Board of Property Tax Appeals (BoPTA)
Appeal to the Board of Property Tax Appeals if you disagree with the value on the tax bill you receive this fall. Your evidence must reflect the value of the property as it existed on January 1, 2011. You can access petition forms below.
Appeals can be filed after receipt of tax bills but no later than January 3, 2012.
Only the property owner, and certain people he authorizes, can sign a petition to the board. Please review the instructions included with the petition form.
You need to have convincing evidence to support your opinion of your property's value.
- One mistake many taxpayers make when they file a petition is to present the board with a study of the difference between their property tax and their neighbor's property tax. If you want the board to reduce the market value of your property, you should provide evidence of your property's VALUE, not the tax you pay.
- Another mistake petitioners make when appealing to the board is to compare the value of their property on the tax roll with their neighbor's value on the tax roll. This study may be interesting, but does not provide proof of the MARKET VALUE of your property.
Generally, to be successful in your appeal, you must provide evidence of the MARKET VALUE of your property on January 1, 2011, the date the assessor used to establish the real market value of your property. Below are examples of the types of evidence you might use to convince the board the value of your property should be reduced to the value you are requesting.
- Documentation of a recent arm's -length sale of the property.
- A recent fee appraisal.
- Proof that the property has been listed for sale on the open market for a reasonable time period at a price below the real market on the tax roll.
- A comparison of properties, that have recently sold, similar to yours in location, size and quality. If there are differences between the properties, the differences should be accounted for in the comparison of values.
- Cost of new construction that took place close to January 1 of the assessment year and was performed by a professional contractor.
- Cost to repair your property. You should provide written estimates of the cost of the repairs.
- For commercial property, provide documentation of income and expense information and/or a comparable sales analysis.
The board will consider your appeal between February 6th and April 16th. You do not have to appear before the board. If you indicate you want to be present, you will get at least five days written notice of the hearing. When you appear, you must give the board a copy of any evidence you want considered. You will not get this evidence back.
The board will consider the evidence from you and the county assessor. The board will notify you in writing of its decision; you have the right to appeal the board's decision to the Magistrate Division of the Oregon Tax Court. Complaints must be filed within 30 days (not one month), of the date that the board's order is mailed to you.
