Protesting Your Assessed Value

Property owners who disagree with the assessor’s estimate of the market value of their property should ask themselves, “Could I sell this property for that amount today?” If the answer is yes, then the value is probably correct. However, every property owner has the right to appeal an assessment. Remember that your protest and the information you use to support your appeal should be based on your property’s actual value on the assessment date (January 1).

Property owners may appeal their initial assessments to the Louisa County Board of Review by filing a written protest between April 2nd and April 30th of each year. If April 30th falls on a weekend, the deadline is extended to the following business day. The board meets annually in May to consider the protests. Petition forms to the board of review are available at the Louisa County Assessor’s office or at https://tax.iowa.gov/forms/petition-local-board-review-regular-session-56-064

The Assessor notifies owners of any change in valuation by April 1 and appeal dates are April 2 through April 30.

Informal Review

Property owners can request an informal review with an assessor from April 2 – April 25. An Informal Review allows for a change to be completed before the Board meets. If property owners reach an agreement with the Assessor during the informal review, they can avoid filing a protest with the Board of Review.

Please call the office to set up an Informal Review. An appointment will be made for a site inspection to review the information on file for accuracy.

Formal Protest Steps

1. Find out What Your Current Assessment Is
   • Assessment Notices are mailed out before April 1 if there is a change in the value.
   • Search the Assessor’s web site for your property https://beacon.schneidercorp.com
2. File a Petition with the Board of Review
   To begin the appeals process, you must file a written, signed protest with your Board of Review.
   • The Petition to Local Board of Review Form is available online
   • Complete Form – You must specify the reason in your written petition.
     • The top portion of the form asks for information to identify the property you are protesting.
       • The Undersigned – enter your name
       • The following described real estate – enter the legal description of the property
       • The street address – enter the street address of the property
       • In the sum of – enter the current assessed value
     • Grounds – Your protest must be based on a reason authorized by Iowa Law
3. Be sure to request an oral hearing in your written protest/petition if you would like to speak to the Board or Review.
4. The protest will not be accepted unless it is signed.
5. It is very important to complete the bottom section of the form with your contact information including your mailing address where the notices will be sent and a daytime phone number where you can be reached by our.

If you’re protesting assessments for more than one parcel of property, you will need to complete a separate form for each parcel.

You must file (in person), email, or postmark (in the mail) your petition from April 2 to April 30 for it to be valid. (There’s an extended period for disaster areas; you can check with your local officials to find if your county has been declared a disaster. Also, if April 30th falls on a weekend, you can file the following Monday.)

The Board of Review Hearing

The Board meets in May to consider assessment protests. It stays in session as long as it needs to act on all the protests, usually not past May 31st. If you requested an oral hearing in your petition, you can appear before the Board to support your petition. The Board of Review typically will do a site review the same day as your hearing. Rules of Procedure Click here

• You will receive written notice of your hearing date from Board of Review.
• The Board will send written notice of its decision and the reasons for its decision after the Board adjourns.
• If you are not happy with the Board of Review’s decision, you can appeal to: The Property Assessment Appeal Board or to District Court.