How to Appeal Your Property Tax in Arizona: Step-by-Step Guide
An Arizona valuation appeal starts with a petition to your county assessor, filed within 60 days after the assessor mailed the notice of valuation (A.R.S. § 42-16051(D)). If the assessor says no, Maricopa and Pima owners go to the State Board of Equalization. Owners in every other county go to their county board of equalization.
What you contest is the full cash value and the legal class printed on the notice. The Maricopa County Assessor’s appeal-process handout puts it this way: the process lets an owner “request a review of the Assessor’s determination of the Full Cash Value (FCV) and legal classification of the property but not the Limited Property Value (LPV).” How the two values feed the bill is covered on our Arizona property tax system page.
Arizona appeal deadlines by step
| Step | Who decides | Deadline rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice of valuation | County assessor | Mailed “on any date before March 1” | § 42-15101(A) |
| Petition for review | County assessor | Within 60 days after the assessor mailed the notice of valuation (or an amended notice under § 42-15101); a USPS postmark is evidence of the filing date | § 42-16051(D) |
| Notice of change (new construction, parcel split or combination, change of use), sent on or before September 30 | State Board of Equalization (Maricopa, Pima) or county board of equalization (other counties), not the assessor | Within 25 days after the date of the assessor’s notice | § 42-15105 |
| Assessor’s ruling | County assessor | By August 15 | § 42-16055(A) |
| Appeal of a denial | State Board of Equalization (Maricopa, Pima) or county board of equalization (other counties) | Within 25 days after the assessor’s decision is mailed | §§ 42-16056(C), 42-16105(A), 42-16157(A) |
| Board decision | County board or State Board | By October 15 | §§ 42-16108(A), 42-16165 |
| Court, straight from the assessor’s denial | Arizona Tax Court | § 42-16056(C) lists court among the routes open within 25 days after the denial is mailed; § 42-16201(B) allows 60 days after the most recent administrative decision is mailed. Filing within 25 days avoids the question | § 42-16201(B); see § 42-16056(C)(3) |
| Court, after a state board decision | Arizona Tax Court | Within 60 days after the board’s final decision is mailed | § 42-16203(C) |
| Court, after a county board decision | Arizona Tax Court | Within 60 days after the decision is mailed, or by December 15, whichever is later | § 42-16202(A) |
| Court, with no petition filed | Arizona Tax Court | On or before December 15 | § 42-16201(A) |
The statute runs the 60 days from the mailing date, not from the day the envelope reached you. Each notice must print “the mailing date of the notice” and “the last date on which the owner may file an appeal” (§ 42-15102(A)(3), (4)), so read both off your own notice. For one county’s numbers from last season: Maricopa listed a deadline of “April 21, 2026 (for the 2027 Notice of Valuation sent February 20, 2026).” That date has passed, and it belonged to Maricopa alone. Other assessors mail on their own dates, and the next notice will carry its own deadline. A notice of change sent in the fall for new construction, a parcel split or combination, or a change of use follows a different rule: the appeal goes straight to the board of equalization within 25 days after the date of the assessor’s notice (§ 42-15105).
The petition to the assessor: form 82130R
The petition goes “on a written form prescribed by the department” (§ 42-16051(A)). For a home, the Department of Revenue’s form is the Residential Petition for Review of Valuation, form 82130R, revised 02/2026. The law requires a simplified, separate form for class three homes, meaning the primary residence of the owner or of the owner’s relative (§§ 42-16051(E), 42-12003(A)).
A petition that says only “too high” can be thrown out. It has to state your opinion of full cash value and “substantial information” behind it. Under the market approach that means “the full cash value of at least one comparable property in the same geographic area or the sale of the subject property” (§ 42-16051(B)(2)). If the assessor rejects a petition for missing that information and mails the rejection on or before June 15, you have 15 days to file an amended one (§ 42-16053).
Put every argument in the petition. Section 42-16056(D) says a person “shall not raise any issue if the issue was not included in the petition,” and you cannot go before either board of equalization without first petitioning the assessor. On form 82130R you can also tick a box in item 8 to request a meeting with the assessor’s staff.
In Maricopa County the assessor takes petitions online, by mail or in person, and states that “Emails are not accepted for appeals.” The form’s own instruction for every county is to “Mail or hand deliver one copy of the completed petition to the County Assessor of the county in which the property is located.”
Board of equalization: which one hears your case
Arizona splits the second step by county size. A county board of equalization, made up of the board of supervisors, exists only in counties under 500,000 people at the last census; no county board may be set up in a county of 500,000 or more (§ 42-16102(A), (B)). Form 82130R turns that into names: “Appeals in Maricopa and Pima Counties MUST be filed with the STATE Board of Equalization (SBOE).” Everyone else files with the clerk of their county board (§ 42-16105(A)). A smaller county may contract with the State Board to hear its cases (§ 42-16102(C)).
Either board hears the case in person unless all parties agree otherwise (§§ 42-16106(A), 42-16161(D)). Neither can raise your value. A county board decision “shall not exceed the county assessor’s noticed valuation” (§ 42-16108(E), added by Laws 2025, ch. 76, SB 1700, in force since September 26, 2025). The State Board is bound by the same limit (§ 42-16162(A)).
