How to Appeal Your Property Tax in Nebraska: Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
Nebraska calls the first step a protest, and it goes to your county board of equalization, filed with the county clerk. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-1502 sets one statewide cutoff for real property: the protest must be signed and filed on or before June 30, after the county assessor completes the assessment roll.
Nebraska protest and appeal deadlines
| Step | Who decides | Deadline rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice of a changed value | County assessor | Mailed on or before June 1 to the owner of record as of May 20, for every parcel assessed at a value different from the previous year | § 77-1315(2) |
| Valuation protest | County board of equalization (filed with the county clerk) | After the assessor completes the roll and on or before June 30; one protest per parcel | § 77-1502(1) |
| Board hears protests | County board of equalization | June 1 through July 25; a county of more than 100,000 people may extend to August 10 by resolution adopted before July 25 | § 77-1502(1) |
| Decision mailed to you | County clerk | On or before August 2, or August 18 in a county that extended its hearings | § 77-1502(6) |
| Appeal | Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) | On or before August 24, or September 10 if the county extended its hearings | § 77-1510 |
| Rehearing | Full TERC commission | Application within 30 days after the date of the order. After a single commissioner’s order it is the only next step (that order cannot go to court) and the commission must grant it, unless the appeal was dismissed for failure to appear; after a full-commission order a rehearing is discretionary | § 77-5015.02(5)-(6), § 77-5005(4) |
| Judicial review | Nebraska Court of Appeals | Petition within 30 days after TERC enters a final appealable order | § 77-5019(2)(a) |
Where the statute says “filed,” the Department of Revenue’s protest form spells out the mechanics: “If a filing deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the filing deadline is the next business day,” and a protest sent through the U.S. mail “is considered filed on the date of the postmark.” For TERC, § 77-5013(2) treats an appeal as on time if it is postmarked or received by the deadline.
Where 2026 stands
The 2026 protest window closed June 30, 2026. TERC’s own appeal page listed the 2026 appeal deadlines as September 10, 2026 for Douglas County and Lancaster County and August 24, 2026 for all other counties. Both dates have passed. The next ordinary protest is against the 2027 value, and the June 30 cutoff in § 77-1502 applies again.
Filing with the county clerk: Form 422, 422A or the county’s own form
Section 77-1502(2) requires “a form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner,” filed with the clerk of the county where the property is assessed, and lets a county “create its own form, including an electronic form.” The state versions are Form 422 and Form 422A, Property Valuation Protest and Report of County Board of Equalization Action (both Rev. 2-2022). The protest has to state the reasons for the change, the requested valuation and a description adequate to identify each parcel. The statute is blunt about gaps: if those items are missing, “the protest shall be dismissed.”
Someone else can sign for you only if they attach your authorization. If a person who is neither the owner nor authorized files anyway, the clerk mails a copy to the owner (§ 77-1502(2)).
Change for 2027: LB 803 (approved April 16, 2026), operative January 1, 2027, adds a fourth required item to § 77-1502(2): “documentation sufficient for the county board of equalization to determine a different valuation.” A protest filed without it is dismissed. The same act rewrites the June 1 notice under § 77-1315 so it tells owners, in its largest type, that a protest “must be accompanied by documentation sufficient to justify the requested valuation; if not, your protest will be dismissed.” Starting with 2027 protests, attach your sales comparisons, appraisal or photos to the form itself. Do not hold them back for the hearing.
How the county board hears a protest
No protest hearing may be held before a single commissioner or supervisor (§ 77-1502(4)). Any county board may appoint referees who hear protests first and send written recommendations to the board. The board can then adopt the recommendation, hear more testimony or rehear the protest (§ 77-1502.01).
Counties with at least 100,000 inhabitants in the latest federal census must give each real property protester “the opportunity to meet in person” with the board or a referee (§ 77-1502(3)). LB 834, effective July 18, 2026, lowered that threshold from 150,000. In smaller counties the statute sets no such guarantee, and the Department of Revenue’s Real Property Valuation Protest Information Guide (September 2021) says a county “may rely on the information provided along with the written protest.” Ask the clerk how your county handles it.
The same guide warns that “the assessed value of your property may be increased if the county board of equalization finds that your property was undervalued,” and that “the burden is on the property owner to prove their property has not been correctly assessed.”
