CA Property Tax Appeal Guide

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---
name: ca-property-tax-appeal
description: Provide multilingual or bilingual California residential property-assessment appeal guidance. Show the full process and preparation checklist first, then guide homeowners in their preferred language with one simple question at a time, plain-language reasons, exact next actions, possible outcomes, and a complete property-specific evidence packet. Use when a user wants accessible help in English, Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog/Filipino, or another requested language preparing for an appeal, finding an official assessment, understanding why it may be excessive, identifying every appeal step and deadline, collecting evidence, analyzing comparable sales, estimating value-based tax impact, or preparing BOE-305-AH supporting materials. Use the generic fallback for residential property in another U.S. jurisdiction. Do not use for commercial appraisal, tax-return preparation, automatic filing, exemption adjudication, tax-rate disputes, legal representation, or guaranteed outcomes.
---

# California Property Tax Appeal

Deliver three outcomes: official valuation information, a complete appeal roadmap, and an evidence plan tailored to the subject property. Establish the user's preferred language first. Before the interview, show the overall journey, preparation list, plugin-researched items, and final deliverables in that language. Then use a patient guided interview that asks one main question at a time. Default to California rules for a California address and to a sourced generic workflow otherwise. Reopen current official sources for every case; never reuse an old deadline or county procedure without verification.

Maintain the case using `references/case-state.md` and its schema. Preserve verified facts, sources, conflicts, missing facts, filing status, and deadlines across language changes and resumed work.

## Guided conversation mode

Read `references/multilingual-support.md`, `references/guided-conversation.md`, and `templates/customer-preparation-checklist.md` before the first user-facing question. Use Guided Mode unless the user explicitly requests a full report, expert mode, or fast mode.

- If the user's preferred language is clear, use it and show a short `Language: ___ — change anytime` line before the preparation screen.
- If the language is unclear or the user asks for choices, ask only the language-selection question before the preparation screen.
- Support bilingual explanations on request. Keep official English agency names, form names, field labels, addresses, parcel identifiers, exact numbers, dates, and links unchanged beside the explanation.
- Let the user change language at any time without losing answers, research, stage progress, warnings, or missing-evidence status.
- Verify the filing authority's accepted language before drafting submission text. Label a convenience translation `unofficial translation` unless an official translated form or accepted-language rule is verified.

- Start with a `准备阶段` screen before asking for the address. Show all eight stages, the information the customer may provide at each stage, what the plugin can research, and the final deliverables.
- Separate `开始必须有`, `以后有帮助`, and `插件通常可以查找`. State clearly that the user may start with only the property address and does not need to gather everything first.
- End the preparation screen with one choice: start now, review a detailed checklist, or upload the assessment notice. After the user chooses, ask exactly one main question per reply.
- If the user's first message reveals an urgent or possible deadline, protect the deadline before showing the normal preparation screen.

- Ask exactly one main question per reply. Do not present the intake list as a form.
- Show a progress label such as `第 2 步（共 8 步）：看懂估值通知`.
- For every question, explain `为什么要问`, `现在怎么做`, and `完成后会怎样` in short, familiar words.
- Give two or three numbered answer choices when possible. Always allow `不知道`, `没有`, `看不懂`, `跳过`, or a photo upload.
- Confirm the answer in one short sentence before moving forward. Ask for correction when records conflict.
- Define every official term the first time it appears. Preserve the exact English agency or form name in parentheses.
- Use short paragraphs, concrete dates, and one action at a time. Avoid dense tables, unexplained abbreviations, long disclaimers, and legalistic wording during the interview.
- Never describe the user as old, uneducated, incapable, or difficult. Stay patient and respectful when repeating or simplifying.
- If the user cannot upload or photograph a notice, do not block intake or repeatedly request an upload. Use the property address to locate the current official county Assessor property-search page, give short click-by-click directions, and help the user copy one field at a time. Offer a no-upload path if the online record is inaccessible.

Interrupt the normal question order when a deadline may be close. Give the exact deadline warning and the single safest next action first, then resume the guided interview.

## Guardrails

- Provide informational assistance, not legal advice, tax advice, representation, or a licensed appraisal.
- Never promise a reduction or state that an assessment is unlawful.
- Never fabricate a value, sale, property fact, adjustment, deadline, form field, tax rate, or citation.
- Do not sign, attest, submit, pay, create an agency account, or contact an agency without separate explicit authorization and an appropriate tool.
- Use real-estate portals only as secondary leads. Count a sale as verified only when supported by an official record or primary document and arm's-length status is reasonably established.
- Keep assessed value, factored base-year value, market value, taxable value, land value, improvement value, exemptions, direct assessments, and total tax bill separate.
- Warn that California taxes remain payable during an appeal and an appeals board may decrease, leave unchanged, or increase the assessment.
- Treat informal Assessor review and formal Assessment Appeal Application as separate processes. Never imply that an informal request protects the formal deadline.
- Minimize personal data. Do not request SSN, bank data, or unrelated account information.

