Property owners who wish to challenge their tax assessment believing that their property is overvalued on the Oct. 1, 2024, Grand List only have a couple of weeks left to file a written appeal with the Board of Assessment Appeals (the Board). A successful challenge results in property tax savings to the owner. By statute, the deadline to appeal is Feb. 20, 2025 (unless extended by the city/town to March 20, 2025).
Appeal forms are typically available on the municipality’s website and through the tax assessor’s office. Once an appeal is filed, you will receive a hearing date and/or a decision by the Board, ruling on whether or not a change to the property’s valuation is warranted.
If a property owner remains dissatisfied with the Board’s decision, the only recourse is to appeal to the Superior Court. A court appeal must be filed within two months of the Board’s decision, or the right to appeal is lost.
As with any contested administrative or court proceeding, the decision to pursue a tax appeal should not be made lightly, and it is recommended that the owner engage counsel. A thoughtful, critical analysis is necessary and will usually result in a financial benefit to the property owner, whether an appeal is ultimately pursued or not.
Once an appeal is underway, the property owner and their attorney must work as a team to prepare a compelling presentation to the Board and, if necessary, to the Court, utilizing fact and expert witnesses, and documentary evidence to establish that the municipality’s value is excessive, and that the taxpayer’s proposed value is correct.