Taking it to TERC
TERC is the state commission that hears appeals from county boards. Its appeal page says the form, “Appeal to the Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission,” must be mailed with the filing fee and a copy of the county board’s decision, and that “the Commission does not have an electronic filing system.” A copy of the decision, or other information that documents it, is one of the jurisdictional items in § 77-5013(1)(d), and, like the appeal itself, it has to be postmarked or received by the deadline (§ 77-5013(2)). If it is missing, TERC does not get the case.
The fee depends on the parcel’s taxable value (§ 77-5013(3), as amended by LB 4 in 2020):
- $40 if the taxable value is under $250,000
- $50 from $250,000 to under $500,000
- $60 from $500,000 to under $1 million
- $85 at $1 million or more
Hearings are informal unless a party asks in writing, within 30 days after the appeal is filed, for a formal one. The party who asks pays the court reporter until a final decision (§ 77-5016(1)). The standard of review is in § 77-5016(9). If you present no evidence that the county’s decision is wrong, the appeal is denied. If you do present evidence, the decision “shall be affirmed unless evidence is adduced establishing that the order, decision, determination, or action was unreasonable or arbitrary.” TERC can assign an appeal to a single commissioner when each parcel’s taxable value, as the county board set it, is $2 million or less (§ 77-5015.02(1)). Either party can ask in writing, before the hearing, to be heard by the full commission instead (§ 77-5015.02(3)).
That choice matters later. A single commissioner’s order “may not be appealed pursuant to section 77-5019 or any other provision of law” (§ 77-5015.02(6)). If you lose there, your next move is an application to TERC for a rehearing before the full commission, made within 30 days after the date of the order. Section 77-5005(4) says the commission “shall grant a rehearing on the merits before the commission” on a timely application, unless the order dismissed the appeal because the appellant did not show up for the merits hearing. Only the full commission’s decision can go on to court.
From a full-commission decision, the next stop is the Court of Appeals, not district court: § 77-5019 gives “judicial review in the Court of Appeals,” started within 30 days after the final appealable order. The 30 days are tolled while a rehearing motion is pending (§ 77-5005(4)).
Notices that start a separate 30-day clock
Some county board notices run on their own clocks instead of June 30, including these two:
- Board correction of an undervalued or overvalued parcel (§ 77-1504). Between June 1 and July 25 (August 10 in an extended county), the board can act on the assessor’s report and mail you the new value. You can protest within 30 days after that notice is mailed. The appeal to TERC is due on or before October 15, or October 30 in an extended county.
- Omitted property or a clerical error (§ 77-1507). You can protest within 30 days after the notice is mailed, and the board decides within 30 days after the protest is filed. You can appeal to TERC within 30 days after the board’s final decision.
Other Nebraska pages
- Nebraska property tax explained: levies, homestead exemption and payment dates
- Property tax calculator
- Nebraska homes and market pages
- Omaha vs Lincoln: where to buy a home in 2026
- Appeals next door: Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Colorado
Primary sources: § 77-1502, § 77-1510, § 77-5013, § 77-5015.02, § 77-5005, TERC appeal process, Form 422.
Nebraska protest questions
I missed June 30. Is there any way to protest this year’s value?
Not against the assessor’s value. Section 77-1502 requires filing “on or before June 30,” and the Department of Revenue’s guide states a protest “will be dismissed if the protest is not filed by June 30.” Later routes open only if the county board mails you a notice of its own action, such as a correction under § 77-1504 or an omitted-property or clerical-error notice under § 77-1507. Each of those gives you 30 days after the notice is mailed.
My county has more than 100,000 people. Do I get a later deadline?
No. The June 30 filing date is the same in every county. The extension in § 77-1502(1) moves the board’s hearing deadline to August 10, the decision notice to August 18 and the TERC deadline to September 10. It only applies in a year when the board adopts the resolution before July 25.
Can a relative or a tax agent file the protest for me?
Yes, if they are “authorized to protest on behalf of the owner” and provide that authorization with the protest (§ 77-1502(2)). Form 422 has a yes/no box for this.
I own a house and the vacant lot next to it. Is one protest enough?
No. For real property, “a protest shall be filed for each parcel” (§ 77-1502(1)), and Form 422 repeats it: “Complete a separate protest form for each parcel.”
Can I skip the county board and go straight to TERC over my value?
Not for an ordinary valuation protest. What § 77-1510 sends to TERC is “any action of the county board of equalization pursuant to section 77-1502,” and § 77-5013(1)(d) makes a timely filed copy of the decision being appealed, or other information documenting it, one of the filings TERC needs to take the case.