LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Every year in Michigan, homeowners receive a letter that can make their eyebrows shoot up faster than a gas pump price: their annual property tax assessment notice.
Those notices usually arrive in late February and show the taxable and assessed value of their home. The assessed value is supposed to represent about half of its estimated market value. The taxable value is just that – it’s what a township uses to figure out summer and winter taxes because Michigan property taxes are calculated based on the taxable value of a property. If the numbers provided look more like a wish than reality, Michigan law actually gives homeowners a chance to challenge them.
Don’t like the numbers? Start with the March Board of Review.
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For Michiganders who feel there are inaccuracies in their assessment or they think their property is being overvalued, they have a right to appeal.
The first stop is the homeowner’s local March Board of Review, where residents can appeal the assessment. Most communities require appeals to be filed by the second Monday in March (with meetings usually spanning several days) or before the board finishes its meetings that month. Property owners should call their township for information on the procedure involved to appeal, deadlines, what forms to file and when, and to ask if they need to make an appointment.
If Michiganders look at the bottom of their 2026 property tax assessment notice, they will see there are instructions on how they can challenge the assessment with an appeal.
Miss the deadline window, however, and you will most likely be out of luck for the year. For residential property owners, appearing before the March Board of Review is required if you want to take the dispute any further.
Not satisfied? The state has a second round.
If the local board says “nice try,” homeowners still have one more option: the Michigan Tax Tribunal. For residential or agricultural property, the deadline to appeal to the tribunal is July 31. Commercial and industrial properties face an earlier cutoff of May 31. However, since this day falls on a Sunday, it will most likely extend to the next business day.
Poperty owners will need evidence showing the assessment is inaccurate – such as comparable home sales, appraisals, photos, or errors in the property record.
The law allows increases.
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And yes, assessors can legally increase a property’s assessed value each year if market values rise. Under Michigan law, assessments are supposed to reflect 50% of the home’s true cash value. However, the taxable value increase is capped in most years by the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower – unless the property changes ownership. And unless there’s been a big improvement to a
property – like adding a garage, finishing a basement, or building an addition – the taxable value generally shouldn’t jump more than that annual cap.
The bottom line.
Michigan homeowners aren’t powerless if they don’t agree with their township’s assessment of the value of their property – but they do have to act fast if they want to challenge the numbers before the tax man locks them in for another year.
