To file a Santa Clara County property tax appeal, submit Assessment Appeal Application form BOE-305-AH to the county’s Assessment Appeals Board between July 2 and September 15, pay the nonrefundable processing fee, and come prepared to show that your property’s market value on January 1 was lower than the value the Assessor has on the books. Starting June 1, 2026, the fee is $290 per parcel for residential, vacant, and agricultural properties, and $675 for commercial, business, and multifamily properties with five or more units.1County of Santa Clara. Appeal Your Property Taxes The Appeals Board is independent of the Assessor’s Office and exists specifically to resolve valuation disputes.2County of Santa Clara. Assessment Appeals Board
Most residential appeals rest on Proposition 8: when the market value of your home on the January 1 lien date falls below its Proposition 13 factored base year value, you’re entitled to be taxed on the lower figure.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Decline in Value – Proposition 8 The Assessor is supposed to catch these drops automatically, but with roughly 500,000 parcels in the county, reductions often don’t happen on their own.
Try a Free Informal Review First
Before paying a nonrefundable filing fee, contact the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office and ask for an informal review. The county recommends this step, because if the Assessor agrees the value should come down, the correction happens with no fee and no hearing.1County of Santa Clara. Appeal Your Property Taxes
One catch: the informal review does not pause the formal filing deadline. If you wait for the Assessor to respond and the clock runs out on September 15, you lose your right to appeal for the year. Request the review early in the summer and file the formal application as a backup before the deadline closes.
Deadlines That Apply to You
The regular filing period for appeals of the annual assessment runs July 2 through September 15.4County of Santa Clara. Assessment Appeal Dates and Deadlines Two other situations run on their own clock:
- Supplemental assessments, triggered by a change in ownership or new construction: 60 days from the date on the notice.
- Escape assessments, issued when a prior year’s value was understated: 60 days from the date on the notice.5County of Santa Clara. Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Assessment Appeals Process
Miss either window and the assessment stands for that year.
Filing the Application
The form is the Assessment Appeal Application, designated BOE-305-AH.6California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Assessment Appeals You’ll need the Assessor’s Parcel Number from your annual tax bill, the property address, and your opinion of value as of the January 1 lien date for the tax year you’re disputing.7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. BOE-305-AH – Assessment Appeal Application
Your opinion of value is not a throwaway number. If the Board fails to decide your case within two years, that stated figure can become the enrolled value by default. Pick a number you can actually defend with evidence.
Fees and Where to Submit
Starting June 1, 2026, Santa Clara County charges a nonrefundable processing fee for each application: $290 per parcel for residential, vacant land, and agricultural properties, and $675 per parcel or account for commercial, business, and multifamily properties with five or more units. Payment is accepted by cash, check, money order, or credit card. The county will not process an application until the fee is paid.
You can submit online through the county’s portal or in person at the Assessment Appeals Division, 70 West Hedding Street, East Wing, 10th Floor, San Jose, CA 95110.1County of Santa Clara. Appeal Your Property Taxes If you file online, save the confirmation number. If you file in person, bring a duplicate and ask the Clerk to date-stamp your copy.
Building Your Evidence
California defines fair market value as the price a property would sell for on the open market, with both buyer and seller informed and acting without pressure.8California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 110 – Full Cash Value The Board wants data, not personal opinion.
Comparable Sales
For most residential appeals, the strongest evidence is recent sales of similar nearby properties. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 402.5 requires comparables to be close enough in size, condition, location, and permitted use that their prices actually inform your property’s value. The same statute imposes a hard cutoff: the Board cannot consider any sale that occurred more than 90 days after the January 1 valuation date.9California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 402.5 – Assessment Generally Earlier sales have no statutory cutoff, but the closer to the lien date the better.
Aim for at least three comparables. For each, document the address, sale price, sale date, square footage, lot size, year built, and bedroom and bathroom counts. Adjust openly for differences: if a comparable has a pool and yours does not, note it. If a comparable is 300 square feet larger, note that too. The Board expects you to explain why these sales support a lower value, not hand over a stack of printouts.
Restrictions on Use
If your property is subject to zoning restrictions, environmental constraints, recorded easements, or other legally enforceable use limitations, those can reduce value. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 402.1 requires the Assessor to account for them.10California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 402.1 – Assessment of Land If the Assessor didn’t, bring the recorded documents and any evidence of how the restriction affects marketability.
The Hearing
The Clerk must give you at least 45 days’ notice of the hearing date, time, and location, unless you and the Assessor both agree to shorter notice. If a hearing is cancelled and rescheduled, the minimum drops to 10 days for the new date.11California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 1605.6 Use that window to finalize your presentation and make copies of every document you’ll submit.
Hearings are open to the public. You and a representative from the Assessor’s Office each present evidence, and Board members ask questions throughout. A lawyer or hired appraiser isn’t required, but you can bring one if the stakes justify the cost. The Board may announce its decision on the spot or send it by mail.
Who Has the Burden of Proof
If your home is your principal residence and qualifies for the homeowners’ property tax exemption, the Assessor carries the initial burden of defending the enrolled value, provided you’ve supplied all information the Assessor requested.12California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 167 – Rebuttable Presumption in Administrative Hearings For all other properties, the burden is on you to show the assessment is too high.13New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 18 CCR 321 – Burden of Proof
Even when the presumption works in your favor, the Assessor can rebut it with solid counter-evidence. Bring your comparables and present them clearly. Board members are experienced CPAs, brokers, attorneys, or appraisers, and they ask pointed questions.14Justia. California Revenue and Taxation Code 1620-1630 – Equalization by Assessment Appeals Board
The Two-Year Decision Rule
California law gives the Board two years from the close of the filing period to decide your application. If it doesn’t, your stated opinion of value becomes the enrolled assessment for the tax year in question.15California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 1604 – Equalization of Assessments The default doesn’t apply if you agreed in writing to extend the hearing timeline or failed to provide information required by law.
If the Clerk asks you to sign an extension, read it carefully. Agreeing restarts the clock and gives up a real piece of leverage.
After the Decision
A win reduces your assessed value for the tax year covered by the application, and if you already paid taxes based on the higher figure, you’re entitled to a refund of the overpayment. Keep in mind that a Proposition 8 reduction is temporary. The Assessor reviews your market value each year going forward and can raise the assessment by more than the standard 2 percent cap, up to (but never above) the factored base year value.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Decline in Value – Proposition 8 If the market rebounds, your taxes can go back up.
If you lose, the Board’s decision is final at the administrative level. Your only recourse is to file a challenge in Santa Clara County Superior Court within six months of the decision.16California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Assessment Appeals Frequently Asked Questions Court involves filing fees, potential attorney costs, and a higher evidentiary bar; for most residential cases the amount at stake doesn’t justify litigation, but for high-value properties with large annual differences it may be worth consulting a property tax attorney.
A loss in one year does not bind the next. If market conditions still support a lower value, you can file a new appeal in the following cycle.