According to Realtor.com's new property tax report, more than 40% of properties in the U.S. may be overassessed
AUSTIN, Texas, April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Many homeowners could be overpaying their property taxes and not even know it. In fact, 40.5% of properties in the U.S. may be overassessed, according to a new Realtor.com® Property Tax Report. And, today, for the first time on a major real estate platform, homeowners can not only uncover potential savings, they can get the evidence they need to challenge over-assessed property values through a new tax protesting resource on Realtor.com®.
40.5% of U.S. homes may be overassessed
"Most homeowners don't realize they can protest their property taxes, and even fewer know how to do it," said David Masters, Sr. Director of Product at Realtor.com®. "We built this resource to simplify what has traditionally been a confusing and intimidating process. By integrating it into the My Home dashboard, we're giving homeowners a clear view into what they might be overpaying, equipping them with solid evidence, and making it easy to take action. Our goal is to help people feel more confident navigating the protest process, and potentially save money."
Millions Could Benefit from Protesting… Especially in These States A Realtor.com® analysis found that over 40% of U.S. homes are potentially overassessed to the point that the owner could save $100 or more by protesting. The median potential savings is $539 per year, equivalent to more than 15% of the average property tax bill. Some states offer especially high opportunities for tax relief. Here are the five states with the largest share of properties for which protesting may make financial sense, and the estimated median savings if those homeowners filed a successful protest:
Top States with Highest Opportunity for Property Tax Relief
State
Share of Homes Identified for Protesting
Estimated Median Savings from Protesting
Texas
51.2 %
$606.66
South Dakota
48.3 %
$431.23
California*
47.8 %
$1,875.12
Iowa
47.3 %
$368.91
Illinois
46.5 %
$629.76
In states like California, long-standing caps on annual assessment increases have created significant variation between similar homes, which makes it more complicated to collect comparable properties because neighbors might be locked into an old assessment. This can inflate the number of properties that look like they are overassessed. Meanwhile, Texas and Illinois, with their relatively high effective tax rates, offer even small-assessment adjustments that result in major savings.
Built-In Support for Homeowners When They Need It Most The tax protesting resource comes at a critical moment and is available to homeowners who claim their home in the My Home dashboard on Realtor.com®. According to the Realtor.com® Tax Protest Report, the median property tax bill in the U.S. climbed to $3,500 in 2024, a 2.8% increase from 2023. This uptick is largely due to rising home values, with median assessed values increasing by 2.0%, alongside changes in local tax rates.
Some states have seen far more dramatic spikes. Georgia led the nation with a staggering 15.6% increase in median property tax burden, despite assessed values rising by just 4.8%, indicating significant local rate hikes. Other high-growth states include:
States with the Biggest Tax Burden Hikes (2023–2024)
State
Median Tax Burden Change YoY
Median Assessment Value Change YoY
Georgia
+15.6 %
+4.8 %
Texas
+7.8 %
+10.0 %
Maine
+5.9 %
+0.8 %
New Hampshire
+5.6 %
0.0 %
Wisconsin
+5.5 %
0.0 %
However, some states saw decreases or no change to their median tax burden between 2023 and 2024 including Nebraska, Michigan, Kentucky, Washington and Tennessee, showing that these states actually experienced healthy growth in home values at the same time that property taxes fell significantly.
States with the Biggest Tax Burden Drops (2023–2024)
State
Median Tax Burden Change YoY
Median Assessment Value Change YoY
Nebraska
-15.3 %
+8.3 %
Michigan
-12.9 %
+12.8 %
Kentucky
-1.1 %
0.0 %
Washington
-0.2 %
+8.2 %
Tennessee
0.0 %
0.0 %
Why This Matters Now With homeownership costs rising, property taxes are often overlooked, despite being one of the most significant recurring expenses homeowners face. This resource is designed to shine a light on the hidden costs of over-assessment while educating users and making the tax protest process approachable and actionable to millions of Americans who could benefit from it.
Three Key Benefits for Homeowners:
Estimate Potential Savings - See personalized, property-specific estimates of how much can potentially be saved annually by protesting the current tax assessment.
Access Downloadable Evidence - Access evidence packets with a home's county-assessed value, local tax rates, comparable data for nearby properties, all formatted to support an appeal.
Use Market Comparisons to Build a Case - Easily view and download comparable data for similar homes in the neighborhood and connect with local agents for additional help, if needed.
The tax protesting resource is now available on desktop, mobile web, iOS, and Android for all homeowners who claim their property through Realtor.com®.
Methodology For the year over year analysis, tax records from 2023 and 2024 are collected from properties only where both years are available. Data is from the Realtor.com tax assessment database. Year over year changes are calculated at the property level and aggregated by state from there. Vermont, Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas, Washington DC, North Dakota, and South Dakota were excluded from the year over year analysis due to missing data. Potential savings from property tax protesting are calculated by comparing the actual tax bill for a property for the most recent tax year against the product of that property's effective tax rate (actual tax bill divided by actual assessment value) and the property's hypothetical assessment value (market value multiplied by the average assessment-to-market value ratio for the property's county). Market values are determined as the median of the most recent valuations from several valuation vendors.
About Realtor.com® Realtor.com® pioneered online real estate and has been at the forefront for over 25 years, connecting buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 site trusted by real estate professionals, Realtor.com® is a valued partner, delivering consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.
