Property Tax Appeals in Modoc County, California
Modoc County's Assessment Appeals page states that the first step when questioning an assessed value is to contact the Assessor's Office at 530-233-6218 for an informal review, and that whether or not the owner contacts the Assessor first, the owner has the right to file an appeal within specific time frames with the Modoc County Assessment Appeals Board (AAB), an independent body. The assessment appeal application must be filed with the Clerk of the Board no later than November 30 of each year for assessments on the regular tax roll, and the application is requested from the Clerk of the Board's Office at 204 South Court Street, Suite 204, Alturas, CA 96101, phone 530-233-6201. The page does not state a dollar filing fee. FairPath can help an owner organize a comparison table, condition photos, official links, and a filing checklist. It does not file the application, choose the owner's opinion of value, or communicate with the Assessor's Office or the Board on the owner's behalf.
Assessment context: Begin with the Assessor's parcel record and confirm whether the dispute concerns the January 1, 2026 lien-date value on the regular roll or a supplemental, roll-correction, or escape assessment, since Modoc County's page states each carries its own filing clock. Modoc County occupies California's remote northeastern corner, anchored by the county seat of Alturas in the high desert Modoc Plateau, with Surprise Valley's ranching communities and the Warner Mountains to the east and vast tracts of Modoc National Forest and rangeland extending toward the Nevada and Oregon borders. A property a few miles away can sit in a very different ranchland, forested, or high-desert setting, so land use and water rights should be confirmed against the Assessor's record rather than assumed from a map.
Filing process: Modoc County's Assessment Appeals page provides an Appeals Checklist: contact the Assessor's Office first, since many issues can be resolved without a hearing; apply within the specified time by downloading the Assessment Appeal Application; ensure all questions are answered and the application is properly signed, since an incomplete or unsigned application may be considered invalid; appear at the scheduled hearing personally or through an authorized agent; and continue paying property taxes when due even while an appeal is pending. The necessary forms are available from the Clerk of the Board, 204 S Court St, Suite 204, Alturas, CA 96101, phone 530-233-6201. The Clerk of the Board notifies the applicant in writing at least 45 days before the hearing, and the page does not state a dollar filing fee.
Evidence to review: Modoc County's Assessment Appeals page states that at the hearing, both the owner and the Assessor's Office present evidence to support their opinions of value, and that the applicant should be prepared to present independent evidence to support their opinion; non-appearance without a Board waiver results in denial of the application. Build a comparable-sales table showing sale date, price, parcel, community, lot size, living area, age, and condition, weighted toward sales near the January 1, 2026 lien date, since California law generally excludes comparable sales occurring more than 90 days after that date. For ranchland, high-desert, or Warner Mountains-adjacent parcels around Alturas or Surprise Valley, document acreage, water rights, and any condition issues with dated photographs, since land use varies widely across Modoc County's plateau-to-mountain terrain.
Current deadline guidance: 2026 regular assessment appeals: July 2 through November 30, 2026. Modoc County's Assessment Appeals page lists July 2 through November 30 for annual secured and unsecured roll appeals, consistent with the state Board of Equalization's certified 2026 table, and says a November 30 weekend deadline accepts a next-business-day postmark. For supplemental, roll-correction, and escape assessments, one section of the county page says 60 days from mailing of the tax bill, while a later section says 60 days from official notification of the assessment. California Revenue and Taxation Code section 1605(b)-(c) generally keys specified nonregular assessments to the later printed notice mailing or postmark date, with tax-bill or county-resolution exceptions. An applicable county resolution was not verified here. Do not use the page's tax-bill sentence as a blanket clock; confirm assessment type, notice and bill dates, postmarks, and the controlling rule with the Clerk of the Board.
Modoc County's Assessment Appeals page states appeals can be filed July 2 through November 30, with next-business-day relief if November 30 falls on a weekend.
The Assessment Appeals page does not state a dollar filing fee for the Assessment Appeal Application.
The page states an incomplete or improperly signed application may be considered invalid and not accepted.
Modoc County spans the high-desert Modoc Plateau around Alturas, Surprise Valley's ranching communities, and Modoc National Forest reaching toward the Nevada and Oregon borders.
Official filing authority: Modoc County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. https://www.countyofmodoc.gov/417/Assessment-Appeals
Source: Modoc County Clerk of the Board, Assessment Appeals, https://www.countyofmodoc.gov/417/Assessment-Appeals. Reviewed 2026-09-24.
Source: Modoc County Assessor, Important Dates, https://www.countyofmodoc.gov/526/Important-Dates. Reviewed 2026-09-22.
Source: California State Board of Equalization, Letter to Assessors 2026/023: 2026 Assessment Appeal Filing Periods, https://boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/lta26023.pdf. Reviewed 2026-09-22.
Source: California Legislature, California Revenue and Taxation Code section 1605, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC§ionNum=1605.. Reviewed 2026-09-24.
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