Rob Hartley

Founder, AppealDesk · February 13, 2026

9 Proven Ways to Lower Your Property Tax Bill

Updated February 2026 · 11 min read

1. Appeal Your Assessment with Comparable Sales Evidence

Filing a formal appeal is the single most effective way to reduce your property tax bill. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimates that 30–60% of U.S. homes are overassessed, yet fewer than 5% of homeowners ever challenge their assessment. When they do, they win reductions roughly 40–60% of the time.

The foundation of a strong appeal is comparable sales — recent sales of similar homes in your area that sold for less than what the county says your home is worth. You need three to five solid comparables: homes within 20% of your square footage, in the same neighborhood, with a similar number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and sold within the last 6–12 months.

On a $400,000 home with a 1.5% tax rate (near the national median, per Tax Foundation data), even a 10% assessment reduction saves $600 per year. In states with multi-year reassessment cycles like Illinois (triennial in Cook County) or Pennsylvania (sometimes decades between reassessments), that single appeal can save you thousands over the full cycle.

For a complete walkthrough of the appeal process from start to finish, see our step-by-step appeal guide.

2. Check for Factual Errors in Your Property Record

Before you gather comparable sales or fill out appeal forms, start with the simplest check: make sure your county has your property details right. Assessor databases are full of errors — wrong square footage, an extra bedroom or bathroom that does not exist, a garage listed as finished living space, or an incorrect lot size. These mistakes inflate your assessed value and you pay more than you should.

Pull up your property record card from your county assessor’s website (or request it in person). Compare every line to reality: total square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, garage type, lot dimensions, year built, and any noted improvements. If your home was listed at 2,400 square feet but actually measures 2,150, that 250-square-foot difference could mean $15,000–$40,000 in excess assessed value depending on your market.

When you find an error, contact your county assessor’s office directly. Many counties will correct factual mistakes without requiring a formal appeal. If they will not, the error becomes powerful evidence in your appeal filing. Either way, this is the lowest-effort, highest-certainty path to a reduction.

3. Apply for Your Homestead Exemption

A homestead exemption reduces your taxable value if the property is your primary residence. It is free to apply for, available in most states, and many homeowners never claim it. In Texas, the general homestead exemption removes $100,000 from your assessed value for school district taxes. In Florida, it is $50,000. In Georgia, it varies by county but typically saves $300–$700 per year.

You typically file a one-time application with your county assessor, and the exemption remains in effect as long as you live in the home. According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s property tax database, many states also cap annual assessment increases for homestead properties — California’s Proposition 13 limits increases to 2% per year, and Florida’s Save Our Homes provision caps them at 3%.

If you are 65 or older, you may qualify for an additional senior exemption that stacks on top of the general homestead benefit. See our guide to senior property tax exemptions for state-by-state details.

4. Apply for Age or Disability Exemptions

Beyond the standard homestead exemption, most states offer additional property tax relief for seniors (typically age 65 and older) and individuals with disabilities. These programs take several forms: additional dollar-amount exemptions that further reduce your taxable value, assessment freezes that lock your assessed value at the current level so it never increases, tax deferrals that let you postpone payment until you sell the home, and income-based credits that reduce your bill if your household income falls below a threshold.

In Texas, the over-65 homestead exemption adds an additional $10,000 reduction for school district taxes on top of the general homestead exemption, and it freezes your school tax amount permanently. In Illinois, the Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption reduces your assessed value by $8,000. Illinois also offers a Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze that locks the equalized assessed value for homeowners age 65 or older with household income under $65,000.

Contact your county assessor to find out what programs are available in your area. Many of these exemptions require annual renewal with income documentation, so mark your calendar to reapply each year. The savings can be substantial — often $500 to $2,000 annually depending on your state and property value.

5. Document Property Condition Issues

County assessors use mass appraisal models that estimate your home’s value based on statistical averages — square footage, location, age, and recent sales in your area. What these models cannot see is the actual condition of your property. If your home has deferred maintenance, structural problems, or systems nearing the end of their useful life, the assessor’s model is almost certainly overvaluing it.

Document everything that reduces your home’s market value compared to similar properties in good condition. This includes: a roof approaching or past its expected lifespan, foundation cracks or settling, outdated electrical or plumbing systems, water damage or mold remediation needs, aging HVAC equipment, and any structural issues identified in a home inspection. Take clear photographs and, when possible, get written repair estimates from licensed contractors.

A home with a 25-year-old roof and an aging furnace is worth meaningfully less than an otherwise identical home with new systems. If you can show that your home needs $30,000 in repairs that comparable sales did not need, that is strong evidence for a $20,000–$30,000 reduction in assessed value. Present this alongside your comparable sales data when you file your appeal for the strongest possible case.

