Appeal Process

Every year, Form 11's are mailed out to property owners. Form 11 is the notification of the current year's assessed valuation. If Form 11's are mailed on or before May 1 of the assessment year, property assessment appeals for that year may only be between the date of mailing and June 15 of the assessment year. If no notice of assessment is given, the tax bill serves as the notice of assessment.

How to Decide If You Need to Appeal

Property Tax Assessment Appeals Fact Sheet

Keep Previous Year's Sale Value in Mind

The Form 11 Notice of Assessment is based on the value of the property as of January 1, 2023. The assessed value for 2023 is based on sales of similar properties from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022.

So, you don't need to think about the current value of your property but rather what it would have sold for in 2021.

Review Sales of Similar Properties

To support your value, you can review sales of similar properties. There are a few different ways to do this. The first way is through Beacon. Search for your name, address, or parcel number. Once your property has been located, you can search for sales of similar properties. We recommend that you first search for sales within your neighborhood.

Every neighborhood in Hancock County has a neighborhood code. To find yours, look on the Notice of Assessment (also called Form 11) you received. In the box to the right of your name and address, you will see the property class and the neighborhood code.

Review the sales from 2022 to see what the sale prices of similar properties. For those that are the most similar, print out the information. Not every sale is an arms-length transaction.

Sales as a result of foreclosure, divorce, or to a family member are generally not valid comparisons.

You may find sales of homes that are larger or smaller than yours but otherwise are similar. In that case, you might want to look at the sales price per square foot. To get the price per square foot, take the sales price and divide it by the livable square footage.

How to Appeal With a Valid Case

If you decide that you have a valid case, then start the appeal process by filing an appeal. An appeal is filed via Form 130 (PDF). You can file online through our Beacon site or by downloading a copy of Form 130 (PDF) and submitting it to our office in person, via email, or by mail. Appeals must be submitted by June 15, 2023.

The petition must be signed by the petitioner or an authorized representative. A representative must attach a notarized Power of Attorney (PDF) unless the representative is a duly authorized employee or a corporate officer of the company. If you have an email address please list it on the appeal form.

Please note: Effective July 1, 2017, all Appeals are required to be filed on Form 130, and each parcel that is appealed needs to have its own petition filed.

Process After We Receive Form and Evidence

Once we receive your Appeal, our office will begin to review the information provided. We will begin reviewing appeals as they come in. You should expect to hear from our office within 90 days of submitting your appeal.

We encourage petitioners to also set up a meeting with our Appeals Coordinator regarding their appeal. You can schedule a meeting by calling our office at 317-477-1102 or emailing Salliann Flake.