County filing guide
How to appeal your property tax in Santa Cruz County
Regular decline-in-value appeals. Supplemental and escape assessments have different deadlines.
Filing options
A filing-fee waiver may be available. Check with the county to see whether you qualify.
Filing instructions
Informal review
The Assessor offers a free decline-in-value review from July 2, 2026 through December 31, 2026. The 2026 residential form covers properties with two or fewer units and evaluates market value as of January 1, 2026.
Download the residential review form. Open the Assessor’s Declines in Value page. Under “How to File a Decline-in-Value Review Application,” select Residential. Use the property-type form that applies if your property is not residential with two or fewer units.
Download the residential review form and email the signed request. Complete the property and value information. Enter your name, parcel number, property address, email, phone number, January 1, 2026 opinion of market value, and assessed value from your latest tax bill or valuation notice. Answer the listing, appraisal, property-use, ADU, and improvement questions. Include a copy of a recent appraisal if requested by the form.
Add support and sign. The form provides three comparable-sale rows. Use similar properties sold no later than March 31, 2026, and record their addresses, sale dates, prices, and relevant characteristics. Explain other issues that affect value; include a contractor’s estimate for any unique problems you describe. Sign and date the request. An agent must include a signed authorization.
Email the completed request. Send the signed form and supporting documents to [email protected] by December 31, 2026. Keep a copy of your email and attachments. An informal request does not extend the formal appeal deadline; file the formal appeal by November 30, 2026 if you need to preserve that option while waiting for the review.
Formal appeal
For a regular 2026 assessment appeal, use the county’s online filing portal during July 2, 2026–November 30, 2026. The nonrefundable filing fee is $50 per application; the county’s portal instructions list a further $2 charge for credit-card payment. Continue paying property taxes while the appeal is pending.
Open the portal and register or log in. Go to the Santa Cruz County Assessment Appeals e-File Portal. If you have no account, select Register, complete the required contact and account fields, choose a correspondence preference, and select Create Registration. Return to the portal and log in with your email and password.
Register or log in to the Santa Cruz assessment appeals portal. 
Complete registration using Create Registration. Start and complete the application. Select Create an Appeal and complete the required fields through the application screens. Use your assessment notice or tax bill for the parcel number and assessed values, and enter your opinion of value. For a January 1 decline-in-value appeal, select Regular Assessment and Decline in Value. If an agent will act for you, enter the agent details and prepare the signed authorization.
Review the application and proceed to certification. Check your answers and select Send in application now! on the final review screen. Do not attach hearing evidence to the application. A regular assessment appeal does not require a notice upload; other appeal types require the applicable assessment notice.
Complete the electronic certification. In DocuSign, upload any documents required for your application, certify the application, and select Finish.
Complete payment and save the receipt. Follow the payment screen and select Done after payment. Back in the portal, save the receipt and submitted application, and check the appeal’s status. If you need a fee waiver, consult the Filing a Fee Waiver link on the portal before payment.
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
831-454-2323 · appeals page ↗
701 Ocean Street, Room 520, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
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
- Checked October 8, 2026. These instructions cover a homeowner’s 2026 decline-in-value request and regular assessment appeal. Supplemental, escape, calamity, and other appeal types have separate requirements and deadlines. Assessor’s Declines in Value page: July 2–December 31 filing period, property-type form links, email submission, free review, and protection of formal appeal rights. The public page and form links were inspected in the browser.
- 2026 Residential Request for Decline in Value Review, ASRR5: both pages downloaded and read. Confirms two-or-fewer-unit scope, January 1 valuation date, March 31 comparable-sale limit, three comparable rows, required signature, and November 30, 2026 formal appeal deadline. No request was sent; email acknowledgement and internal review processing were not tested.
Informal review
- https://assessor.santacruzcountyca.gov/PropertyTaxInformation/ContestingyourAssessedValue/DeclineinValueReview.aspx · “Claim forms are available during the decline-in-value filing period of July 2 through December 31 each year.” (checked July 11, 2026)
- https://www.assessor.santacruzcountyca.gov/PropertyTaxSavings/DeclinesinValue.aspx · “The Assessor’s Office reviews Decline in Value requests are FREE.” (checked October 14, 2026)
Formal sources
- Assessment Appeals e-File Portal and registration page: login and blank registration fields inspected in the browser. No account was created and no login, filing, or payment was attempted.
- County portal instructions: supports Create an Appeal, application sequence, DocuSign certification, payment, receipt, and status. Steps after login are document-backed; authenticated screens and payment charges were not observed. The document lists a $2 credit-card charge; other payment-method charges remain unverified. Optional written findings incur separate fees; consult the county before choosing that option.
- County filing deadlines and application instructions: regular-assessment classification, decline-in-value basis, notice requirements, value entries, and handling of hearing evidence.
- Clerk’s Assessment Appeals Board page: the regular filing-period column states July 2–November 30, 2026, but the adjacent delivery instructions say December 1, 2026. This conflict remains unresolved. This guide uses November 30, supported by the portal’s deadline document and the Assessor’s dated 2026 residential form. Confirm any later-date reliance directly with the Clerk at 831-454-2323 or [email protected].
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://www2.santacruzcountyca.gov/AAB/ · “Filing Fee: There is a $50.00 non-refundable filing fee for each application you submit.” (checked July 11, 2026)
Filing address
- https://www.santacruzcountyca.gov/Departments/ClerkoftheBoard/AssessmentAppealsBoard.aspx · “Physical & Mailing Address: Clerk of the Board Attn: Assessment Appeals Board 701 Ocean Street, Room 520 Santa Cruz, CA 95060” (checked July 11, 2026)
Filing channels
- https://www.santacruzcountyca.gov/Departments/ClerkoftheBoard/AssessmentAppealsBoard.aspx · “Applications must be postmarked, received or submitted electronically via eFile portal by the applicable deadline (see below for filing periods by appeal type) to be considered timely:” (checked July 11, 2026)
Fee waiver
- https://www2.santacruzcountyca.gov/AAB/ · “Filing a Fee Waiver: If you are receiving public benefits, are a low-income individual, or do not have enough income to pay your basic household needs, you may request a fee waiver.” (checked July 11, 2026)
Common questions about appealing in Santa Cruz County
When is the deadline to appeal in Santa Cruz County?
The deadline to file a formal appeal in Santa Cruz County for the 2026-27 tax year is November 30, 2026. Filing opened July 2, 2026.
The Assessor takes informal review requests from July 2 to December 31, 2026.
What does it cost to file an appeal in Santa Cruz County?
The county filing fee for a formal appeal is $50.
There is no fee for the Assessor's informal review.
A filing-fee waiver may be available. Check with the county to see whether you qualify.
Informal review or formal appeal: which one first?
Santa Cruz 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 ↗.
Santa Cruz County accepts the formal appeal online. File online through the county's appeals portal ↗.
The Clerk of the Board's address is 701 Ocean Street, Room 520, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
Check the Clerk of the Board's appeals page ↗ or call 831-454-2323 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?
More than 150,000 homes across California had temporarily reduced assessments in tax year 2025-26.