Anne Arundel County Property Tax: Rates, Deadlines, Appeals

Anne Arundel County property owners have 45 days from the date on their SDAT assessment notice to appeal, filed either online through Maryland's assessment appeals portal or by mail using the free Petition for Review form. The county's own Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board (PTAAB) hears the next level of appeals at the Arundel Center in Annapolis. Filing is always free — the state never charges a fee to appeal or to request your assessment worksheet.

How assessments work in Anne Arundel County

The Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), not Anne Arundel County itself, sets your property's assessed value. SDAT appraises every property in the state once every three years, using a rotating cycle across three geographic groups, and blends sales, cost, and income approaches to arrive at a Total Market Value. That value is then certified to the county, which applies the local tax rate to produce your bill. Because the exact reassessment group and mailing date can vary by neighborhood, the most reliable way to confirm where your property sits in the cycle is the control number and date printed on your own notice, or SDAT's Real Property Search.

Anne Arundel County also has a notably low Homestead Tax Credit local cap of just 2% (versus Maryland's statewide 10% cap), which limits how much of a year-over-year assessment increase is actually taxable on an owner-occupied home. If your home's market value jumps sharply, this cap can keep your taxable assessment — and your bill — rising much more slowly than the appraisal itself.

One nuance worth flagging: the City of Annapolis and the Town of Highland Beach are incorporated municipalities that sit inside Anne Arundel County and levy their own additional municipal property tax on top of the county rate. SDAT still assesses these properties the same way as the rest of the county, and appeals still run through the same PTAAB and Maryland Tax Court process — there's no separate assessment authority to worry about — but residents there should expect a higher combined rate on their bill than homeowners in unincorporated parts of the county.

Whether you should appeal

An appeal makes sense when the Total Market Value on your notice looks higher than what your home could realistically sell for. Common grounds include recent comparable sales in your neighborhood that came in lower, factual errors in SDAT's record of your property (wrong square footage, bedroom/bath count, or condition), or physical damage or deferred maintenance that hasn't been reflected in the record. Since filing costs nothing and there's no penalty for appealing and losing, it's rarely a bad idea to at least request your assessment worksheet and compare it against recent sales before deciding.

It's generally not worth appealing based solely on "my taxes went up too much" — the tax rate itself isn't something PTAAB or the Tax Court can change; they can only review whether the assessed value is accurate.

Step-by-step how to file

1. Locate your control number. It's printed on the assessment notice SDAT mailed you, and you'll need it to file online.
2. File your appeal. Use the online portal at assessmentappeals.dat.maryland.gov, or mail the "Petition for Review or New Owner Appeal of Real Property" form to your local SDAT assessment office. Both options are free.
3. Attend the Level 1 Supervisor's hearing. This is an informal, roughly 15-minute exchange of information with an assessor, who will typically provide a property worksheet and comparable area sales. You can request one postponement if the scheduled time doesn't work.
4. Appeal to PTAAB if needed. If you disagree with the Supervisor's decision, you have 30 days to appeal to the Anne Arundel County Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board. PTAAB is made up of local residents appointed by the Governor and operates independently of SDAT. Hearings can be in person or by written submission at the Arundel Center, 44 Calvert Street, Annapolis, MD 21401 (410-974-2374); no more than two postponements are allowed.
5. Appeal to the Maryland Tax Court as a last resort. You have 30 days from PTAAB's written order to file. This hearing is de novo — meaning the Tax Court considers the case fresh, without deference to the earlier decisions — and you (or your attorney) must attend in person.

What happens after

For reassessment-year appeals, SDAT aims to resolve cases by June 1, ahead of the new assessment taking effect on July 1, though actual timing depends on how many appeals your local office is handling. If your appeal succeeds, the reduced value is applied automatically to your next tax bill — you don't need to file anything additional with the county's Office of Finance. If you're not satisfied with the outcome at any level, the clock to escalate to the next level (30 days) starts from the date of that decision's written order, so don't wait to decide whether to press on.

Local tips

Beyond the appeal itself, make sure you're not leaving money on the table through credits and exemptions. The Maryland Homestead Tax Credit limits how much of your assessment increase is taxable each year on your principal residence (2% locally in Anne Arundel County) — apply once and it renews automatically as long as you own and occupy the home. The Homeowners' Property Tax Credit is a separate, income-based state program that caps your tax bill relative to your household income, regardless of your assessed value, and requires its own annual application. Veterans should check the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Credit, which can fully exempt the principal residence of a veteran with a 100% service-connected permanent and total disability rating (and in some cases their surviving spouse), and the county's own Retired Veterans Property Tax Credit for veterans 65 and older. Anne Arundel County also runs credits for public safety officers, 9-1-1 specialists, and disabled first responders.

On rates: Anne Arundel County's real property tax rate for the 2026–2027 tax year is $0.9680 per $100 of assessed value at the county level, plus the state rate of $0.1120 per $100, for a combined $1.0800 per $100 outside incorporated towns. As a rough illustration, a successful appeal that lowers your assessed value by $50,000 would reduce your annual county-plus-state tax bill by about $540 (calculated as $50,000 ÷ 100 × $1.08) — actual savings depend on your specific assessment and any applicable credits. FY2027 real property tax bills carry an official due date of September 30, 2026, according to the county's Office of Finance, which also offers a semiannual payment plan for eligible owner-occupied residences — confirm current installment dates directly with the Office of Finance before relying on them. Finally, be wary of unsolicited mail offering paid "assessment appeal services" — SDAT explicitly warns that filing an appeal, or requesting your assessment worksheet, is always free through the state and county directly.