The Property Assessment Appeal Board Guide shows you how to take your BC Assessment appeal to the Property Assessment Appeal Board and build your written submission, section by section.
What is the Property Assessment Appeal Board?
The Property Assessment Appeal Board is an independent tribunal that decides your assessment on the evidence. It is the second level of appeal, after the Review Panel, and the deadline to appeal to it is April 30 of each year.
The Board hears your appeal de novo, which means as a brand new hearing. Nothing from the Review Panel carries over: not your evidence, not the panel's reasons. Most homeowners do not realize that, and it is why the Board is a real second chance. In the appeals I have helped with, it is where most of the results were won.
$30
the Appeal Board's filing fee for a residential property, paid to the Board
April 30, 2027
the deadline to appeal your 2027 assessment to the Board
De novo
a brand new hearing, with nothing carried over from the Review Panel
3 rounds
of written submissions: yours, BC Assessment's reply, and your final rebuttal
How it works
Your Appeal Board case, step by step
1
By April 30, 2027
File your appeal
Win or lose at the Review Panel, you can take your appeal to the Board. If you won, you can still go for a larger reduction. If you lost, you can still win at the Board. I have done it many times.
2
After you file
The Appeal Management Conference
A call with a Board appeal case manager and BC Assessment to set out the issues and see whether both sides can reach a joint agreement. Both sides share their comparable sales and evidence, and this is one of the ways appeals settle without going to written submissions. If it cannot be resolved, you agree to disagree, and the Board orders 3 sets of dates for written submissions. The dates can change, but in my experience they are typically 10 to 14 days apart.
3
First date: you go first
Your written submission
As the appellant, you make your case first, in writing. You file a written submission that lays out your case, supported by an evidence book.
4
Typically 10 to 14 days later
BC Assessment's response
BC Assessment answers with two submissions, one from its appraiser and one from its appeal advocate, each with its own evidence.
5
Typically 10 to 14 days later
Your final word
You go again, with a final written rebuttal. This is where you deconstruct BC Assessment's evidence, point by point.
6
Typically 60 to 90 days later
The Board sets the final value
The Board weighs all of the evidence and sets the final value. It may confirm BC Assessment's value, accept yours, or set a value of its own. In my experience, the decision typically arrives 60 to 90 days after your final rebuttal.
What the guide covers
A written submission, section by section
Preliminary matters
The issues that fall outside the other sections, set out up front. These are the main points you want the adjudicator to see.
The property
The property overview, floor plans, and the issues and concerns specific to your home.
Date of sale and market conditions
How to use sold listings and show the market around the July 1 valuation date.
Equity in your taxing jurisdiction
Your assessment to sales ratio, and similar properties assessed differently from yours.
Market data review
The map, a comparison chart, photo comparisons, and how to check every comparable before you accept it.
Request for order and addenda
What you ask the Board to do, and the MLS sheets, zoning bylaws and other documents that back it up.
Common questions
The Property Assessment Appeal Board
What is the deadline to appeal to the Appeal Board?
For your 2027 assessment, the deadline to appeal to the Property Assessment Appeal Board is April 30, 2027.
Can I go straight to the Appeal Board?
No. You can only appeal to the Board if you first registered a complaint with the Property Assessment Review Panel by its deadline, typically January 31. If you did not register for the Review Panel, you cannot go to the Appeal Board.
Do I have to attend my Review Panel hearing to appeal to the Board?
No. In my experience, you can register for the Review Panel and not attend your hearing at all. The panel will confirm your assessment, and you can still appeal to the Board by April 30.
Does the Appeal Board look at what the Review Panel decided?
No. The Board hears your appeal de novo, as a brand new hearing. Nothing from the Review Panel carries over, so you present your evidence fresh.
What is an Appeal Management Conference?
A call with a Board appeal case manager and BC Assessment to set out the issues and see whether both sides can reach a joint agreement. It is a without prejudice meeting, so what is said there cannot be used against either side later.
Will BC Assessment bring a lawyer?
It can. On the 2023 Youbou appeals, BC Assessment brought King's Counsel. The Board still decides on the evidence, not on who is in the room.
Do I need a lawyer for the Appeal Board?
No. Most residential owners can represent themselves. If you would rather have help, book a BC Assessment Check and I will go through the sold comparables in your neighbourhood with you.
Going to the Appeal Board? Start with what homes like yours sold for.
Start with your address and see how your BC Assessment compares to what homes like yours actually sold for.
Check My PropertyMy Record: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2026
$22.6M+
cut from the values BC Assessment put on homeowners' properties
My 3 largest reductions for a homeowner: $2,063,000, $1,954,000 and $1,438,000
$110K+
in estimated property tax refunds and credits for homeowners
My 3 largest estimated refunds or credits for a homeowner: $10,315, $9,770 and $7,190
40
homeowners I helped appeal their BC Assessment
100% won a reduction. The average homeowner had approximately $566,000 taken off their value and an estimated $2,800 back in property tax.
63
appeals won, out of the 65 those homeowners took to a decision
97% won, at BC Assessment, the Review Panel and the Appeal Board
91%
of written Appeal Board decisions, made by an independent adjudicator, lowered the value
30 of the 33 that went that far
7,079
Vancouver Island home sales I checked against their BC Assessment
Less than 1% were assessed at what they sold for, and 40% were assessed above it
32
news stories about the appeals I helped with
Run more than 400 times in 68 news outlets across BC
23
freedom of information requests to BC Assessment for its records
$11,047.06 in fees BC Assessment estimated to release them. I paid $30 in total, after fee waiver requests on public interest and hardship grounds.
Are You Overassessed?
When BC Assessment gets your home's value wrong, I prove what it is actually worth using real sales of similar homes, so you don't pay more property tax than your fair share.
Jason Anson
I am not a lawyer or an appraiser, and nothing on this site should be considered legal or tax advice. When I help you, you are still the appellant and you file your own appeal. Every result depends on the evidence for that property, and the decision belongs to the Property Assessment Review Panel or the Property Assessment Appeal Board, not to me. My past results do not predict yours, and I cannot guarantee any outcome.
Helping homeowners with property assessment appeals is not a licensed activity in the province of British Columbia. It is not regulated by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) or the Real Estate Services Act, and it is not considered a real estate service.
I am also a licensed real estate agent with eXp Realty. That work gives me my experience in valuation and market movement, which is the evidence of market value the Review Panel and the Appeal Board weigh. This site and my appeal work are completely separate from eXp Realty. They are not affiliated with, endorsed by or provided through my brokerage, and the views here are my own, not eXp Realty's.
What I write about BC Assessment, the Property Assessment Review Panel, the Property Assessment Appeal Board, the Minister and Ministry of Finance, and the other public offices on this site is my own opinion, and I consider it fair comment on a matter of public interest. My opinions are my honest views, marked as my view, and based on facts anyone can check: Appeal Board decisions, public records and records released under freedom of information. Quotes from documents and news stories are the words of the people quoted. If anything here is inaccurate, let me know and I will correct it.