Two outcomes close the door on appealing. If the assessor grants what you asked for, you cannot appeal that ruling. If you and the assessor sign an agreement within five business days after the meeting, both sides give up any further appeal (§ 42-16056(A), (B)).
Tax Court, small claims and the tax you owe meanwhile
Valuation cases go to the Arizona Tax Court, which the statute defines as “the tax department of the superior court in Maricopa county” (§ 12-161). Chapters 11 through 16 of Title 42 also let you file in the superior court itself (A.R.S. § 12-163(B)). Filing in court suspends any administrative appeal you still have pending (§ 42-16201(C)).
If the assessor denied your petition and you want to skip the board, the two statutes read differently. Section 42-16056(C) says a denied petitioner may appeal “within twenty-five days after the assessor’s decision is mailed” to a board or to “superior court,” all in one list. Section 42-16201(B) gives a petitioner who goes to court “sixty days after the date of mailing the most recent administrative decision.” The 60 days come only from § 42-16201(B). Filing within 25 days avoids the question.
For a class three home (a primary residence under § 42-12003), or for property with a full cash value of $2 million or less, you may choose the court’s small claims procedure (§ 12-172(A)(1)). The hearing is informal, and the judgment “shall not be appealed” (§ 12-174(A), (C)).
Court appeals carry two conditions:
- Pay on time. Taxes for the year under appeal “shall be paid before they become delinquent,” or the court dismisses the appeal. The exceptions are a full year paid by December 31, or a late second half paid with interest by July 1 (§ 42-16210). The first half becomes delinquent after November 1 at 5:00 p.m., the second after May 1 at 5:00 p.m. (§ 42-18052(B)). A total bill of $100 or less is delinquent after December 31 at 5:00 p.m. (§ 42-18052(C)).
- The value can move either way. In court the approved value “is presumed to be correct and lawful” (§ 42-16212(B)). The court may set a full cash value “higher or lower” than the one appealed, whichever side filed. One exception: on an assessor’s appeal it cannot exceed the value the owner took to the board (§ 42-16213(A)).
A wrong square footage is a different claim
A factual mistake, such as the wrong living area or the wrong class, can be fixed through a notice of claim for a “property tax error” (§ 42-16254). The claim reaches back to the current tax year and the three preceding years (§ 42-16256(B)), with limits:
- The error has to be “exclusively factual in nature” (or a specific legal restriction on the parcel), “objectively verifiable without the exercise of discretion, opinion or judgment,” and “demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence” (§ 42-16251(3)(e)).
- If you bought the property in good faith without notice of the error, corrections stop at the date you took title. Years under the previous owner are out (§ 42-16256(A)).
- Real property that has been issued a certificate of purchase at a tax lien sale is excluded (§ 42-16256(E)).
The claim cannot be used for a general dispute over market value that is not the result of an error (§ 42-16256(D)).
Other appeal guides and tools
- Property tax calculator
- How to appeal property tax in New Mexico
- How to appeal property tax in Colorado
- How to appeal property tax in California
- How to appeal property tax in Nevada
- Moving to Phoenix in 2026
- Moving to Tucson in 2026
Statute text: A.R.S. § 42-16051, § 42-16056, § 42-16201. Form: ADOR 82130R. County example: Maricopa County Assessor, Appeals and its appeal-process handout. Error claims: § 42-16251, § 42-16256. State Board: SBOE, Property valuation FAQ, § 42-15105.
Arizona appeal questions
I missed the 60-day petition window. Is the year lost?
Not entirely. An owner who never petitioned the assessor can go straight to court on or before December 15 (§ 42-16201(A)), provided the tax is paid on time (§ 42-16210). A factual error on the record can also go through a notice of claim, which can reach back three prior tax years (§ 42-16256(B)) if the error is objectively verifiable and proved by clear and convincing evidence (§ 42-16251(3)(e)), and only for years you owned the parcel if you bought it in good faith (§ 42-16256(A)).
Can the board of equalization raise my value?
No. Both the county board and the State Board are capped at the assessor’s noticed valuation (§§ 42-16108(E), 42-16162(A)). The Tax Court is not: it may find a higher value (§ 42-16213(A)).
Does a reduction I win stick for the following tax year?
It does unless something changes on the parcel. A reduction won on review or appeal becomes the next year’s valuation unless there is new construction, a structural change or a change of use, or unless a statute sets a specific annual formula for that property (§ 42-16002(B)). Winning does not stop you from appealing again later (§ 42-16002(C)).
Can I appeal the limited property value?
Not as a matter of opinion. The Maricopa assessor’s appeal handout says an appeal covers the full cash value and legal class “but not the Limited Property Value (LPV).” The State Board of Equalization adds one exception: the LPV “cannot be appealed unless there was an error in the calculation as outline[d] in Arizona Revised Statute §§ 42-13301 through 42-13304.” Otherwise, a lower full cash value is what you ask for.
My home is in Pinal or Yavapai County. Do I still use the State Board?
You file with the county, not the State Board. The form’s instructions send “all other counties” outside Maricopa and Pima to the county board of equalization, and the appeal goes to the clerk of that board within 25 days after the assessor’s decision is mailed (§ 42-16105(A)). A county board may contract with the State Board to hear its cases (§ 42-16102(C)); Yavapai does, for hearing officers, but appeals are still filed with the Yavapai County Clerk of the Board.