If you decide to appeal your taxes by yourself, the first step is to ask your city or county tax assessor’s office for the materials it used to evaluate your property. As an example, in Washington, D.C., where I live, the Office of Tax and Revenue will send you the property worksheet, which consists of its notes on your property; and also a sales list, which is the list of recent home sales that it used to set the value of your property. Once you get these internal government documents, you should scrutinize them, looking for errors that give you a great argument for your appeal.

There are really only three basic arguments you can make to appeal your tax assessment. That keeps it nice and simple. See if one applies:

1. The assessor made a mistake in describing your house. This argument covers situations where the assessor made simple math mistakes. Maybe he got the square footage wrong (only heated, livable areas should be counted), or stated that you have five bedrooms when you have three. If you uncover these errors, lucky you—you will win. All you have to do is describe the errors in writing or in person.

2. You just bought the house for less. If you recently purchased your home for less than the assessed value would indicate, lucky you. If the assessment is wrong, and grossly inflated, you will win your appeal. (If the assessment is right, you will lose, but it means you got a tremendous bargain when you bought the place!) This is pretty cut-and-dried, and can probably be taken care of with a simple letter or phone call.

3. The assessor made poor comparisons in valuing your house. In this third situation, the assessor put a value on your house by using comparables that aren’t, well, comparable. If this is the case, you will argue that the houses the city or county used as comparisons are far better and nicer than your house. It’s the one time you want your home to be as crummy as possible! According to attorneys who handle these cases, the difference between your house and the comparables needs to be at least 10 percent for you to have a good case. Some jurisdictions will actually tell you what percentage difference they consider actionable.

Attacking the Assessor’s Comparables

Not to get all sci-fi on you, but if you are using argument number three—that the comparables are wrong—you have to establish an alternative reality. Insert twangy alien music here. First you must show why the comps the assessor used are all wrong. Are you living in the modest original farmhouse surrounded by McMansions? That’s not a fair comparison. Does the house across the street have a new state-of-the-art kitchen, while you are content with pink Formica? Then the two shouldn’t be valued at the same price.

After you knock down the assessor’s comps, you need to build up others that are more favorable to you. You need three to six comps that bolster your case. They must be of about the same size and age as your house for your argument to persuade.

Here are some sources of comparable information:

1. www.Zillow.com. This fun, fabulous real estate website shows how much your neighbors are paying for their property taxes. In the “Charts and Data” section, Zillow lists property tax bills for most homes.

2. Real estate agent. Another option is to ask a real estate agent. Many will pull a few comps as a courtesy since they are in a service business.

3. Appraiser. If you are fighting a hyperinflated tax assessment, then spring for a professional appraiser to evaluate your property and provide comps. This will cost a few hundred dollars, but will help you SAVE BIG in the years to come.

Once you find your alternative comparables, you need to evaluate them. It’s the opposite of putting your house up for sale. You want to look for anything and everything that makes other homes seem better and yours worse.

Beware of Fake Property Tax Assessment Services

Ifirst heard about this when I was a reporter in Florida, where con artists love to live. Every few years crooks somewhere in the country pose as the local tax office and do mass mailings either promising to help people reduce their property taxes or threatening to raise them. Of course, they charge a fee for their nonexistent services, then disappear. If you get such a notice, look up the number for your local tax assessment office and call to see if it’s for real.

Escalating Your Appeal

Now that you’ve got your ammunition, it’s time to shoot down your property tax assessment. You can start with a little warning shot, then ramp up as you see fit. There are five typical levels in the process, but the vast majority of people manage to get some satisfaction just by taking the first or second step.

1. Put it in writing. There’s a really strong chance you will be able to lower your property tax rate just by sending a well-written, well-documented letter. Many jurisdictions accept appeals by mail (or even e- mail). This will probably work best if your appeal is based on errors the assessor’s office made or on the fact that you purchased the home for less than the assessed price. These are straightforward arguments, which are easy to make in writing.

2. Request a meeting. Another option is to arrange an informal meeting with the tax assessor’s office. Not all localities allow this, but if yours does, the National Taxpayers Union says it works 95 percent of the time! Often the assessment staff would rather work quietly with you than see their work criticized in a public hearing.

Yes, you are coming face to face with the dreaded tax man, but don’t be too angry and aggressive. Instead, adopt the tone that you are “asking for their assistance” and you’re “grateful for their attention.” You know the drill. This is not a binding hearing, but you should still be prepared to present your argument in an organized manner. Wouldn’t it be nice to just end the process right here? Most people do and I hope you do, too.

3. Hold a hearing. If letters and meetings don’t work, you may have to make your case before a panel at a formal hearing. Sounds scary, but it’s no big deal. Just be sure to get a copy of the panel’s procedures so you are prepared to follow them.

Go to this hearing armed with a spreadsheet showing why the government’s comparables are inappropriate and another showing why yours are more accurate. Hand out packets to each panel member, complete with photos you have taken of the properties in question. Lead the panel through a 5- to 10-minute presentation, no more—you don’t want to be a bore.

Conclude with the taxable value you believe is fair. Rather than telling the tax board, “My tax assessment is unfair, please lower it,” it’s more effective to say, “My tax assessment is unfair, please lower it to X.” You may not get your precise wish, but naming a number helps frame the debate.

Sit In on a Hearing

A hot tip: Attend somebody else’s hearing a few days before your own to get a feel for the process and the questions you are likely to be asked. Listen carefully, because some panel members repeat the same questions and objections in every single case. Be prepared to answer!

4. Appeal to the state. If you lose at the local level, you can usually take your case to a state appeals board. Whether you do this will probably depend on just how egregious your tax bill is. The nice thing is that these boards typically try to dispense with most cases without holding an in-person hearing. To accomplish that, they often offer some sort of tax reduction, even if it’s not all that you had hoped for.

5. Last stop: court. I doubt you’re going to go all the way to court. I think the government will knuckle under well before that, but remember those tax attorneys who frequently take property tax cases on contingency? If you have a strong claim for a lot of money, why not hire an attorney who agrees to be paid only after winning your case? That’s a great vote of confidence that you will win big and SAVE BIG.

Results That Last Years

If appealing your property taxes seems labor intensive, remember that a successful appeal resets your rate for years to come. My neighbors Kris and Roxanne H. appealed their property taxes and won. All they did was write a letter and fill out some forms. Their case was pretty straightforward because they had just refinanced and had a current appraisal which showed their home was worth less than the city thought.

Voila! Kris and Roxanne persuaded the city to lower their home’s assessed value from about $600,000 to $550,000. The value began to creep up again after that, about 4.5 percent a year, but because it was creeping from a lower starting point, they were able to SAVE BIG. Here’s an approximation of their five-year savings:

Kris and Roxanne’s Property Taxes over Five Years

Assessed Value	Tax Bill
$600,000	$ 31,511
$550,000	28,885
BIG SAVINGS =	$ 2,626

Wow! Just by spending a little bit of time one year, Kris and Roxanne were able to save themselves $2,626 over five years. They figure they spent about two hours appealing their property taxes, so their hourly wage for the work was $1,313! A BIG SAVINGS like that is definitely worth your time and effort.

BIG TIPS

• Find out when to expect your tax assessment, then work fast so you don’t miss the deadline.

• Work backwards from the assessment ratio to figure out if the tax assessor has overvalued your home.

• Get the property worksheet and sales list that the government used to assess your home.

• Gather your own comparables that prove your house is worth less or others are worth more.

• Work your way through the system from a written appeal to a hearing and beyond.