Maryland property tax appeals
Review the sourced process overview below, then get the Maryland DIY Appeal Kit with an evidence workbook, filing controls, official links, and an editable appeal letter in one PDF. No parcel-specific comps.
How a Maryland appeal actually works
Every statement below is cited to its primary source and shows the date we verified it. Where we could not confirm something from a primary source, we say so instead of guessing. Dataset last re-verified 2026-08-13.
Missed the main deadline? Maryland has 6 remedies most homeowners never hear about
County pages rarely surface these. Each one is a distinct legal route with its own clock.
Petition for Review (out-of-cycle appeal in a non-notice year)
In the two years of the triennial cycle when the property is not reassessed (and therefore no Notice of Assessment is issued), a taxpayer may appeal the value or classification by submitting a Petition for Review to the supervisor. SDAT: 'You may file a petition for review by the first working day following January 1, for the two years your property is not valued at reassessment.' This is also the remedy if the owner missed the 45-day deadline on a reassessment notice — PTAAB: 'If you miss the appeal deadline, you may file a "petition for review of real property" ... to appeal the following tax year beginning on July 1st.' Form: SDAT-RP-PetRevForm, 'PETITION FOR REVIEW or NEW OWNER APPEAL OF REAL PROPERTY,' Revised 04/08/25 (https://dat.maryland.gov/SDAT%20Forms/3-2025_rp_form_revisions/petitnrv%204-8-2025.pdf), mailed to the local assessment office. Filing a Petition for Review makes any open appeals for previous tax years effective only for tax years prior to the effective tax year of the Petition. A hearing is scheduled after the following January 1; a written petition may be submitted in lieu of a hearing.
When:
primary source · verified
New Owner Appeal (appeal upon purchase of property)
If real property is transferred after January 1 and before the beginning of the next taxable year to a new owner, the new owner may submit a written appeal of the value or classification. SDAT states this covers transfers 'after January 1 but before July 1.' The date of transfer is the effective date of the deed as described in Md. Code, Real Property § 3-201. If the deed is recorded after June 30, the taxpayer MUST submit a copy of the executed deed evidencing the date of transfer as a condition of maintaining the right to appeal; if a copy is not presented at or before the appeal hearing, the appeal may be dismissed. The deed must be recorded in the local land records before the office will proceed. The supervisor must hold a hearing by the later of 90 days after receiving the written appeal or 90 days after the deed is recorded. Form: SDAT-RP-PetRevForm, Revised 04/08/25 (check the 'New Owner Appeal' box).
When:
primary source · verified
Appeal of a supervisor's denial of a hearing for missing the 45-day deadline
If the supervisor denies a hearing because the taxpayer did not meet the 45-day requirement of § 14-502(a)(1), the taxpayer may appeal that denial to PTAAB, and PTAAB may waive the 45-day requirement 'on good cause shown because of the physical inability of the taxpayer to meet the 45-day requirement.' This is a narrow physical-inability waiver, not a general good-cause extension.
When:
primary source · verified
Homestead Tax Credit application (assessment cap)
A one-time application establishing eligibility for the Homestead Tax Credit, which caps the annual increase in the taxable assessment of an owner-occupied principal residence (110% / 10% for State property tax; county and municipal percentages set locally). The application must be made on the Department's form, include a statement under oath, and be filed on or before the May 1 preceding the first taxable year for which the credit is sought. If a dwelling previously received the credit and failed to qualify for one taxable year solely because the application was not filed, the Department must grant the credit for the next following taxable year upon timely filing by the same homeowner.
When:
primary source · verified
Homeowners' Property Tax Credit (income-based circuit breaker)
An income-based property tax credit for homeowners, applied for annually on the Department's form. The Department must make each year's application form available on or before the February 15 preceding the taxable year. A homeowner may claim the credit for only one dwelling. Denials/final determinations of a property tax credit or relief under §§ 9-101, 9-102, and 9-104 may be appealed to PTAAB within 30 days of the final determination (§ 14-509(c)), and a PTAAB determination on such a credit may be appealed to the Maryland Tax Court within 30 days (§ 14-512(e)).
