Property Tax Review Checklist

Pull the recorded deed from the property folder and compare lot, block, and metes-and-bounds language to the description on the assessor's notice. Splits, lot-line adjustments, and condo conversions are common reasons the assessor's record drifts from the recorded deed.

Look up the parcel by APN on the county assessor's portal and confirm the situs address matches the building. Multi-building portfolios occasionally inherit a wrong APN at acquisition, which routes the bill — and the appeal rights — to the wrong parcel.

Compare the building gross square footage on the property card to the rent roll and the most recent appraisal. Phantom square footage from an old permit (a finished basement that was later removed, an enclosed porch never built) is one of the most provable bases for a reduction.

Save the notice to the property's tax folder with the assessment year in the filename. Note the protest deadline printed on the notice — most jurisdictions allow 30 to 60 days from the mail date, and the deadline is jurisdictional, not waivable.

Compare this year's total assessed value to the prior year. In jurisdictions with a cap (California Prop 13 at 2%, Florida Save Our Homes at 3%, Texas 10% homestead cap), an increase exceeding the cap is itself grounds for a correction request before any market-value argument.

Confirm the property is classified correctly — residential, commercial, mixed-use, agricultural — and that the assessment ratio applied matches that class. A property reclassified from residential to commercial mid-year is a frequent silent driver of a large jump.

Pull 3 to 5 arms-length sales within the last 6 to 12 months, in the same neighborhood, with similar building class and condition. Most boards require comps from before the assessment date — a sale a month after the lien date will be excluded as evidence.

Build a one-page comp grid showing each comp's PPSF and the subject's implied PPSF at the assessor's value. For commercial, run an income-approach check: market rent × occupancy ÷ market cap rate gives the value the assessor's number should not exceed.

If the assessor's value exceeds the comp range by more than 5-10%, an appeal is usually worth filing. Below that threshold, the appeal cost (consultant fee or staff time) often exceeds the expected reduction.

Walk the owner's profile against the jurisdiction's exemption list — homestead, senior (typically 65+), disability, veteran, agricultural, historic, energy-efficiency. New exemption eligibility (an owner turned 65, a property added to a historic register) is the single biggest source of one-time tax savings owners miss.

Submit the exemption form with required proofs (driver's license, age affidavit, DD-214, etc.) before the jurisdiction's exemption deadline — usually earlier than the appeal deadline. A late exemption filing forfeits the savings for the full tax year, not just the missed window.

Verify the prior year's exemptions still appear as line items on the new notice. Exemptions silently drop off after a transfer of ownership, a refinance that changes title vesting, or a county system migration — and the burden to restore is on the owner.

If the lender escrows taxes, request the lender's tax-payment confirmation rather than relying on the bill arriving in the mail. Bills routed to a prior owner's address or a paid-off lender are a routine cause of unintentional delinquency.

Recalculate: (assessed value − exemptions) × total millage ÷ 1,000 should match the bill total. Errors at the line-item level (school district levy applied twice, special assessment district included that doesn't apply) are common and worth catching before payment.

Set the payment date in AppFolio, Buildium, or the owner's accounting system at least 5 business days before the delinquency date. Delinquency penalties typically start at 5-10% on day one of delinquency and compound monthly until paid — a 60-day slip can add 15-20% to the bill.

Save the notice, bill, paid receipt, and any correspondence in the property's tax folder with the year tagged. Owners requesting prior-year tax detail at sale or refinance is a regular ask — having three to five years of clean records on hand is the standard.

Note any capex, demolition, casualty loss, or use change completed during the assessment year. These feed next year's review — a tear-off roof replacement is not a basis for an increase; a new addition is, and the assessor will catch it from permit records.

Post the tax expense to the owner's ledger with the correct GL code and accrual period. Misposted property tax shows up as a year-end NOI surprise on the owner statement and undermines the manager's reporting credibility.

Compile the comp grid, MLS sheets or recorded sale documents, photos of the subject and comps, and any independent appraisal. Boards weight recorded deed sales over MLS listings; pull both, but lead with deeds.

Lead with the requested value and one sentence of basis ("comparable sales support a value of $X versus the assessor's $Y"). Boards hear hundreds of cases — a one-page argument with the comp grid attached outperforms a five-page essay.

Submit through the assessor's portal or by certified mail with return receipt. The deadline on the notice is jurisdictional — a filing one day late is dismissed without a hearing on the merits, and the assessed value stands for the full tax year.