The Tax Appeal Process

 

 

 

Welcome to our website! We are trying to shed light on a subject that is very opaque. Hopefully, you will find lots of information regarding the property tax appeal process.

 

You may have felt that your property taxes are not right but did not know how to appeal them. The values assigned by the assessor can indeed be appealed. Our team has represented thousands of Oregon and Washington taxpayers and helped them save millions of tax dollars. With our combined experience of over 50 years and thousands of cases, we are well versed in the appeal process

 

The first step in the process is to have us review the current tax statement and determine if it is incorrect. Our review will lead to a recommendation from us as to whether to appeal or not and the potential savings you may receive. We provide free reviews for single family dwellings and single tenant commercial properties. If your case is more complicated, give us a call and we can discuss our fee structure for other types of properties.

 

Our process is designed to take the time and frustration out of your hands. Essentially, if we recommend an appeal, you would be signing two documents that allow us to act on your behalf, We take the burden of gathering the supporting evidence, scheduling potential inspections with the county, scheduling and attending the actual hearing on your behalf, and negotiating values with the county assessor prior to the hearing, if applicable.

 

 Our expertise is not limited to residential properties, although they are a huge percentage of the local market, 81 percent. We have experience in dealing with multifamily, commercial, industrial, land, billboards, gravel pits, mobile home parks, etc.

 

 

Timelines

Oregon

 

Oregon mails out all property tax statements the third week of October. You have until December 31 to file the appeal case at the local board from that statement, which is a period or ten weeks or so. Some counties have a filing fee. The hearings take place between February 1 to April 15 of the following year. Oregon also has a statute that allows us to file for the full tax year, through June 30 of the following year in some instances. We would review to see if your qualified for that provision. If a case is filed at Tax Court through this process, the filing fee is currently $281.

 

 

 

Washington

 

Washington mails out annual notices of value the whole year. If the notice of value is the same as the previous year, you have 30 days to file an appeal from the date of the notice. In some counties, if the value is different at all, you have 60 days to file. That is something that we would review for you in our process. Washington hearings are year round and we have been experiencing up to 12 months to have a hearing on Washington properties. Washington counties are not charging a fee at this time.

 

We are attaching some of our most frequently asked questions for your review. If your question is not here, feel free to call or email us.