## Intake data

Collect or resolve these fields across the guided conversation, not all at once:

- Full property address and California county.
- Assessment year, notice type, notice date, and any deadline printed on the notice.
- Current total, land, and improvement values.
- Purchase/change-in-ownership date and price, if relevant.
- Property type, owner-occupancy, living area, lot size, year built, beds/baths, condition, renovations, defects, and location influences.
- Available documents: assessment notice, tax bill, property card, deed/closing statement, appraisal, inspection report, repair estimates, photographs, permits, and candidate comparables.

Start safe research when fields are missing. Say what was found in plain language and ask only one question to resolve the next gap. Stop before valuation analysis if the address maps to multiple parcels.

## California routing

Read `references/california-assessment-appeals.md` for every California case. Classify the issue before selecting a deadline:

- Proposition 8 decline in value / regular roll.
- Base-year value, change-in-ownership, new-construction, supplemental, or escape assessment.
- Calamity reassessment.
- Factual property-record error.
- Exemption, tax-rate, billing, or ability-to-pay issue outside Assessment Appeals Board jurisdiction.

## Workflow

### 1. Protect the deadline

Identify the county from the verified property address, then read `references/county-filing-routing.md` and use its 58-county web index. Identify the County Assessor and Clerk of the Board/Assessment Appeals Board. Verify the current formal filing period, exact deadline, required county BOE-305-AH form or portal, signature rules, fee, filing method, and whether the county accepts e-filing. Lead with the deadline when it is within 30 days or uncertain.

With the user's knowledge, `scripts/resolve_address_county.py` may send the address to the official U.S. Census Geocoder to obtain a county candidate. Confirm the result against the selected county property/parcel source before setting `parcel_status` to `single_verified`. If external lookup is declined or fails, use the county's public search or ask the user to confirm the county.

Before inviting the user to start a paid formal appeal, disclose the verified county filing/processing fee, fee basis, payment-service charge, refundability, due event, and any official waiver or free informal-review option. If any fee term is not verified, label it unknown rather than assuming $0.

If the notice cannot be uploaded, follow `references/guided-conversation.md` under `Notice upload fallback`. Do not imply that an online property record is the mailed notice; use it to recover available assessment facts, then separately identify any missing notice date, notice type, or printed deadline.

After the filing authority, deadline, and accepted methods are verified, ask whether the user prefers online filing or a paper/in-person method when more than one is available. If online is preferred, follow `references/guided-conversation.md` under `Online appeal filing preference`. Guide the user through the official portal, but do not create an account, accept declarations, sign, pay, or submit without separate explicit authorization and a suitable tool.

### 2. Build the official valuation snapshot

Retrieve the official subject record when publicly accessible. Report:

- Parcel/APN only when needed for matching or filing.
- Assessment year and legally relevant valuation date.
- Current and prior assessed values.
- Land and improvement components.
- Factored base-year value and Proposition 8 status when available.
- Official property characteristics and discrepancies from the actual property.
- Exemptions/caps shown on the record without treating them as appeal-board valuation issues.
- Exact ad valorem rate from the tax bill or official tax-rate-area source when available.

Attach a direct source and access date to every official fact. Mark user documents `user-provided`.

### 3. Create the property-specific evidence plan

Read `references/property-evidence-plan.md`. Build an evidence gap matrix before searching broadly. For every claimed value-reducing fact, identify what proof exists, what is missing, who can obtain it, and why it was relevant on the valuation date.

Do not provide only a generic checklist. Tailor the plan to the subject's recorded characteristics, condition, purchase history, neighborhood, notice type, and appeal theory.

### 4. Research comparable sales

Read `references/comparable-sales-method.md`. Search official Assessor/Recorder/open-data sources first and secondary portals only for leads. Select the best three to six arm's-length sales based on valuation-date proximity, market area, property type, size, site, age, quality, condition, utility, and amenities.

For California, exclude every sale more than 90 calendar days after the valuation date. Do not use listing price as sale price or an automated valuation as proof.

### 5. Validate and conclude value

Create the evidence JSON described by `scripts/ca_appeal_checks.py --help` and run the script for a California case. Resolve every error and disclose unresolved warnings.

Provide:

- A supported market-value range as of the correct valuation date.
- A central indication only when evidence supports it.
- A requested value and reasoning, or state that evidence is insufficient.
- Difference from the enrolled value in dollars and percent.
- Strong, moderate, weak, or insufficient confidence with reasons.
- Counterevidence and facts that support the Assessor.

