Property owners who wish to challenge their tax assessment believing that their property was overvalued on the Oct. 1, 2025, Grand List only have a couple of weeks left to file a written appeal with the Board of Assessment Appeals (the “Board”). A successful challenge results in property tax savings to the owner. By statute, the deadline to appeal is Feb. 20, 2026 (unless extended by the city/town to March 20).
Appeal forms are typically available on the municipality’s website and through the tax assessor’s office. Once an appeal is filed, you will receive a hearing date and/or a decision by the Board, ruling on whether a change to the property’s valuation is warranted.
If a property owner remains dissatisfied with the Board’s decision, the only recourse is to appeal to the Superior Court. A court appeal must be filed within two months of the Board’s decision, or the right to appeal is lost.
As with any contested administrative or court proceeding, the decision to pursue a tax appeal should not be made lightly and it is recommended the owner engage counsel. A thoughtful, critical analysis is necessary and will usually result in a financial benefit to the property owner, whether an appeal is ultimately pursued or not.
Once an appeal is underway, the property owner and their attorney must work as a team to prepare a compelling presentation to the Board and if necessary, to the Superior Court, utilizing fact and expert witnesses that provide documentary evidence to establish the municipality’s value is excessive, and the taxpayer’s proposed value is correct.
In a previous legal alert, we recommended Seven Steps Property Owners Should Take in the Event of a Revaluation. If you need assistance or want more information about appealing your revaluation, our Commercial Real Estate Practice Group can help. Please contact attorney Nicholas W. Vitti Jr. at (203) 653 -5435 and nvitti@harrisbeachmurtha.com; attorney Joseph D. Szerejko at (860) 240-6186 and jszerejko@harrisbeachmurtha.com; or the Harris Beach Murtha attorney with whom you most frequently work.
This alert is not a substitute for advice of counsel on specific legal issues.
Harris Beach Murtha’s lawyers and consultants practice from offices throughout Connecticut in Bantam, Hartford, New Haven and Stamford; New York state in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Long Island and White Plains, as well as in Boston, Massachusetts, and Newark, New Jersey.
Harris Beach Murtha is the exclusive member firm in Connecticut for the American Property Tax Counsel (APTC) – the only organization of law firms providing major portfolio owners with a single source for their property tax reporting and tax reduction needs. Nicholas W. Vitti Jr. and Joseph D. Szerejko are the APTC representatives for Connecticut from Harris Beach Murtha.