When:
primary source · verified
Out-of-cycle revaluation triggers (§ 8-104(c))
Not a taxpayer-initiated appeal, but a basis for a new value (and therefore a new § 8-401 notice and a new 45-day appeal window) in a non-reassessment year. Revaluation is required in any year of the 3-year cycle when: (i) zoning classification is changed at the owner's initiative; (ii) a change in use or character occurs; (iii) substantially completed improvements add at least $100,000 in value; (iv) an error in calculation or measurement caused the value to be erroneous; (v) a residential use assessment is terminated under § 8-226; or (vi) a subdivision occurs. Revaluations under (i), (ii), (iv), (v), and (vi) occur on the semiannual date of finality and are effective for the taxable year beginning on that date if notice is sent no later than 30 days afterward.
When:
primary source · verified
What evidence wins in Maryland
COMPARABLE SALES are the primary basis: SDAT provides a free property worksheet and Area Sales Listing before the supervisor's-level hearing, and PTAAB advises using comparable sales 'as close to your property as possible ... and as near as possible to (but not after) the date of finality.' COMPARABLE ASSESSMENTS ARE EXPRESSLY PERMITTED: Md. Code, Tax-Property § 14-511(a)(1)-(3) requires that a person appealing to PTAAB receive, at least 30 days before the hearing and free of charge, a list of other comparable properties identifying, for each, (i) the sale price and date of sale, (ii) THE ASSESSMENT AND THE YEAR OR YEARS TO WHICH THE ASSESSMENT APPLIED, and (iii) construction costs and date of construction. Maryland Tax Court Rule 7 ('Notice of Reliance on Other Properties — Service of List — Ten Days') likewise contemplates offering other properties for the purpose of showing a sale, showing THE ASSESSMENT on a property (amount and applicable year(s)), showing construction cost, or showing income derived; the parties must exchange the list at least 10 days before the hearing. UNIFORMITY/EQUALIZATION IS AN EXPRESS STATUTORY GROUND: a Maryland Tax Court appeal may state 'that the assessment is unequal because it is made at a higher proportion of value than other property of the same class' (§ 14-512(f)(4)(ii)). INCOME APPROACH — TRAP: under § 14-508, if a taxpayer fails to submit income and expense information for income-producing real property after notification under § 8-105(b), the taxpayer may not challenge the value on the basis of the capitalization of income method beyond the supervisor level unless the information is provided at the supervisor level. APPRAISALS: written appraisals must be exchanged between the Department and the taxpayer at least 10 days before a PTAAB hearing (§ 14-509(h)) and at least 10 days before a Maryland Tax Court hearing (§ 14-512(f)(6)); PTAAB states an appraisal must reach the assessment office 10 days before the hearing to be considered. DE NOVO AT EACH LEVEL: PTAAB hearings are new hearings — evidence submitted at the supervisor's level is NOT automatically carried forward and must be resubmitted; Maryland Tax Court hearings are likewise de novo and require live attendance (no written-only hearings at that level).
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
The appeal ladder, in Maryland's own terms
- 1
Supervisor of Assessments (Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation local assessment office) — Supervisor's Level appeal
Deadline: A written appeal must be submitted to the supervisor on or before 45 days from the date of the Notice of Assessment. SDAT: 'Appeals must be filed within 45 days of the notice date.'
Clock starts: Date of the Notice of Assessment issued by the supervisor under Md. Code, Tax-Property § 8-401 (notice served on or before January 1 under § 8-401(e))
Md. Code, Tax-Property § 14-502(a)(1) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Not confirmed from a primary source: SDAT does not publish a separately numbered, downloadable first-level reassessment appeal form. SDAT states the appeal form 'was included with the notice' and directs owners to the online appeal portal; PTAAB's FAQ likewise states 'Each assessment notice of value comes with the appeal instructions and appeal form.' The form number, title as printed, and revision date therefore could not be verified from a retrievable document. (The separately published SDAT-RP-PetRevForm is the Petition for Review / New Owner Appeal form, recorded under secondary_remedies, not the reassessment-notice appeal form.) Check the official page before relying on this.Fee: none
No fee is prescribed by Md. Code, Tax-Property Title 14, Subtitle 5, and no fee is stated on SDAT's Assessment Appeal Process page. · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
- 2
Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board (PTAAB) for the county (or Baltimore City) where the property is located
Deadline: On or before 30 days from the date of the supervisor's final notice of value or classification. SDAT: 'This appeal must be filed within 30 days from the date of the final notice you received as a result of the Supervisor's Level hearing.' PTAAB: 'You will have thirty days from the date of the decision to appeal to your local Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board.'
