Notice of assessment
The letter that starts your appeal clock.
The notice tells you the assessor's valuation for the year and, usually, how and by when to challenge it. It is not a bill, and it is routinely mistaken for junk mail.
Its date matters as much as its contents, because most appeal windows are measured from it. Keep it; the date on the notice is evidence of when your window opened.
It usually also carries the property characteristics the assessor holds — square footage, rooms, year built. Those are worth checking line by line.
Related
- Appeal deadline — The date after which nothing you can prove matters.
- Record error — The county's file says your home is something it is not.
- Assessed value — The figure your county uses to calculate your tax — not what your house is worth.
Property tax is state law and the details differ. For what applies where you live, see coverage by state and your appeal deadline.