6. Identify Negative Location Factors

Mass appraisal models are built on averages for a given neighborhood, but individual properties within the same neighborhood can face very different conditions. If your home is affected by negative location factors that comparable homes are not, you have grounds for a lower assessment.

Common location-based issues that reduce property value include: proximity to a busy highway, railroad tracks, or commercial property; location in a flood zone or near environmental contamination (former industrial sites, landfills); power lines or cell towers on or adjacent to your property; airport noise zones; and proximity to wastewater treatment plants or other undesirable infrastructure.

For example, research consistently shows that homes adjacent to high-voltage power lines sell for 5–15% less than comparable homes without that proximity. Homes in FEMA-designated flood zones sell for roughly 4–7% less due to insurance costs and perceived risk. If your home sits on a busy road while your comparables are on quiet cul-de-sacs, that difference alone can justify a meaningful reduction.

Document these factors with maps, photographs, and any available studies or news articles. In Harris County, Texas, for instance, flood damage from recent storms is a well-established basis for assessment reductions. Review boards respond to specific, documented evidence — not vague complaints about the neighborhood.

7. Request Your Property Record Card

Your property record card is the document your county assessor uses to calculate your assessed value. It contains every data point that feeds into the valuation model: square footage, lot size, year built, number of rooms, construction type, quality grade, condition rating, and any noted improvements like a pool, deck, or finished basement. If any of these details are wrong, your assessment is wrong.

Most county assessor websites let you look up your property record online. If yours does not, call the assessor’s office and request a copy — they are public records and you have a right to see yours. When the card arrives, compare every field against reality. Measure your home’s actual square footage if you can (or use your original closing documents). Check the bedroom and bathroom count. Verify that any improvements listed actually exist and are described accurately.

Pay special attention to the “condition” and “quality” ratings. These are subjective grades the assessor assigns, and they have a large impact on your valuation. If your home is rated “excellent” condition when it actually has significant deferred maintenance, that rating alone could be inflating your assessment by 10–20%. Flag it in your appeal.

8. Compare Your Assessment Ratio to Your Neighbors

Even if your assessed value seems reasonable when compared to your home’s market value, it might be unfairly high compared to similar homes on your street. This is called an “equalization” or “uniformity” argument, and it is a powerful appeal strategy that many homeowners overlook.

The assessment ratio is the percentage of market value at which your home is assessed. In most states, all properties within a jurisdiction should be assessed at the same ratio. If your home is assessed at 95% of market value while comparable homes on your block are assessed at 80%, you are being treated unequally — and that is grounds for a reduction even if your assessment accurately reflects your home’s market value.

To build this case, look up the assessed values and recent sale prices of five to ten comparable homes nearby. Calculate each home’s effective assessment ratio (assessed value divided by sale price). If your ratio is meaningfully higher than the median, you have a uniformity argument. Many states, including Illinois and New York, have explicit equalization standards that require assessments to be uniform within a given class of property.

This approach works best when combined with comparable sales evidence. Present both: “My home is overvalued compared to what similar homes sold for, and I am assessed at a higher ratio than my neighbors.” That two-pronged argument is difficult for a review board to dismiss.

9. Time Your Appeal Around Market Downturns

Property assessments typically reflect market conditions from a specific date — often January 1 of the tax year, though this varies by state. If home prices in your area have softened, plateaued, or declined since the assessment date, the most recent comparable sales will naturally support a lower value than what the assessor used.

This does not mean you should wait for a market crash to appeal. If your home is overassessed today, appeal today. But if you are deciding whether this is the year to invest the effort, consider the market direction. After a period of rapid appreciation, assessors often overcorrect — they see prices rising and project that trend forward, but the market may have already leveled off. In those windows, the gap between assessed value and actual market value is at its widest, and your chances of winning a reduction are highest.

Rising interest rates, seasonal slowdowns, and local economic shifts all create these opportunities. Monitor recent sale prices in your neighborhood through county records, Zillow, or Redfin. When you see prices softening while your assessment stays flat or increases, that is your signal.

In states that reassess annually — like Texas and Florida — you get a fresh opportunity each year. In states with longer cycles, the year immediately after a reassessment is your best chance, because the new values may already be outdated by the time they take effect.

The Bottom Line

Lowering your property taxes is not a single action — it is a combination of strategies that compound over time. Start with the highest-impact steps: file for your homestead exemption, check your property record for errors, and appeal your assessment with solid comparable sales evidence. Then layer on condition documentation, location factors, and equalization arguments where they apply.

The most important thing is to act before your state’s deadline. A missed deadline means waiting an entire year. If you are not sure where to start, use the overassessment calculator to see if your numbers support an appeal, or browse your state’s property tax appeal guide for deadlines and filing instructions.

Want to see how a professional evidence packet compares to doing it yourself? The right approach depends on your budget, time, and how much you stand to save.

Frequently Asked Questions

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