How to Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment

Asking your town or city for a property tax abatement, and appealing to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals or the Superior Court if it says no, step by step, with every deadline.

Checked against its sources October 12, 2026.

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At a Glance

If you believe your assessment does not reflect your property’s value, or you are unable to pay because of poverty, you can ask your town or city for an abatement by March 1 after your final tax bill. It has until July 1 to decide, and silence counts as no. Then you can appeal to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals or the Superior Court, one or the other, by September 1. Keep paying your taxes meanwhile: if an abatement is granted, the amount abated is refunded with interest.

  1. Apply to your town or city by March 1 after the final tax bill.
  2. The town decides by July 1. No answer counts as a denial.

  3. Was the abatement denied?

    • Appeal to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals$65, by September 1.
    • Or to the Superior CourtBy September 1. One or the other, not both.

Step by Step

  1. Know your deadlines

    Every deadline counts from the notice of tax: the date your town mailed the final tax bill. If your town bills twice a year, that is the second bill, and you apply after it, not before.

    Property tax abatement and appeal deadlines (Board of Tax and Land Appeals)
    StepFinal bill on or before December 31Final bill after December 31
    Apply to your townBy March 1Within 2 months of the bill
    Town decidesBy July 1Within 6 months
    AppealBy September 1, and not before the town decides or July 1Within 8 months, and not before the town decides or 6 months

    The law: RSA 76:1-a, RSA 76:16-d, II

  2. Build your case

    A town may abate a tax “for good cause shown”. That usually means one of these:

    • An error in how your property is described or measured.
    • A disproportionate assessment. You show what the property was worth on April 1 of the tax year, with an appraisal or sales of comparable properties, and that your equalized assessment is higher. To get it, divide your assessment by your town’s equalization ratio.
    • Poverty and inability to pay, explained in detail, including why an abatement fits better than other help.

    The application asks for specific reasons, not a general statement about the tax. List every property you own in the town, not only the one you are appealing.

    The law: RSA 76:16

  3. File the application with your town

    Use the Board’s abatement application, sign it, and keep a copy. It is filed on the day you hand it in, the day it is postmarked, or the day an overnight carrier receipts it. Your town may charge for the form.

    The abatement application

    The law: RSA 76:16, I(b)

  4. Wait for the decision

    The town must grant or deny in writing by July 1, or within 6 months where the final bill went out after December 31. Not answering counts as a denial. A written decision tells you how to appeal and by when.

    The law: RSA 76:16, II

  5. Appeal a denial

    You can appeal to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals or to the Superior Court, but not both. For the Board, fill in its appeal form and mail it or hand it in, with the $65 filing fee by check or money order payable to “Treasurer, State of NH”, to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals, 107 Pleasant Street, Johnson Hall, Concord, NH 03301. It does not accept appeals filed electronically. Either way, the decision can then be appealed to the Supreme Court.

    The Board's property tax pageThe Board's appeal formCommonly asked questions

    The law: RSA 76:16-a, RSA 76:17

If a Fire or Disaster Damaged Your Building

When a fire you did not cause, or a natural disaster, leaves a building unusable during the tax year, its assessment is prorated for the days it could be used. Apply in writing to your town within 60 days of the damage or by March 1, whichever is later. Appeals follow the same routes and deadlines (RSA 76:21).

Who Can Help

Your town or city’s assessing officials are who you apply to for an abatement. For questions about appealing, the Board of Tax and Land Appeals asks you to read its commonly asked questions or call its office at (603) 271-2578.

The Board of Tax and Land Appeals

For legal help, including if you are at risk of losing your home over unpaid property taxes:

  • Free civil legal aid. New Hampshire Legal Assistance helps people with low income and limited assets, and adults 60 and over, mainly with housing (eviction, foreclosure and property tax deeding), domestic violence and family law, and public benefits. Apply through 603 Legal Aid, online or at 1-800-639-5290; it also publishes self-help articles.
  • The New Hampshire Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service refers you to a lawyer who handles your kind of problem, for an administrative fee. Call 603-229-0002, weekdays 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., or ask online.

603 Legal Aid Lawyer Referral Service

In the Record

Chapter 76: Apportionment, Assessment and Abatement of Taxes

Bills now before the General Court that would change it:

Laws that changed it since 2020, newest first:

See Also

Where This Comes From