Baltimore County Property Tax: Exemptions & Appeals (2026)

For Baltimore County’s 2026 reassessment, Area 2 assessment notices were mailed December 30, 2025, so the standard 45-day reassessment appeal deadline was February 13, 2026. As of July 25, 2026, the next fixed deadline for a Baltimore County homeowner who missed the reassessment appeal window is a Petition for Review due January 4, 2027 for the tax year beginning July 1, 2027; file it with SDAT’s Baltimore County Assessments office in Towson.

File online if you are appealing a current reassessment notice through SDAT’s Real Property Assessment Appeal Form. Otherwise use the paper Petition for Review or New Owner Appeal of Real Property and submit it to Baltimore County Assessments, Hampton Plaza, 300 E. Joppa Road, Suite 602, Towson, MD 21286, or email sdat.blco@maryland.gov when your notice/form instructions allow email.

How assessments work in Baltimore County

Baltimore County assessments are set by the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, not by Baltimore County government. SDAT values real property at market value and maintains the assessment roll; Baltimore County then applies tax rates and issues/collects tax bills.

Maryland uses a three-year reassessment cycle. Baltimore County is split into three reassessment areas: Area 1 was effective January 1, 2025 and is next reassessed January 1, 2028; Area 2 was effective January 1, 2026; Area 3 was effective January 1, 2024 and is next reassessed January 1, 2027. SDAT’s 2026 statewide reassessment was the Group 2 cycle. The notices were mailed December 30, 2025, and SDAT reported Baltimore County Group 2 residential values rose about 12.4% from the January 1, 2023 base to January 1, 2026.

A higher market value is not always the same as an immediately higher taxable value. Assessment increases are phased in evenly over three years. If the property is your principal residence and your Homestead Tax Credit is approved, Baltimore County’s local Homestead cap for July 1, 2026 is 4%, while the state cap is 10%. That means many owner-occupied homes are taxed on a capped taxable assessment even if the market assessment rose faster.

Whether you should appeal

Appeal if the Total New Market Value is higher than what your house was worth on the relevant January 1 valuation date, or if SDAT’s property data is wrong. Good Baltimore County appeal issues include: incorrect finished living area, wrong bath count, basement finish overstated, condition problems not reflected, non-buildable or constrained land, or better comparable sales in your neighborhood.

Do not base the appeal on “my taxes went up,” “my increase is bigger than my neighbor’s,” or county services. SDAT says the appeal is about the total market value of the land and improvements together.

Start with SDAT’s Real Property Data Search. Look up your property and three to five comparable sales in the same subdivision or nearby part of the county—Catonsville comps are usually more useful for Catonsville than Owings Mills or Perry Hall. Use arms-length sales as close as possible to the valuation date. For the 2026 reassessment, that means sales before or near January 1, 2026 are stronger than later 2026 sales.

SDAT’s statewide FY 2025 annual report publishes statewide appeal workload numbers, not a Baltimore County homeowner success rate or median reduction. The useful takeaway is practical: do not assume a reduction is automatic; bring specific valuation evidence.

Step-by-step how to file

1. Identify your appeal type. If you received a reassessment notice, use the appeal form/online system within 45 days of the notice date. For the December 30, 2025 Area 2 notices, 45 days made the deadline February 13, 2026. If you bought a property transferred after January 1 but before July 1, use the new-owner appeal within 60 days from the transfer date. If you are outside the reassessment year, file a Petition for Review for the next tax year.

2. Use the right form. The online form is called Real Property Assessment Appeal Form and requires the county, notice number, and control number from your assessment notice. The paper form for off-cycle and purchase appeals is Petition for Review or New Owner Appeal of Real Property.

3. Choose the hearing option. SDAT offers four first-level choices: written appeal, phone hearing, video hearing, or in-person/personal hearing. The petition form says Google Meet is the supported video platform and that an email address is needed for a video link.

