Property Tax Appeals: Worth Your Time?

About the Author

Share This Article

Someone once said, “the best things in life are free, but sooner or later, the government will find a way to tax them.” We have found this to be true for many of our clients who have bought their dream homes and enjoyed them for many years. Property taxes would not be considered one of life’s joys, but they are here to stay, so today, we want to explore if it is worth appealing your property tax increases when they do come around.

Since most of our clients live in SW Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and SE Indiana, we will be reviewing the property tax appeal process in these municipalities. Each county in the country should have a similar process found online or by contacting your county treasurer or auditor’s office.

The most important thing to consider when deciding if a challenge makes sense for you is that the burden of proof for lowering the assessed value of your property falls with you as the owner. Therefore, there must be some reason/evidence to support your claim. Common reasons or evidence to provide include, but are not limited to: an appraisal, comparable sales in your neighborhood, cost estimates for any major repairs needed for the property, or the assessor’s office using the incorrect information to value your home (most commonly square footage or # of bedrooms/bathrooms). If the property is an investment property, providing a profit and loss statement may also be important in determining the valuation of the property. Some of this information is publicly available online, but others may require hiring a company to provide an official document.

The ease of acquiring these pieces of information will vary by individual circumstance, and the benefit of a property tax reduction may be minimal. We recommend carefully considering your potential benefit before spending time or money acquiring the information required for an appeal.

The following sections explore specific state and counties’ appeal processes:

Ohio – General Information

Property value challenge forms must be filed between January 1 and March 31 for homes in Ohio. Although Hamilton County only reviews & updates property values every 3^rd year, with the most recent review taking effect in January 2021, challenges may be made in any year. Any upheld decision would be effective retroactive to January 1 of the year you filed the challenge.

Hamilton / Warren / Butler County

Step 1. File Form DTE 1 - available on the following websites:

Hamilton County - www.hamiltoncountyauditor.org

Warren County - www.wcauditor.org

Butler County - www.butlercountyauditor.org

Step 2. Upon receiving your complaint, the Board of Revision will schedule a review hearing. You have until ten days before that hearing to provide your evidence to the Board. The Board will review your case before the hearing, and they may decide that your presence at the hearing is not required because they have approved your request with the information provided. If so, nothing further is needed from you.

Step 3. The hearing – if the information provided is not sufficient to approve your claim, you will be allotted no more than 15 minutes to state your case to the Board. Keep in mind that throughout this hearing, any evidence relating to property taxes will not be considered. You are solely challenging the assessed value of the property.

Step 4. If you attend the hearing and the Board still disagrees with your complaint, you are entitled to appeal the decision, but this appeal would be done through the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals or Common Pleas Court. Information for which can be found online: https://bta.ohio.gov/FAQ

Clermont County

Clermont County uses the same forms and processes as outlined above; however, their claim form may be submitted online through their website.

https://www.clermontauditor.org

Kentucky – General Information

Challenges in Kentucky begin with a meeting with your appropriate county Property Valuation Administrator’s (PVA) office. Meetings typically begin the first Monday in May and continue for the subsequent 13 days (including Saturdays, excluding Sundays).

Kenton / Campbell County

Step 1. File a Residential Review Request Form with your appropriate county. Forms can be found on the PVA’s website:

Kenton County - https://www.kentonpva.org/

Campbell County - https://pva.campbellcountykentucky.com

Step 2. The meeting is described as an informal meeting, but property owners “must provide documentation that supports their opinion of the property’s value.” A list of acceptable documentation is provided on the PVA’s website:

https://www.kentonpva.org

(Campbell’s counties list of documents is included on their Request form)

Step 3. If the PVA office agrees with your claim, then this is the end of the process. If the PVA office denies your claim, you may appeal to the Kenton County Board of Assessment Appeals. These forms can be found on the Kenton County Clerk’s Office website, and further proceedings will be handled by their office.

Step 4. If you remain unsatisfied with the Kenton County Clerk’s Office’s decision, you are entitled to appeal that decision to the KY Board of Tax Appeals.