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Assessment Appeals

If you own property in Sacramento County, you will receive a property tax bill every October. From time to time, a taxpayer may disagree with the assessed property value used in determining the tax bill. To challenge an over assessment, taxpayers can file an Application for Changed Assessment for $30. This is called an assessment appeal.

If you disagree with the assessed value of your real property, you should discuss it with our real property appraisal staff at (916) 875-0700 before filing the application. There is no charge for this service.

If you disagree with the assessed value of your business personal property, you should discuss it with our auditor-appraisal staff at (916) 875-0730 (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.), or fax your inquiry to (916) 875-0705.

Whether or not you contact the Assessor's Office first, you have the right to file an Application for Changed Assessment within specific time frames with the local Assessment Appeals Board. 

This leads to a hearing before the Appeals Board hearing officers, where both the owner and the Assessor's Office will present evidence to support their opinions of value. The Appeals Board will determine the value based on the evidence presented by both sides.

The State Board of Equalization’s publication Residential Property Assessment Appeals, Publication #30 (PDF) - and The Institute for Local Government’s resource Property Tax Assessment Appeals give insight into the assessment appeal process. Although they both focus on residential appeals, the same information applies to the filing of appeals on most types of property.

The website also provides answers to more than 50 frequently asked questions as well as an excellent video entitled, “Your Assessment Appeal” providing additional information about the process.

  1. Annual Secured (Real Property) Assessment Roll and Unsecured (Personal Property) Assessment Roll Appeal Filing Period:

     The normal appeal filing period for both the annual secured and unsecured assessment rolls (i.e., the assessment rolls established as of the January 1 lien date) in Sacramento County is July 2 - November 30.

  2. Supplemental Assessment Appeal Filing Period:

    If you disagree with the value of a supplemental assessment, you must file within 60 days from the mailing date of the supplemental tax bill.

  3. Roll Correction Filing Period:

    If you disagree with the value of a roll correction, you must file within 60 days from the mailing date of the corrected tax bill.

 To request an Assessment Appeal Application or for more information, contact the Assessment Appeals Board at 700 H Street, Room 2450; Sacramento, CA 95814 or call (916) 874-7894.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is very important to understand that filing an assessment appeal does not relieve an owner of the responsibility for paying an outstanding tax bill no matter how unfair the owner may feel a bill might be. If you do not pay the bill in a timely manner, you will incur penalties and interest charges that could otherwise be avoided. If you pay a bill and subsequently the Appeals Board lowers the value, you will be refunded any excess taxes you’ve paid.