4. Submit to the Baltimore County SDAT office. Mail or hand-deliver paper filings to Baltimore County Assessments, Hampton Plaza, 300 E. Joppa Road, Suite 602, Towson, MD 21286. The office is open Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The phone number is 410-512-4900; fax is 410-321-4148; email is sdat.blco@maryland.gov. Reassessment notices also allow the signed notice appeal form to be returned by mail or email to the local assessment office shown on the notice.

5. Pay no filing fee. SDAT states it does not charge owners to file a real-property assessment appeal or to request a copy of their own property assessment worksheet. Comparable property worksheets may carry a small/nominal fee, so ask the Towson office before ordering a stack.

What happens after

The first level is the Supervisor’s level at the Baltimore County Supervisor of Assessments office. It is informal and usually handled by an assessor designated by the Supervisor. SDAT describes a typical hearing as about 15 minutes. Before the hearing, SDAT provides your property worksheet and an Area Sales Listing at no cost. In the hearing, the assessor reviews the worksheet, explains how the value was developed, and lets you point to errors or comparable sales.

If you choose a written appeal, SDAT reviews the documents without an oral hearing and mails the final notice. The petition form says that after the information is considered, you will be mailed a final notice detailing the result. For regular reassessment appeals, SDAT says it attempts to complete reassessment appeals by June 1, depending on appeal volume.

If you disagree with the Supervisor’s final notice, the next level is the Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board for Baltimore County. PTAAB is independent from SDAT. You have 30 days from the date of the Supervisor’s final notice to appeal to PTAAB. There is no PTAAB filing fee, and you may appear in person or appeal in writing. A PTAAB hearing is a new hearing, so resubmit your evidence rather than assuming the board already has it. If you disagree with PTAAB’s order, you may appeal to the Maryland Tax Court within 30 days; there is no written-hearing option at that level.

Local tips

Check exemptions and credits before spending money on an appeal. For owner-occupied homes, confirm your Homestead Tax Credit status in SDAT Real Property Search; Baltimore County’s 4% local cap can matter more than a small assessment reduction. If household income is limited, review the Homeowners’ Property Tax Credit; the 2026 application deadline is October 1, 2026, and Baltimore County is listed as a county with a supplemental credit administered through the state application. Seniors and retired veterans should also check Baltimore County’s elderly/veteran credit rules, and disabled veterans or blind homeowners should review state/local exemption provisions.

A savings example: suppose SDAT valued an Area 2 Baltimore County house at $430,000, but strong comparable sales support $400,000. A successful $30,000 reduction saves county tax of $330 per year at Baltimore County’s FY 2026 real property rate of $1.10 per $100 of assessed value. Add the Maryland state real property rate of $0.112 per $100, and the total direct annual property-tax savings is about $363.60 before any Homestead cap effects. If the home is owner-occupied and capped, your immediate bill savings may be smaller, but the lower market assessment can still help over the three-year phase-in period.

When Are Property Taxes Due in Baltimore County?

Baltimore County issues real property tax bills on July 1 each year. Owner-occupied residential properties and qualifying small businesses are billed on a semiannual schedule: the first payment is due July 1 and may be paid without penalty or interest through September 30; the second payment is due December 1 and must be paid by December 31 to avoid penalty or interest. Miss either window and the balance becomes delinquent — October 1 for a missed first installment, January 1 for a missed second installment — and accrues interest and penalty of 1% per month. To qualify for the semiannual plan, you must be the owner of record as of July 1 of an owner-occupied residential property; each of the two payments covers 50% of state and County property taxes, 50% of Homestead/Homeowners' Tax Credits, and 50% of Metropolitan Charges and other County charges. If you instead pay the full year at once, that annual payment is also due by September 30.

This is not the same as the assessment appeal deadline above. The appeal deadline is your window to contest your assessed value; the payment due date is when the resulting tax bill must be paid. Missing one does not affect the other, but missing either has real consequences — one forfeits your right to appeal for the year, the other can trigger interest, penalties, and eventually tax sale.

