What is the procedure for appealing a real estate tax assessment?
To appeal a property tax assessment, you would first file an appeal in the administrative agency that reviews assessments. In New York City, the filing is called an “application” to the City’s Tax Commission. Outside New York City, the filing is called a “grievance” or “complaint,” typically made to the jurisdiction’s board of assessment review. After filing, an administrative hearing is held, either in person or on paper. The taxpayer bears the burden of proving the various grounds for challenging the assessment: that the assessment is excessive, unequal or unlawful, or the property misclassified. The administrative agency’s decision, or failure to render a decision within a certain time period, may thereafter be appealed to the state Supreme Court with a judicial petition made pursuant to Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law (a separate small claims review procedure is available for owner-occupied residences). The judicial petition enables the court to review the assessor’s real es
