What Is Notice of Assessment?

The notice of assessment is the document your county sends to inform you of your property's assessed value for the upcoming tax year. It goes by different names in different states. In Texas, it is the Notice of Appraised Value. In Florida, it is the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice. In New York, some jurisdictions publish a tentative assessment roll. Regardless of the name, this document is the starting gun for the appeal process. When you receive it, check these items carefully: the property description (square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms), the assessed or appraised value compared to last year, any exemptions applied (homestead, senior, disability), and the appeal deadline and instructions. Errors in the property description are more common than you might expect. If the county has your home listed at 2,400 square feet when it is actually 2,100 square feet, that alone could inflate your value by tens of thousands of dollars. Similarly, check whether the county has accurately recorded your home's condition. A home that needs significant repairs should not be valued the same as a recently renovated property. If you believe the value is too high, the notice itself will tell you how and when to file an appeal. Do not ignore the notice or assume the county is correct. This is your annual opportunity to ensure you are not overpaying. It is worth being clear about what this document is not: it is not your tax bill, and waiting for the tax bill to arrive is one of the most common ways homeowners accidentally miss their appeal window. In most states the notice of assessment, not the tax bill, is what starts the appeal clock, and by the time the tax bill arrives months later, the deadline has often already passed.