Source: https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/budfin/taxpayer-services/payment-schedules

How to Pay Your Baltimore County Property Tax Bill

Pay online through Baltimore County's Search and Pay Property Taxes portal (the Baltimore County Online Payment System), searchable by parcel ID/business account number or street address. Electronic check payments carry a $0.95 convenience fee; credit or debit card payments carry a 2.39% convenience fee — both fees go to the payment processor, not the County. You can also pay by mail or in person at the Office of Budget and Finance, 400 Washington Avenue, Room 150, Towson, MD 21204 (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.). For general payment questions, call Taxpayer Services at 410-887-2404.

Source: https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/budfin/taxpayer-services/tax-search

Baltimore County vs. Baltimore City: Two Separate Tax Jurisdictions

If you searched "Baltimore property tax" or "Baltimore tax assessment," check which jurisdiction you're actually in first. Baltimore County and Baltimore City are two separate, independently governed jurisdictions in Maryland — not one place with two names. Baltimore City is an independent city that is not part of any county; Maryland's own State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) lists "Baltimore City" and "Baltimore [County]" as distinct entries, each with its own local assessment office, tax rate, and payment system.

• Baltimore County government and its SDAT Assessments office (Hampton Plaza, 300 E. Joppa Road, Suite 602, Towson, MD 21286, 410-512-4900) cover the ring of communities around the city — Towson, Catonsville, Dundalk, Owings Mills, Essex, and similar areas — and everything else in this guide applies to you.
• Baltimore City has its own SDAT Assessments office (William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 Saint Paul St., 11th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202-1608, 410-767-8250) and its own Department of Finance, which sets its own tax rate and payment rules, separate from the County's. If your property is within the city limits, use the Baltimore City section below instead — the rate, due dates, and lookup tool are all different from the County's.

Source: https://dat.maryland.gov/realproperty/Pages/Maryland-Assessment-Offices.aspx

Baltimore City Real Property Tax Basics

Baltimore City property is assessed by SDAT the same way Baltimore County property is (statewide market-value assessment, same underlying appeal process), but the City's Department of Finance — not the County — sets the tax rate and collects the tax bill separately.

Rate: Baltimore City's real property tax rate is $2.248 per $100 of assessed value. Pay by July 31 and the City applies a 0.5% early-payment discount on the total tax due.

Semiannual billing: Like Baltimore County, the City offers a semiannual payment option for owner-occupied principal residences. The first installment is due in July and becomes delinquent in October; the second installment is billed December 1 and becomes past due January 1, with a service fee added to the second installment. If you believe you qualify but your bill isn't showing the semiannual option, call SDAT's Baltimore City office at 410-767-8258 to check your owner-occupied status.

Payment plans: The City is working toward a monthly payment plan for real property taxes pending legislation (check the City's Real Property Payment Plans page for current status). In the meantime, the City accepts partial payments credited toward your bill, but the full balance must be paid by December 31 of the year the bill was issued, or the property becomes eligible for the City's tax sale the following May.

How to pay: Online at pay.baltimorecity.gov/realproperty, or in person at the Abel Wolman Municipal Building, 200 N. Holliday Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. Grove Hopper could not confirm a separate mail-in payment address on the City's official page — check your bill itself or call before mailing a payment.

Look up your bill/account: Use the same pay.baltimorecity.gov/realproperty tool, searchable by block/lot, property address, or owner's name. It also shows whether your Homestead Tax Credit is applied — look for the "state assessment credit" and "city assessment credit" line items on the left side of the bill.

Appeals: Baltimore City follows the same statewide SDAT appeal process described earlier in this guide (Real Property Assessment Appeal Form / Petition for Review), but you file with the City's SDAT office above, not the County's — and the City's own reassessment area and notice dates run separately from Baltimore County's. Grove Hopper could not confirm Baltimore City's specific 2026 reassessment area or appeal deadline from an official source; do not assume the Baltimore County deadlines earlier in this guide apply to a Baltimore City property — confirm your own notice date directly with SDAT's Baltimore City office above.

Sources: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/finance/real-property-taxes · https://pay.baltimorecity.gov/realproperty/