Clock starts: Date of the supervisor's final notice under Md. Code, Tax-Property § 8-407 (for a dwelling as defined in § 9-105, the supervisor must issue the final notice no later than 60 days after the § 8-405 hearing), or the date of the supervisor's determination on a petition for review
Md. Code, Tax-Property § 8-407(b); § 14-509(a)(1) (appeal of a value or classification in a § 8-407 notice) and § 14-509(b) (appeal of a supervisor's determination on a petition for review) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Not confirmed from a primary source: PTAAB does not publish a standalone appeal form on ptaab.maryland.gov. Its FAQ instructs: 'Be sure to carefully follow the directions provided on the SDAT notice or decision letter.' The only form linked from the PTAAB site is SDAT's Petition for Review form (used for out-of-cycle and new-owner appeals at the supervisor level, not for PTAAB appeals). No form number, printed title, or revision date could be verified. Check the official page before relying on this.Fee: none
No fee prescribed by Md. Code, Tax-Property § 14-509. SDAT: at the PTAAB step 'Customers generally need no assistance at this step, no fees are required, and they are free to present any supporting evidence, regardless of what was presented at the previous level appeal.' · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
- 3
Maryland Tax Court
Deadline: On or before 30 days after the PTAAB determination, or 30 days from the date of mailing a notice of the determination to an address requested under § 14-507. SDAT: 'you have the option to file an appeal to the Maryland Tax Court (MTC) within 30 days of the date of the PTAAB order.' A taxpayer may not appeal to the Maryland Tax Court under this subsection unless the taxpayer previously appealed as required by § 14-502 or § 14-503 to a property tax assessment appeal board (§ 14-512(f)(3)).
Clock starts: Date of the Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board's determination/order under Md. Code, Tax-Property § 14-509(a) or (b)
Md. Code, Tax-Property § 14-512(f)(1)-(3) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Form: Real Property Valuation Appeals Petition — 'PETITION OF APPEAL' (Maryland Tax Court) official form
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Fee: none
Maryland Tax Court Rules of Procedure, Rule 1B: 'There shall be no fee for filing a Petition in the Court.' Maryland Tax Court FAQ: 'There are no fees in the filing of an appeal with the Maryland Tax Court, but fees are required to be collected for the provision of transcripts and recorded tapes of a hearing.' · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
- 4
Circuit Court for the county (or Baltimore City) in which the property is located — petition for judicial review
Deadline: Maryland Judiciary guidance: 'You must file your petition at the circuit court within 30 days from the notice of a final decision.' Md. Rule 7-203(a) runs the 30 days from the latest of (1) the date of the order or action of which review is sought, (2) the date the administrative agency sent notice of the order or action to the petitioner, or (3) the date the petitioner received notice.
Clock starts: Final decision/order of the Maryland Tax Court (or the date notice of that decision was sent to, or received by, the petitioner — whichever is latest)
Md. Code, Tax-Property § 14-513 (right to appeal a final decision of the Maryland Tax Court to the circuit court for the county in which the property is located); Md. Rule 7-203(a) (30-day filing period); Md. Rule 7-202 (contents of the petition) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Form: Petition for judicial review — no Judiciary form exists; contents are governed by Md. Rule 7-202. Maryland Judiciary: 'You will have to write the petition yourself. There are no forms for filing an administrative appeal.' official form
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Not confirmed from a primary source: The existence of a circuit court filing fee is confirmed by the Maryland Tax Court, but the dollar amount was not confirmed against a primary Maryland Judiciary circuit court civil fee schedule in this research pass. Also note the petitioner may be responsible for the cost of preparing the agency record. Check the official page before relying on this.
