Appeal your California property taxes yourself.
Everything you need to appeal your California assessment yourself: the Prop 13 test that tells you in two minutes whether you even have a case, your county's real deadline (most are November 30, not September 15), form BOE-305-AH, and a ready-to-edit application letter.
- State-specific process guidance with official-source links
- Evidence organizer and filing checklist
- Ready-to-edit appeal-letter template
See a worksheet excerpt before buying
PARTIAL SAMPLE · California DIY kit
Your notice and deadline worksheet
Three blank fields from the worksheet included in your paid PDF. Copy these details from your notice; they are not a property analysis or an official filing form.
Property address and parcel identifier
State, county, township and reviewing body
Assessment year and valuation date
After purchase: the complete state guide, three fillable worksheets, official-source links and editable appeal letter. The full evidence organizer and letter are not included in this excerpt. You gather evidence and file yourself.
Your filing plan, ready to work through
Get the California process guide, three fillable worksheets, official filing links and an editable appeal letter. Gather your evidence and file yourself.
Personalize your kit (optional)
Copy details from your assessment notice. We add these to your worksheets and your address to the letter. These are your entries, not a verified property analysis. You can also buy now and fill them in later.
Property: [Your property address]
County / municipality: [From your notice]
Assessed value: [From your notice]
Parcel: [From your notice]
Assessment year: [From your notice]
After purchase: the complete guide, editable worksheets and letter. No comparable sales or savings estimate included. Confirm your filing deadline before buying.
Prepare your California property tax appeal
Have a current notice? Check its deadline and reviewing office, verify the property details, then organize evidence that supports the correction you are requesting. Confirm official forms and fees before filing.
Preparing for a future window? Use the worksheets to review property records, list errors to investigate and plan your evidence. Buying now does not reopen a closed deadline or guarantee lower taxes.
The kit organizes those steps into a reusable guide and worksheets. It does not find comparable properties for you, file an appeal or replace your local authority’s instructions.
See what comes in the $29 DIY kit
Inside the Illinois kit: fillable worksheets, an evidence organizer and an appeal-letter template. Your state's guidance and filing requirements may differ.
Watch the walkthrough · 42 seconds · captioned
Read the video transcript
Want to appeal your property assessment without starting from a blank page? Here is what AppealMyTax's $29 DIY kit includes: a guide to the process, a worksheet to check your notice and deadline, fillable fields to organize comparable-property research and supporting evidence, a filing and hearing tracker, and an appeal letter you can copy and customize. Choose your state and pay once. Your kit is delivered by email. You gather the evidence, confirm your local requirements, and file yourself. See what is included at AppealMyTax.
On screen: pages from the Illinois kit, including its notice/deadline worksheet, evidence organizer and filing/hearing tracker. You complete required forms and file yourself.
How a California appeal works
The short version, free. The paid kit adds the evidence workbook, filing controls, and editable letter.
- California taxes your home on its Proposition 13 assessed value, which is usually well below market because it can only rise about 2% a year. You have a case ONLY if that assessed value is now higher than what your home would have sold for on January 1.
- If it is, you file form BOE-305-AH with your county Clerk of the Board (not the Assessor) between July 2 and either September 15 or November 30, depending on your county. Most counties, including Los Angeles, are November 30.
- An independent appeals board or hearing officer holds a hearing where you and the assessor present comparable sales. It can lower, keep, or raise your value, and it must decide within two years.
- If your home is your principal residence, the burden of proof is on the assessor, not on you (R&T § 167). Claim it on the form.
What to check on your assessment notice
- Your total assessed value for the current year, and whether it is MORE than your home would realistically sell for on January 1 of that year. If it is not, do not file. Under Prop 13 that describes most long-held California homes.
- Which deadline your county uses, September 15 or November 30. Check the BOE's annual filing-period letter or call your Clerk of the Board. Never assume.
- What kind of notice you are holding. A supplemental or escape assessment notice starts its own 60-day clock, completely separate from the July-to-fall regular window.
- The assessor's stated facts about your home: square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot size, year built, condition. A factual error can often be fixed with a free phone call and no appeal at all.
Official lookup: BOE: county assessment appeals filing periods + clerk-of-the-board contacts →
What’s inside
How it works
- Buy the kit — the PDF lands in your inbox instantly.
- Confirm YOUR county's filing window first. It opens July 2 everywhere, but it closes September 15 in 11 counties and November 30 in the other 47, and the BOE publishes the list each year.
- Gather the evidence on the checklist and edit the appeal-letter template.
- File the current instrument required by your county Clerk of the Board (not the Assessor) before your deadline.
Different process where you live?
California is not one system. These jurisdictions use a different agency, a different form, and an earlier deadline than the rest of the state. The kit covers each one in its own section.
- Deadline
- July 2 through November 30. If November 30 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, filing or postmark by the next business day is valid. Supplemental and escape appeals run 60 days from the TAX BILL rather than the notice, because LA has resolved to do so under § 1605(c).
- Filed with
- The Assessment Appeals Board, administered by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, 500 W. Temple St., Los Angeles.
- Form
- Assessment Appeal Application (LA form AAB100 / BOE-305-AH), with online filing available.
- Deadline
- July 2 through November 30, by 5:00 p.m., extended to the next business day if it falls on a weekend or holiday. Supplemental, roll correction, and escape appeals run 60 days; a calamity reassessment runs 6 months.
- Filed with
- The Assessment Appeals Board (a three-member panel) or, at your election, a single Hearing Officer for residential valuation appeals.
- Form
- Assessment Appeal Application. The online system prepares it, but it must be printed, signed with an original signature, and delivered to the Clerk of the Board.
- Deadline
- July 2 through September 15. There is no extension and the board cannot waive it.
- Filed with
- The Assessment Appeals Board or a Hearing Officer, through the Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.
- Form
- Assessment Appeal Application (the county's version of BOE-305-AH), from the Clerk of the Board.
- Deadline
- July 2 through November 30.
- Filed with
- The Assessment Appeals Board, administered by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 402.
- Form
- Assessment Appeal Application, BOE-305-AH, hosted by the county.
What California charges to file
These are your county or state’s fees, not ours. Listed so there are no surprises.
- There is no statewide filing fee. Fees are set county by county by local ordinance, and most California counties charge nothing.
- Los Angeles County: $46 per application, non-refundable. Hardship waiver available.
- Santa Clara County: $290 per residential parcel/application, non-refundable ($675 commercial or multifamily of 5+ units). Waivers for applicants receiving public assistance. Confirm the current amount with the Clerk of the Board before filing.
- San Diego and Orange Counties publish no assessment appeal filing fee.
- Findings of fact carry a separate charge in essentially every county, including counties with no filing fee, and must be requested and paid for before the hearing concludes.
- County fee schedules change without notice. Confirm the fee with your Clerk of the Board at the time you file rather than relying on any published figure.
Questions
The full California deadline rules, evidence standards and filing steps, at no cost. The paid kit adds worksheets, checklists and an editable letter; you complete any required official form yourself.