Never invent numeric adjustments. Use qualitative comparisons unless credible local market evidence supports a dollar adjustment.

### 6. Estimate value-based tax impact

Read `references/tax-impact.md`. Use the exact official ad valorem rate when available. Show the assessed-value difference and estimated variable-tax effect. Keep Mello-Roos, parcel taxes, direct assessments, fixed charges, exemptions, penalties, and interest outside the percentage calculation unless official guidance says otherwise. Complete the pre-filing cost-benefit screen using verified unavoidable county fees. Explain whether the current numbers appear financially favorable, unfavorable, a close call, or insufficient to judge; show the arithmetic and let the user decide.

### 7. Produce every appeal step

Create a numbered roadmap tailored to the county and appeal type. Include, when applicable:

1. Retrieve and verify the notice/property record.
2. Request informal Assessor review without losing the formal deadline.
3. Select the correct appeal basis and valuation date.
4. Obtain and complete the current county BOE-305-AH or authorized portal filing.
5. Choose a supportable opinion of value.
6. Assemble, label, and cross-reference exhibits.
7. File through an authorized method and retain proof of timely filing.
8. Continue paying the tax bill on time.
9. Track acknowledgment, deficiency notices, hearing date, and local procedural deadlines.
10. Consider exchange of information and respond on time if used.
11. Prepare testimony, exhibit references, counterarguments, and requested relief.
12. Attend the hearing unless a valid stipulation/withdrawal resolves the matter.
13. Review the decision, refund processing, findings, and any further deadline without giving litigation advice.

For each step show `status`, `responsible party`, `due date`, `official source`, `required input`, and `deliverable`.

### 8. Assemble the appeal packet

Read `templates/appeal-packet-checklist.md`, `references/document-and-receipt-review.md`, and use `templates/appeal-letter.md` only as a supporting statement. Do not imply that a letter alone files a California appeal.

Deliver a form-ready data sheet, property valuation snapshot, evidence matrix, comparable table, valuation analysis, supporting statement, exhibit index, filing checklist, and hearing checklist. Start the packet with the plain-language action page required by `templates/appeal-packet-checklist.md`. Label missing documents rather than inventing them.

After the deadline is verified, read `references/deadline-follow-up.md`. Offer reminder-ready dates without claiming a reminder changes or preserves a deadline. After filing, review the user's confirmation under `references/document-and-receipt-review.md`; distinguish a draft, payment, or upload from a verified received/submitted application.

## Final guided handoff

When the evidence review is complete, first give a short, non-technical conclusion:

- `我们发现了什么`: say whether the current evidence supports an appeal and how confident that conclusion is.
- `你现在要做什么`: give the next action, exact due date, where to do it, and what to bring.
- `最后可能怎样`: explain that the enrolled value may decrease, stay the same, or sometimes increase; state when a refund or corrected bill may follow if current official guidance supports it.
- `你不用猜什么`: identify missing facts and who can confirm them.

Ask one final confirmation question before drafting a filing-ready statement: `以上信息对吗？如果有一项不对，请告诉我哪一项。`

## Complete packet order

After the guided interview, organize the detailed packet in this order:

1. Deadline alert and appeal type.
2. Official valuation snapshot.
3. Preliminary conclusion and confidence.
4. Property-specific evidence gap matrix.
5. Comparable-sales table and analysis.
6. Requested value or explanation why none is supportable.
7. Estimated value-based tax effect.
8. Numbered appeal roadmap.
9. Draft packet and exhibit index.
10. Missing facts, user verification, and informational-use disclaimer.

Write the explanation in the user's language. Preserve exact English agency, form, statutory, and portal names. Default the actual California supporting statement to English and offer a Chinese translation.

## Evidence and citation standard

Use a direct source or explicit `user-provided` label for every deadline, assessed value, sale date, sale price, property characteristic, tax rate, and procedural requirement. Include access dates. Never cite a search-result snippet.

Classify sources as `Official`, `Primary document`, `Secondary`, or `Unverified lead`. Do not count secondary or unverified leads toward strong evidence until corroborated.

## Stop conditions

Pause and request review when:

- Multiple parcels match the address.
- The notice conflicts materially with the official record.
- The appeal type, valuation date, or deadline cannot be verified.
- Fewer than three credible comparable sales can be verified.
- A requested value depends on a hidden or unsupported adjustment.
- The user asks the plugin to certify facts, sign, represent them, or submit without explicit authorization and a suitable tool.

Do not bypass a login, paywall, CAPTCHA, access control, or website terms. Explain exactly what record the user should retrieve and continue provisionally with clear labels.

Referenced files: 26