Property owners in 19 Ohio counties have from January 1, 2025, to March 31, 2025, to formally challenge the real property tax valuation of their properties; otherwise, they must wait until the following year. The counties now accepting complaints are: Belmont, Brown, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Erie, Fayette, Highland, Huron, Jefferson, Lake, Lorain, Lucas, Morgan, Muskingum, Ottawa, Portage, Stark, Warren and Williams.
Every six years, each county in Ohio is required to reappraise all of the real property within its borders – regardless of type (e.g., residential, industrial, commercial) – with updates occurring the third year following each sexennial reappraisal. A number of Ohio counties underwent sexennial reappraisals in 2024, and many counties in Northeast Ohio saw overall and significant increases in commercial, industrial and residential valuations. More information on these reappraisals, as well as resulting Proposed Value Notices (notices regarding increased valuations), can be found via this link.
At this point, although the opportunity to informally challenge 2024 valuations has passed, property owners still have until March 31, 2025, to file an official complaint and engage in the more formal annual review process conducted by each county’s Board of Revision (BOR). This formal process involves filing a complaint with the applicable BOR detailing the challenge to the valuation, along with the submission of other information and evidence relating to the relevant property.
Certain parties may have an opportunity to file a counter-complaint in response to the initial complaint, including the local school board, which may elect to become involved if the initial complaint alleges a value differential of at least $50,000. The BOR typically schedules a hearing and renders a decision within 180 days after the last day a complaint may be filed or after a counter-complaint is filed. In the event of an unfavorable decision, a subsequent appeal process is available to any property owner.
Property owners are generally allowed to formally challenge a valuation once in each three-year period between reappraisals and updates, as described above, excepting certain circumstances such as recent arms-length transactions, casualty events, substantial improvements, or significant increases or decreases in a property’s occupancy.
Given the formal nature of filing a complaint with the county BOR and the strict adherence to the March 31, 2025 deadline, it is recommended that property owners consider seeking legal advice before proceeding to dispute a valuation. If you are interested in discussing your options regarding a formal complaint before your county’s BOR, please feel free to contact any of the Calfee lawyers listed below who can assist you with this important matter.
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