Property Tax Appeal Calculator
Work out how far your assessment sits above comparable sales, what a reduction would save at your local rate, and what each of the three routes to it costs — filing yourself, a flat-fee service, or a contingency service. Every county deadline is cited to the authority that sets it.
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Estimate only — not legal advice. This is the published math for property tax appeal calculator, shown as a range. Your actual outcome depends on facts, evidence, and decisions this page cannot see.
How far the assessment sits above your comparables
+31.1%
Median comparable $305,000 against an implied market value of $400,000 — a difference of $95,000. The median is used rather than the average so one unusual sale cannot carry the result.
Annual tax saving if the reduction is granted in full
$1,045$2,090
Estimated range from $1,045 to $2,090.
Why a range: The low end assumes an authority meets you halfway, which is a common outcome; the high end assumes the full reduction you are arguing for. Neither is a prediction — an assessment appeal turns on the evidence you bring and how the authority weighs it.
Three published routes, and what each keeps you
These are the providers' own published prices, stated as facts. We are not one of them and do not file appeals.
| Route | Cost | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| File it yourselfMost jurisdictions charge nothing to file a first-level appeal. The cost is your time and the evidence you gather. | $0 | $2,090 |
| Flat-fee serviceA published flat fee buys comps and a prepared filing. You still attend or waive the hearing. | $49 | $2,041 |
| Contingency serviceA published contingency rate of 25% of the first year's saving. Nothing is owed if the appeal fails. | $523 | $1,567 |
Found a gap worth arguing? Put it in a letter and check your county's deadline first — a window that has closed ends the appeal whatever the numbers say. (Property Tax Appeal Calculator)
Source of record
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
A calculator for the two numbers an assessment appeal actually turns on: how far your assessed value sits above comparable sales, and what a reduction would be worth at your local rate. It also puts the published cost of each route to that reduction beside the saving it would produce.
How it works
The comparison uses the MEDIAN of the comparable sales you enter rather than the average, because comparable sales are a small sample and one unusual transaction — a teardown, a family transfer, a distressed sale — drags an average badly. Assessing authorities reason in medians for the same reason. Where a state assesses at a fraction of market value rather than the whole, the assessed figure is divided by that ratio first so the two sides of the comparison are measured the same way. The saving is the reduction multiplied by the combined rate per hundred dollars of value, which is the form counties publish rates in.
Getting the most from it
- Take the assessed value and the rate straight off your notice and your bill — not from memory.
- Enter several recent sales of genuinely similar properties nearby. Three is a realistic minimum; one comparison is easy to dismiss.
- Leave out distressed sales, family transfers and teardowns. Including one weakens the rest of the list rather than lengthening it.
- Check your county deadline before doing anything else. A window that has closed ends the appeal whatever the numbers say.
Reading your result
A gap under about five percent is usually treated as within tolerance — valuation is approximate by design, and authorities expect to be roughly rather than exactly right. A larger gap is the argument, but it is an argument you still have to make with evidence. The saving figure assumes the reduction is granted in full, which is why it is shown as a range: meeting halfway is a common outcome.
What it can't tell you
This cannot tell you whether your comparables are genuinely comparable, whether your county assesses the way you think it does, how a particular review board tends to decide, or whether an appeal risks drawing attention to something else about the property. It does not file anything, and it is not a valuation. A licensed appraiser values property; a lawyer advises on appeals.
Frequently asked questions
Compare the assessed value against recent sales of genuinely similar properties nearby. If the assessment sits meaningfully above the median of those sales, that gap is the argument. A difference of a few percent is usually treated as within tolerance — valuation is approximate by design.
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