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Appeal Property Tax Assessment

Appeal Property Tax Assessment

1.              March Board of Review
2.              Michigan Tax Tribunal

March Board of Review

The March Board of Review was created to be a board of local citizens who examine and review the assessments and taxable value as determined by the assessor. The Board of Review begins hearings of appeals by taxpayers on the second Monday in March. An appeal to the local Board of Review is mandatory before an appeal can be filed with the Michigan Tax Tribunal. The March Board of Review has the authority to:

  • Conduct hearing for taxpayers to protest their assessments and taxable value
  • Correct errors in names, tax descriptions, and assessments
  • Grant/deny poverty exemptions
  • Recompute taxable value if allowed by State Law
  • Sustain, increase, or decrease assessed value based on market data

Appeals to the Board of Review are by appointment. The taxpayer will:

  • Provide completed appeal form
  • List sales of similar properties
  • Recent appraisal (helpful)
  • Provide his/her opinion of value

Decisions of the March Board of Review are mailed to the taxpayers of record within two weeks of the close of the March Board of Review.

Michigan Tax Tribunal

The tribunal is an administrative court that hears tax appeals for all Michigan taxes. Most of the tribunal’s appeals involve property tax.

Taxpayers who have appealed to the Board of Review in March, and still believe that the SEV or TV of their property is not correct, may appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal in the same year as the assessment is made. The filing deadlines differ by the class of property:

  • Commercial, Industrial, or Utility Real and Personal Property: Deadline May 31 (no prior appeal to the Board of Review is required)
  • Residential, Agricultural, and All Other: Deadline July 31 (prior appeal to Board of Review is mandatory)

The Small Claims Division of the tribunal is available for the residential properties or other properties with lesser amounts of value in contention. These appeals are initiated by completing a petition form.

Entire tribunal appeal must be initiated by petition served on all parties in interest (assessor, city, county, school, etc.) with proof of service of the same. Any property valuation appeal may be filed with the entire tribunal which is a more formal venue. Filing fees much accompany non-homestead property appeals. The fee schedule is available on the Tribunal’s website. Both letters of appeal and petitions must be timely filed for the tribunal to have jurisdiction to hear an appeal.