Who has to prove what
Clear and convincing evidence (as stated by the Property Tax Assessment Appeal Boards)
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
When values are set
Md. Code, Tax-Property § 8-104(b)(1): 'Notwithstanding a revaluation under subsection (c) of this section, the Department or supervisor shall value all real property once in every 3-year cycle based on a review of the real property under § 2-203 of this article.' SDAT: 'Customers will normally receive a Notice of Assessment every three years.' SDAT administers this by dividing each jurisdiction into three reassessment areas/groups (SDAT publishes 'Reassessment Area Maps'), with approximately one-third of properties reassessed each year; the specific 'Group 1 / Group 2 / Group 3' labeling could not be confirmed on a currently reachable SDAT page in this pass. The date of finality for property valued in a triennial cycle is the January 1 immediately before the first taxable year to which the new value applies (§ 8-104(b)(2)); 'date of finality' means January 1, when assessments become final for the taxable year next following (§ 1-101(i)). Assessment increases are phased in over the 3 years of the cycle. OUT-OF-CYCLE REVALUATION is required in any year of the cycle when: owner-initiated rezoning; a change in use or character; substantially completed improvements adding at least $100,000 in value; an error in calculation or measurement causing an erroneous value; termination of a residential use assessment under § 8-226; or a subdivision (§ 8-104(c)(1)). IRREBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION: failure to send a notice of change in value or classification within 30 days after the date required by § 8-401(e) creates an irrebuttable presumption that the prior value has not changed, subject to the six exceptions in § 8-401(f).
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
How counties differ
Deadlines, forms, and fees at every level are set by STATE statute and are uniform across all 24 jurisdictions; there is no county-by-county variation in the 45-day, January-1/first-business-day, 60-day, or 30-day windows. What DOES vary locally: (1) PTAAB is a separate board in each of the 23 counties and Baltimore City, whose members are local residents recommended by the local government and appointed by the Governor — hearing scheduling, location, and clerk practice are local (SDAT's PTAAB page refers to boards in each of the 24 jurisdictions; PTAAB's own page describes members appointed 'for each of the 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore City'); (2) first-level appeals are filed with the SDAT local assessment office where the property is located, and each county has its own office address and property account number format (Anne Arundel County = code 02 and Baltimore City = code 03 use different account number structures); (3) the homestead credit percentage (assessment cap) for county property tax and municipal property tax is set by each county and municipality under § 9-105(e)(2)(ii)-(iii) and may be lower than the 110% State percentage; (4) property tax rates and any local supplemental credits are set locally; (5) circuit court judicial review is filed in the circuit court for the county where the property is located, and circuit court filing fees are collected locally.
Maryland appeal deadline
Deadlines varyMaryland deadlines are set locally.
The deadline is almost always printed on the assessment notice your local assessor mails you. Use that date, it is the one that counts.
Are you missing a Maryland exemption?
Exemptions cut your bill before any appeal even starts, and most homeowners never claim all the ones they qualify for. Answer four questions:
Is your Maryland home over-assessed?
The whole appeal hinges on one comparison: your assessed value (from your tax notice) versus your home's market value (what it would sell for today). Put both in:
How to find your home's real market value (free) →
- Pull free estimates. Look up your address on Zillow (“Zestimate”) and Redfin (“Redfin Estimate”). Average them, algorithms run high or low, so two beats one.
- Find 3-5 real comparable sales. Same neighborhood, similar size, beds/baths, age, and condition, sold in the last 6-12 months. Recent sales (not listings) are the strongest evidence a board will accept.
- Adjust for differences. Knock value off comps that are bigger or renovated; add for ones that are smaller or dated, so you're comparing like-for-like.
- Compare to your assessment. If your assessed value sits clearly above that adjusted market figure, you have grounds to appeal.
One catch: some states assess at a fraction of market value (an “assessment ratio”). If your notice shows a ratio or an “equalized” value, compare your implied full value to market, not the raw assessed number.
How property tax appeals generally work
Most states follow the same basic path: your local assessor mails an assessment notice with a value and a deadline; you file an appeal (often called a protest, grievance, or petition) before that deadline; you present comparable sales of similar homes; and a local board reviews the evidence and can lower your value.
The exact form, deadline, and board can vary by county. Use the current assessment notice and the official sources linked above to confirm the controlling local requirements. The paid kit organizes that verification, the evidence, the filing steps, and your editable letter in one place.
Want to see the depth we build per state? Take a look at our Texas, Florida, and Georgia guides.