California · Do-it-yourself · $29

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.

Straight talk: we don’t have per-home comparable-sales data for California — California county assessor rolls are not published as a single statewide per-parcel dataset with the building detail we would need to size-adjust a comparable set. So this is a guide and templates, not a comp report, and you pull your own comps— the kit shows you exactly how. That’s the honest reason it’s $29 instead of the $49 done-for-you kit we sell in states we cover.
The California DIY Appeal Kit
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How a California appeal works

The short version, free. The kit is the long version with the forms, the filing steps, and the letter.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

✓The two-minute Proposition 13 test that tells you whether you have a case before you spend a season on one.
✓Your county's real filing window, with the September 15 and November 30 county lists and how to confirm yours each year.
✓How to get and complete Form BOE-305-AH, including the Column B and owner-occupied checkboxes most homeowners get wrong.
✓The R&T § 167 burden-of-proof shift on your own home, and exactly how to claim it.
✓The 90-day comparable-sales rule that Publication 30 calls the most common error in all California appeals.
✓Dedicated sections for Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara, and San Diego — different deadlines, different fees, different hearing bodies.
✓The two-year rule that hands you your own stated value if the board sits on your case.
✓A ready-to-edit application letter citing the right Revenue & Taxation Code sections.

How it works

  1. Buy the kit — the PDF lands in your inbox instantly.
  2. 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.
  3. Gather the evidence on the checklist and edit the appeal-letter template.
  4. File Form BOE-305-AH with 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.

Los Angeles County
All property in Los Angeles County — the largest appeals volume in the state. LA is a November 30 county, so you have almost five months to file.
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.
Orange County
All property in Orange County. Orange is a November 30 county.
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.
Santa Clara County
All property in Santa Clara County. This is a SEPTEMBER 15 county, roughly two and a half months shorter than Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego.
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.
San Diego County
All property in San Diego County. San Diego is a November 30 county.
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.
Deadline: The regular filing period opens July 2 statewide (R&T § 1603(b)). It closes September 15 as the statutory baseline, but § 1603(b)(3) extends the last day to November 30 for all property in any county where the assessor does not mail a § 619 notice of assessed value by August 1. In practice that extension covers most of the state: per the BOE's annual Letter To Assessors, 47 of 58 counties run to November 30 — including Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Sacramento — while only 11 close on September 15: Alameda, Alpine, Inyo, Kings, Mono, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Sierra, and Ventura. Do not infer your date from whether a notice arrived; read the BOE's current-year filing-period letter or call your Clerk of the Board. Supplemental and escape assessments are a separate clock entirely: 60 days from the mailing date printed on the notice, except in counties that have resolved under § 1605(c) to run those 60 days from the tax bill instead (Los Angeles has). A calamity reassessment runs 6 months. The board cannot extend a filing period for any reason.

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

Why is this $29 and not $49?
The $49 kit includes a comparable-sales analysis pulled from county records. We don't have that data for California yet, so this kit is the guide, the deadline rules, the exact form, an evidence checklist, and an appeal-letter template — you gather the comps yourself, and we show you how. Honest work, honest price.
When is the California property tax appeal deadline?
The regular filing period opens July 2 statewide (R&T § 1603(b)). It closes September 15 as the statutory baseline, but § 1603(b)(3) extends the last day to November 30 for all property in any county where the assessor does not mail a § 619 notice of assessed value by August 1. In practice that extension covers most of the state: per the BOE's annual Letter To Assessors, 47 of 58 counties run to November 30 — including Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Sacramento — while only 11 close on September 15: Alameda, Alpine, Inyo, Kings, Mono, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Sierra, and Ventura. Do not infer your date from whether a notice arrived; read the BOE's current-year filing-period letter or call your Clerk of the Board. Supplemental and escape assessments are a separate clock entirely: 60 days from the mailing date printed on the notice, except in counties that have resolved under § 1605(c) to run those 60 days from the tax bill instead (Los Angeles has). A calamity reassessment runs 6 months. The board cannot extend a filing period for any reason.
What form do I file to appeal my California property assessment?
Form BOE-305-AH (Assessment Appeal Application), filed with your county Clerk of the Board (not the Assessor). The kit walks you through completing it line by line and includes a ready-to-edit appeal letter to attach.
Do you file the appeal for me?
No — this is a do-it-yourself kit. You file Form BOE-305-AH yourself with your county Clerk of the Board (not the Assessor). The kit makes that straightforward with step-by-step instructions and a ready-to-edit letter.
What if it doesn't help?
30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. If the kit isn't useful, reply to your delivery email and we'll refund you.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. It's general information to help you file your own appeal. Always rely on the date and instructions printed on your own assessment notice and confirm current requirements with your county.
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