It’s property tax appeal season in Vermont—property tax grievance hearings commence in June. If your property has been re-assessed, you will receive a notice in the mail informing you of the new valuation and providing you with the deadlines for filing an appeal. However, even if your property was not reassessed this year, you can still appeal the valuation–you just can’t appeal the value for any earlier tax years. Keep in mind that if your property hasn’t been reassessed, you will not receive a notice from the town informing you of your appeal rights and relevant deadlines—you will need to determine those on your own by calling the town lister’s office or checking their website.
By statute, the last possible date to commence grievance hearings with the town listers is generally June 19 for smaller towns and July 9 for towns with a population of 5,000 and above. Again, the actual deadlines are determined by the town and may be earlier than these two dates. The deadline to file the grievance is the “grievance meeting” date established by the town for a given year. Property owners must consult the deadline stated on the reassessment notice sent by the town. If no notice is sent, property owners will need to do a little research–the listers are required to post the grievance meeting date in the grand list “book”, which are available for public inspection in the town offices. Property owners may also confirm the dates with the relevant town listers and/or their tax advisors.
Vermont Property Tax Appeal FAQs:
1. There was a town-wide reappraisal and my assessed value increased 70 percent! Will my property taxes go up?
Not necessarily. Reappraisals are meant to be revenue neutral. If all of the taxable property in the town (the “grand list”) is reassessed and the total value doubles, the tax rate will be halved. If your property tax increased consistent with the grand list average increase, your property taxes should not increase due to the revaluation. Looking at the annual municipal budget and property tax process helps to explain: First, municipalities vote on and approve a budget in March. Municipal spending is now set for the year. Second, the grand list is set in April (subject to adjustment for appeals during the summer). Third, the tax rate is established based on the budget and the grand list, the budget does not increase or decrease as a result of changes to the grand list.
Note, the Vermont education tax rate can cause significant tax increases year to year, but that’s an issue you would need to take up with the State Legislature. Statewide, education taxes increased over 40% between 2020 and 2025.
2. Should I file a grievance or appeal my property tax? / Should I hire an attorney?
Cost/benefit: Unfortunately, you won’t know what your revised property tax bill will be until after the rate is set and the bills go out, however you can use your last property tax bill to evaluate the cost/benefit. For the vast majority of residential properties in Vermont, the cost of hiring an attorney may not be justified by the potential tax savings. Ask yourself: how much is your current property tax bill? If you are able to obtain a substantial reduction in that amount, would that justify thousands of dollars in legal fees, plus thousands of dollars to hire an independent appraiser to value your property?
Benchmarking against grand list: In a townwide reappraisal situation, if your property value increased significantly more than the town average, it could indicate that your appraisal might be unfairly high and you should consider appealing. Your town assessor should be able to provide you with this information.
Go it alone?: If your cost/benefit analysis does not justify hiring an attorney, you could handle it yourself. While professional representation adds value, the initial grievance hearing and BCA appeal with the Town are intended to be accessible forums where property owners can represent themselves. You could put together your own comparable house values and argue your case. Even better, you could obtain an independent appraisal and appeal based on their valuation report; and/or they may be willing to present it at the appeal hearing. An independent, certified appraisal will generally carry more weight than a self-prepared valuation. For the initial grievance hearing, you do not even need to attend in person. You could file your grievance and the town will consider it and rule on your request.
