Commercial Tax Appeals

Who orders this appraisal

• Commercial owners
• Asset managers
• Property tax consultants
• Attorneys

What the engagement covers

• Assessment review support
• Comparable sales analysis
• Income approach documentation
• Expert witness testimony

The rules that govern it

Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §1603: the filing window, and it is strict, The regular appeal period runs July 2 to September 15 in counties where the assessor sends every assessee a value notice by August 1 under §619. Where the county does not, the period extends to November 30. San Diego County has published a July 2 to November 30 window. Confirm the current date with the clerk of the board before relying on it, because a deadline falling on a weekend or holiday rolls. Miss it and you generally wait a year.

Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §167, and why it does not help commercial owners, This section creates a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof in favour of the taxpayer, but only for an owner-occupied single-family dwelling that is the owner’s principal residence and qualifies for the homeowners’ exemption, and in escape assessment appeals. It does not apply to commercial property. On a commercial appeal the burden is yours, which is exactly why the evidence has to be strong.

Proposition 8 decline in value versus Proposition 13 base year, Two different challenges. A Proposition 13 challenge disputes the base year value set when the property changed hands. A Proposition 8 challenge argues that current market value has fallen below the factored base year value, producing a temporary reduction reviewed annually and restorable as values recover, never above the factored base year value. Most commercial appeals are Proposition 8 appeals.

The lien date is the valuation date, The board is asking what the property was worth on the January 1 lien date for the year under appeal. An appraisal with today’s effective date does not answer that question, and a report that capitalises current income rather than income as of the lien date will not survive the assessor’s review.

What makes a cap rate defensible before a board, Extraction from verified comparable sales, as of the lien date, with the income behind each sale verified rather than assumed. A rate taken from a published survey where real comparables existed invites the assessor to produce their own survey, and the board is then choosing between two assertions rather than weighing evidence.

How it works

1. Confirm the filing window with the clerk of the assessment appeals board for the county: the statutory rule turns on whether the assessor sends §619 notices, and dates roll off weekends.
2. Obtain the assessor’s record and check it for factual error first. Overstated square footage or improvements that do not exist are the cleanest wins and need no valuation argument.
3. Establish the correct valuation date: the January 1 lien date for the year under appeal.
4. Reconstruct income and expenses as of the lien date, including a reserve for replacement and a reassessed property tax figure where relevant.
5. Extract capitalisation rates from verified comparable sales near the lien date, not from survey data.
6. Prepare the report for the board as the audience. It must be followable by someone who is not an appraiser.

What you receive

Appraisal prepared as appeal evidence, with testimony available. Standard turnaround is 1–3 weeks. Rush appraisals available for urgent deadlines.

Common questions