Passaic County's regular 2026 assessment appeal cycle is closed. The county set April 1 for most of its sixteen municipalities and May 1 for Paterson because that city underwent a 2026 revaluation or reassessment. Passaic directed owners to wait until February 1 and receipt of the assessment card before filing. The process challenges the assessed value, classification, or another appealable assessment action; it does not directly challenge school, municipal, or county budgets reflected in the tax bill. A future owner should treat 2027 as a new cycle requiring a new assessment card and current county instructions. FairPath can arrange a manual evidence file and point to official records, but it does not file a petition, accept service, give a valuation opinion, represent an owner, or revive a closed 2026 deadline.
Assessment context: Identify the Passaic municipality first because Paterson's dense urban and multifamily stock differs materially from suburban and lake-area markets in Wayne, Clifton, Ringwood, West Milford, or other communities. Record block, lot, qualifier, class, land and improvement values, use, unit count, living area, lot, age, and assessment-card details. New Jersey values a regular 2026 case as of October 1, 2025. The assessment starts with a presumption of correctness. In a reassessment setting such as Paterson's 2026 cycle, the market-value standard and property-record accuracy are central; elsewhere the municipal common-level range may be applied after true value is proved. Do not compare tax bills or assessments across municipal boundaries. Tax rates, equalization ratios, zoning, neighborhood influences, and property types differ even within the county.
Filing process: Passaic instructed a paper filer to send the original petition to the Tax Board with the required fee, send a copy to the assessor, and send a copy to the municipal clerk. The assessor's copy must actually reach the municipal assessor or the petition may be denied. Only the petitioner or the petitioner's attorney may file under the county's published instruction. The Board said adjournments are limited to emergencies and must be requested in writing. Hearings for the 2026 cycle were scheduled at 930 Riverview Drive, Suite 200, Totowa, beginning promptly at 9 a.m.; that hearing address should be rechecked for 2027. Keep the assessment card, signed petition, payment proof, all service receipts, hearing notice, and judgment. Do not assume that a mailing, fax, or email completes filing or evidence service.
Evidence to review: Passaic states that it will not accept evidence by email or facsimile; evidence must be submitted in hard-copy form. That rule should shape preparation from the start. Select recent arm's-length sales that support value as of the preceding October 1 and record block, lot, deed date, price, style, living area, lot, age, condition, location, and use. A photograph of the subject property can aid the appeal, and dated photographs, inspections, permits, contractor scopes, or a licensed appraisal can explain condition or record discrepancies. If an appraisal is offered, Passaic requires the appraiser to attend the hearing. Neighbor assessments and a high bill do not establish true market value. Prepare enough identical paper sets for every required recipient and preserve proof that each set was delivered on time.
Current deadline guidance: April 1, 2026; May 1 for Paterson. Passaic set April 1, 2026 as the regular petition deadline and May 1 for Paterson, which underwent a 2026 revaluation or reassessment. The Board instructed owners not to file before February 1 and to file only after receiving the assessment card. Both regular windows are closed.
Paterson alone received Passaic County's May 1 deadline for the 2026 reassessment or revaluation cycle; all other regular municipalities used April 1 unless a controlling later notice rule applied.
Passaic barred evidence by email and fax and required hard copies. An owner should budget time for printing, delivery, and proof of receipt rather than treating an electronic transmission as service.
The assessor copy is a substantive filing step in Passaic's instructions. Delivering only the county original leaves the petition exposed to denial.
The county scheduled 2026 hearings in Totowa, not at the filing office identified in the paper instructions. Future filers must distinguish filing, service, and hearing locations.
Official filing authority: Passaic County Board of Taxation. https://www.passaiccountynj.org/residents/board-of-taxation
Source: Passaic County Government, Board of Taxation and 2026 Filing Deadlines, https://www.passaiccountynj.org/residents/board-of-taxation. Reviewed 2026-07-15.
Source: Passaic County Board of Taxation, Commonly Asked Tax Appeal Questions, https://www.passaiccountynj.org/home/showpublisheddocument/7792/639040044409700000. Reviewed 2026-07-15.
Source: New Jersey Division of Taxation, 2026 Approved Revaluations and Reassessments, https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/revaluation/2026RevalList.pdf. Reviewed 2026-07-15.
Source: New Jersey Division of Taxation, Assessment and Appeals, https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/lpt/lpt-appeal.shtml. Reviewed 2026-07-15.