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Property Tax Appeals

Assessed too high? Appeal it with real evidence

If the County Assessor has your property above what the market supports, you are overpaying every year until somebody proves otherwise. We prepare the independent appraisal that supports a decline in value reduction or a formal hearing before the Assessment Appeals Board.
  • Proposition 8 decline in value appraisals
  • Base year value and change in ownership disputes
  • Evidence packages for the Assessment Appeals Board
  • Residential, commercial, industrial and land
call 818-355-7168

Free first look

Send the address and your assessed value. If the numbers do not support an appeal, we will tell you straight away.
Consultation Form

Appeals we support

An appeal succeeds or fails on the evidence of value put in front of the board. These are the situations where an independent appraisal usually makes the difference.

Proposition 8 decline in value

Where the market value of your property on the lien date has fallen below its factored base year value, the assessment can be reduced for that year. This is the most common appeal, and it turns entirely on what the property was genuinely worth on that specific date.

Base year value appeals

Challenges to the value established at a change in ownership or on new construction. Getting the base year right matters far more than a single year’s reduction, because every future assessment is calculated from it.

Assessment Appeals Board evidence

A complete, hearing-ready valuation package: comparable sales verified from source, an income analysis where the property warrants one, and the reasoning set out so a board member can follow it without a background in appraisal.

Supplemental and escape assessments

Where a supplemental or escape assessment arrives after a purchase, a transfer or completed construction and the value looks wrong. These carry their own filing deadlines that run from the date of the notice.

New construction and remodel assessments

Where the value added by construction has been overstated. What a project cost and what it adds to market value are frequently different numbers, and only the second one is assessable.

Commercial, industrial and income property

Income based appeals on office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets, where actual rents, vacancy, expenses and the current capitalisation rate tell a very different story from the assessed value.

The dates that decide whether you can appeal at all

More appeals are lost to a missed deadline than to a weak valuation. The filing windows are strict, and a late application generally will not be heard however strong the evidence behind it.

January 1 lien date (The value date)

Annual assessments are based on the property's status and value as of January 1. That is the date the appraisal has to speak to, not today's market.

July 2 (Window opens)

The regular filing period for annual assessment appeals opens on July 2 across California counties.

September 15 or November 30 (Window closes)

The closing date depends on the county and on how it notifies owners of assessed values. Confirm your county's date before you rely on it.

Supplemental and escape notices (Separate clock)

These carry their own deadline running from the date on the notice rather than the annual cycle, and it is short. Do not wait for July.

We are appraisers, not tax agents or attorneys. Deadlines, filing procedure and eligibility vary by county and by circumstance, so confirm them with your county Assessment Appeals Board or your tax representative. Our role is the valuation evidence. Come to us early enough that the appraisal is ready before your window closes.

Who we work with

Owners filing on their own behalf, and the professionals who represent them.

Homeowners

Owners who bought near a market peak, or whose assessment simply does not reflect what comparable homes on their street have actually been selling for.

Commercial and industrial owners

Where actual rents, vacancy and expenses no longer support the assessed value, and the gap is worth serious money every year it persists.

Investors and multi-property owners

Portfolios where several parcels are over-assessed. We apply consistent methodology across all of them so the results hold together.

Tax agents and attorneys

Representatives who need independent valuation evidence and, where the hearing calls for it, an appraiser who can testify to it.

What clients say

From the owners and representatives who have taken the evidence to a board.
I had filed once before on my own with printouts and got nowhere. With a proper appraisal behind it the second application went very differently.

Beatriz Salgado

Our building’s actual rents had not recovered but the assessment assumed they had. The income analysis made that impossible to argue with.

Howard Kimmel

I represent owners at hearings and the quality of the appraisal decides how the session goes. His reports are the ones I do not have to defend twice.

Tanya Iyer

How it works

Four steps, starting with an honest assessment of whether an appeal is worth pursuing at all.

Free first look

Send the address and your assessed value. We check it against the market at the lien date and tell you whether a case exists.

Scope and fee

If it does, we quote a flat fee and a delivery date built around your filing deadline, and you decide whether to proceed.

Appraisal

Inspection where useful, verified comparable sales at the correct date of value, and an income analysis where the property warrants one.

Hearing support

A hearing-ready report for you or your representative to file, with testimony available if the board wants to hear from the appraiser.

Where we work

Seven counties across Southern California. Each county runs its own Assessment Appeals Board with its own procedure and calendar.
  • Los Angeles
  • Orange
  • Riverside
  • San Diego
  • Ventura
  • Santa Barbara
  • San Bernardino

Property tax appeal questions

The questions owners ask most before deciding whether to file.
What is a property tax appeal?
It is a formal application asking the county to reduce the assessed value of your property because it exceeds market value. The application is decided by the county Assessment Appeals Board, which weighs the evidence of value each side presents. Since your tax bill is calculated from the assessed value, a reduction lowers what you pay.
Under Proposition 13 your assessment is based on a base year value that rises by a capped amount each year. Proposition 8 allows a temporary reduction where the property’s market value on the January 1 lien date has fallen below that factored base year value. The reduction applies to that year and the assessment is reviewed again in subsequent years, so it can go back up as the market recovers.
The regular filing period for annual assessments opens on July 2. The closing date is either September 15 or November 30 depending on the county and how it notifies owners of assessed values, so confirm your county’s date directly. Supplemental and escape assessments run on a separate and shorter clock that starts from the date on the notice. Missing a deadline generally ends the matter for that year regardless of how strong your evidence is.
The usual signs are buying at or near a market peak, an assessment that exceeds what comparable properties nearby have recently sold for, income property whose actual rents and occupancy no longer support the value, a new construction assessment based on what the work cost rather than what it added, or damage and condition issues the Assessor has no record of. Send us the address and your assessed value and we will check it at no charge.
You can file without one, and for a clear-cut case with obvious comparable sales that may be enough. Where the property is unusual, the sales need adjustment, income analysis is involved or the Assessor pushes back, an independent appraisal by a certified appraiser carries considerably more weight than a list of sales printed from a property website. We will tell you honestly on the first call which situation you are in.
We provide the valuation evidence and, where the board wants to hear from the appraiser, we can testify to it. Filing the application and presenting your case is done by you, a property tax agent or an attorney. We work alongside representatives regularly and are happy to be introduced to yours.
The first look is free. Beyond that we quote a flat fee once we know the property, and you will have the figure before any work starts. Whether it is worth pursuing depends on the size of the gap and how many years the over-assessment is likely to persist, which is exactly what the free first look is for. If the numbers do not justify the fee, we will say so.
It is a real consideration. The board determines the correct value for the year at issue, and in principle that determination is not limited to the number you proposed. In practice this is uncommon where the application is well supported, but it is one reason to establish that you actually have a case before filing rather than after. Discuss the specific risk with your tax representative or attorney.
Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego. Each county runs its own Assessment Appeals Board with its own procedure and hearing calendar, so tell us the county when you contact us.

Find out whether you have a case, at no cost

Send the address and your assessed value. If an appeal is not worth pursuing, you will hear that on the first call rather than after paying for a report.
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