County filing guide
How to appeal your property tax in Merced County
Regular decline-in-value appeals. Supplemental and escape assessments have different deadlines.
Filing options
Filing instructions
Informal review
Open the Assessor’s Request for Review page. Call 209-385-7631 to request a review of your assessed value. The county does not charge for this review.
Open the informal review information. Discuss why the property’s market value on January 1 was lower than its assessed value. Have your parcel number, assessment notice and supporting property information ready, and ask the appraiser how to provide the supporting documents.
Review the Assessor’s response. If you still disagree, file a formal appeal during the applicable filing period. An informal discussion does not replace the formal application or preserve its deadline.
Formal appeal
For a regular 2026 assessment, the county’s filing period is July 2, 2026–November 30, 2026. This guide covers an owner filing a regular decline-in-value appeal; other assessment types have different deadlines.
Open the Assessment Appeals page. Under Assessment Appeal Forms, download Assessment Appeal Application and Instructions. Prepare one application for each parcel.
Download the assessment appeal application. Complete the applicant and property details on BOE-305-AH. Enter the assessed values from your notice in column A and your proposed values in column B; leave the Board’s column blank. For this annual market-value appeal, select Regular Assessment and Decline in Value.
Complete the remaining applicable questions, then print, sign in blue ink and date the application. Do not attach your hearing evidence to the application. Keep a copy for your records.
Mail the original signed application and the $30 nonrefundable fee to Assessment Appeals Clerk, Board of Supervisors Office, 2222 M Street, Merced, CA 95340. Make a check or money order payable to County of Merced. Obtain a timely U.S. Postal Service postmark and retain your mailing proof. Electronic or faxed applications are not accepted.
Follow the hearing notice and prepare the evidence supporting your value. Contact the Assessment Appeals Clerk at 209-385-7366 about your application, any fee-waiver request or hearing instructions. Continue paying property taxes by their due dates.
After you file
Informal review
Keep your request confirmation and any correspondence from the Assessor. Check the formal appeal deadline above when considering a separate appeal.
Formal appeal
Keep a copy of your application and filing confirmation. Watch for notices from the Clerk of the Board and follow the county’s instructions for any hearing.
Open my appeal plans →Contacts & sources
Clerk of the Board
Runs the formal appeal
209-385-7366 · appeals page ↗
2222 M Street, Merced, CA 95340
This guide covers the regular decline-in-value appeal; supplemental or escape assessment notices follow different deadlines. Every date and fee here was checked against official sources, listed below with the date checked. If the county's page ever differs from this guide, follow the county's page.
Sources
Informal sources
- Request for Review — official contact route, no review charge, January 1 valuation date and right to formal appeal. Public page inspected in Chrome and captured October 8, 2026.
- Assessment Appeals — discussion with the Assessor does not remove the requirement to file an application on time.
- Scope: contact-based review. No dedicated online submission flow or authenticated screens were inspected. The county page does not specify a separate informal deadline, required evidence package or document-delivery method; the guide directs the owner to the appraiser for those details. Preparing parcel and assessment information is practical preparation, not a claimed county form requirement. No contact was made and no request was submitted.
Informal review
- https://www.countyofmerced.com/251/Assessment-Appeals · “You may still attempt to reach an agreement with the Assessor anytime up to the date set for the Assessment Appeals Board hearing.” (checked July 12, 2026)
- https://www.countyofmerced.com/206/Request-for-Review · “There is no charge to have your property reviewed.” (checked October 8, 2026)
Formal sources
- Assessment Appeals — one application per parcel, $30 fee, July 2–November 30 regular filing period and current form links. Public page inspected and captured October 8, 2026.
- Assessment Appeal Application and Instructions — current linked four-page BOE-305-AH, revision 12 (05-24); fields, blue-ink original signature and instruction not to attach hearing evidence. PDF text inspected October 8, 2026. This resolves the earlier unverified form-identity gap.
- Assessment Appeals Process Information — filing with the Assessment Appeals Clerk in the Board office; office address; $30 check/money-order payee County of Merced; possible qualifying fee waiver; hearing notices and continuing tax payments. The PDF includes a dated 2006 valuation example, which this guide does not reproduce.
- Local Rules, application filing provisions — current county-linked rules require original signatures, accept mail/hand delivery, reject fax/electronic filing and specify timely U.S. mail postmarks. Document adopted December 4, 2008; inspected October 8, 2026.
- Scope: public entry point and county documents verified; application completion, mailing and hearing steps are document-backed. No application, payment or account was created. No separate mailing suite was found; the county’s Process Information identifies the administering office and 2222 M Street address. The required number of filing copies and the fee-waiver procedure were not established; no copy count or waiver eligibility promise is supplied. Screenshot annotation and target readability checked locally; screenshot embedding, placement and rendered Notion images were verified on 2026-10-14.
Formal appeal window
- https://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/lta26023.pdf · “The regular appeals filing period in each county will begin on July 2, 2026, and will end on September 15, 2026, for those counties where the Assessor mails assessment notices to all taxpayers with property on the secured roll by August 1, 2026. For counties where assessment notices are not mailed by August 1, 2026, the filing period is extended to November 30, 2026.” (checked July 10, 2026)
Filing fee
- https://www.countyofmerced.com/251/Assessment-Appeals · “There is a $30.00 non-refundable Filing Fee for each Assessment Appeal Application filed.” (checked July 12, 2026)
Filing address
- https://www.countyofmerced.com/DocumentCenter/View/3494 · “Assessment Appeal Application forms are available at the Assessment Appeals office at the County Administration Building at 2222 “M” Street, Merced or online at www.countyofmerced.com.” (checked October 14, 2026)
- https://www.countyofmerced.com/251/Assessment-Appeals · “2222 M Street Merced, CA 95340” (checked October 14, 2026)
Filing channels
- https://www.countyofmerced.com/DocumentCenter/View/3494 · “If the final filing date of November 30th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, an application that is mailed and postmarked on the next business day shall be deemed to have been filed within the requisite time period specified.” (checked October 14, 2026)
- https://www.countyofmerced.com/DocumentCenter/View/3491 · “Applications must bear the original signatures whether delivered by mail or hand delivery.” (checked October 14, 2026)
Common questions about appealing in Merced County
When is the deadline to appeal in Merced County?
The deadline to file a formal appeal in Merced County for the 2026-27 tax year is November 30, 2026. Filing opened July 2, 2026.
The Assessor takes informal review requests year-round.
What does it cost to file an appeal in Merced County?
The county filing fee for a formal appeal is $30.
There is no fee for the Assessor's informal review.
Informal review or formal appeal: which one first?
Merced County offers both: an informal review with the Assessor, and a formal appeal filed with the Clerk of the Board (due November 30, 2026).
The state's own guidance says to talk to the Assessor's office first: if their staff finds an error, they can lower the roll directly and you may never need to file. Missing an informal review costs you nothing; missing the formal deadline costs you the year.
Which form do I file, and where?
The formal appeal uses the state's application form, BOE-305-AH ↗.
Merced County accepts the formal appeal by mail or in person.
Mail it to the Clerk of the Board at 2222 M Street, Merced, CA 95340.
Check the Clerk of the Board's appeals page ↗ or call 209-385-7366 before you file.
How long does an appeal take?
You get written notice at least 45 days ahead, hearings are open to the public (you can watch one first), and boards are expected to decide within two years of filing. You can still settle at any point before your date.
Do homeowners actually get their assessments lowered?
2,437 homes in Merced County had temporarily reduced assessments in tax year 2025-26.