Property Tax Appeals in Maryland

How it works in Maryland

Maryland's State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) reassesses every property once every 3 years (one of three regions per county reassessed each year) at full market value, but any INCREASE is phased in over the following 3 years in equal annual steps, whereas a decrease applies right away with no phase-in. So the "Phased-In Value" that determines your actual tax bill this year can sit well below SDAT's own current market-value estimate on the same notice. Montgomery County's own Homestead Tax Credit adds a second layer on top: it caps how much your taxable value can grow year-over-year at 10% (5% in the Town of Kensington) for an owner-occupied home that has filed the one-time application, crediting away the tax on anything above that.

Deadline

If your property was reassessed this year, SDAT gives you 45 days from the notice date to appeal. If it wasn't (about 2 out of every 3 properties, in a given year), you can still file a "Petition for Review" any time up to the first working day after January 1, without waiting for a notice. Either way, appeals proceed through the same three levels: an informal Supervisor's Level review, the Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board (PTAAB), and the Maryland Tax Court. This is confirmed directly from SDAT's own site.

Terminology

Maryland uses "appeal" at every level for the notice-triggered path, and "Petition for Review" specifically for the off-cycle path available in the two years between your reassessments.

Enter the "Phased-In Value" from your SDAT notice or tax bill, not the "New Full Value" shown next to it. The New Full Value is SDAT's market-value estimate, but your bill is based on the phased-in figure, which can lag several years behind it.
There's no fee at any level of a Maryland assessment appeal. SDAT's own site states plainly there are no fees for filing, all the way up through the Maryland Tax Court.

Counties covered so far

Montgomery County