Follow the instructions on your tax notice and make an appointment with the tax assessor. The purpose of this informal review—which is not yet an appeal—is to verify the information on your property record form and make sure you understand how your value was estimated. Also, the meeting is to discover if the value is fair compared with the values of similar properties in your neighborhood and to find out if you qualify for any exemptions.
The person conducting the meeting will probably review your property record form with you, along with information you have about comparable properties. At this time you can present the information you’ve gathered.
You may not get a commitment for a change in value at this meeting, even though you have uncovered an error or the assessment appears to be inequitable. The decision to change a valuation may have to be made by someone else in writing. If so, find out when you can expect a decision.
It’s possible that this is as far as you’ll have to go if you get a favorable ruling. If you don’t, then you’ll have to proceed to the next step, which is a formal appeal.
In the meeting, view the person you’re talking to as an ally, not an adversary. If you’re calm, polite, and professional, that person will likely be more helpful and can concentrate on giving you the information you need for an appeal, if it comes to that.
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