value — not the tax rate itself — so a successful appeal lowers the number your tax is calculated from.
Process
Three steps to an appeal
Step 01
Get the assessment appeal forms
Request assessment appeal, change-of-ownership, and new-construction-exclusion forms from your county assessor's office.
Step 02
Order an independent appraisal
We prepare a documented opinion of your property's value to submit as evidence with your appeal.
Step 03
File before the deadline
Submit your appeal and supporting appraisal to the county assessment appeals board within the filing window.
Coverage
Appeals evidence for six counties
We prepare decline-in-value appraisals for assessment appeals in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. Each county's assessor's office publishes its own forms, filing deadlines, and tax rate area information — we're happy to point you toward the right office when we take your order.
Considering a property tax appeal?
Call or email us and we'll walk through whether an appeal makes sense for your property.