Tax Assessment & Appeal Tribunal

The Tax Assessment & Appeal Tribunal lets property owners and their agents file assessment appeals online, upload evidence and follow their case to a decision. Board clerks manage the docket, the assessor's office answers each appeal in the same file, and board members hear the case and record their decision with its reasons. Every filing, exhibit, hearing and decision keeps its history, so the board can show how each value was reached.

The problem it solves

Most boards of review and assessment appeal boards still take appeals on paper forms or by email, track them in spreadsheets, and pass exhibits between the clerk, the assessor's office and board members by hand. Filing windows bring a surge of appeals that the docket cannot absorb, appellants call to ask where their case stands, and hearings are scheduled around missing documents. When a decision is challenged, the evidence and the reasoning behind it are spread across folders, inboxes and minutes.

Who it’s for

• Clerks and staff of boards of review, boards of equalization and assessment appeal boards
• Board members and hearing officers who hear and decide appeals
• County and municipal assessors' offices that defend assessed values
• Property owners, taxpayers' agents and attorneys who file appeals
• County administrators and auditors who answer for the appeals process

1. FileProperty owners or their agents find their parcel, see the assessed value under appeal, and file online within the filing window your rules set, with the grounds and the value they believe is correct.
2. PrepareThe clerk checks each filing for completeness, both sides upload evidence into the same file, and the assessor's office records its response and any recommended value.
3. HearAppeals are scheduled onto hearing dockets by board panel, property type or area. Hearings can be held in person or remotely, and the record of each hearing is kept in the case file.
4. DecideBoard members record their findings and vote, the presiding officer signs the decision, and the appellant and assessor are notified with the value set and the reasons, along with information on further appeal rights.

Online filing

A guided public form that checks the parcel, filing window and required fields, and issues a receipt with the appeal number.

Parcel lookup

Parcel details and current and prior assessed values drawn from your assessment roll, so appellants file against the right property.

Evidence uploads

Appellants and the assessor's office upload documents, photos and spreadsheets into one case file, with exhibits numbered as they are accepted.

Filing rules

Filing windows, grounds for appeal, required documents and agent authorization rules configured to your state and local rules.

Docket management

Hearing dockets built by panel, date, property type or area, with conflict checks for board members who declare an interest.

Notices

Filing receipts, deficiency letters, hearing notices and decisions sent by email or produced for mail, each recorded in the file.

Stipulations

Where your rules allow, the assessor and appellant can agree a value, which goes to the board for approval rather than a full hearing.

Hearing record

Attendance, testimony notes, exhibits presented and links to recordings kept with the case, for remote and in-person hearings.

Decision drafting

Decisions drafted from the hearing record with findings, the value set and further appeal information, then signed by the presiding officer.

Appellant status page

Appellants and agents see where each appeal stands, upcoming hearings, documents requested and the decision once issued.

Agent portfolios

Tax agents and attorneys who file many appeals see and manage all of their authorized appeals in one place.

Public docket and decisions

Hearing agendas and issued decisions published to a public page, with redaction of personal details your rules require.

Appellant or agent

Files appeals, uploads evidence and follows their cases to a decision

Board clerk

Manages filings, the docket, notices and the case files

Assessor's office

Reviews appeals, uploads evidence and records responses or proposed stipulations

Board member or hearing officer

Reviews case files, hears appeals and records findings and votes

Presiding officer

Approves dockets and stipulations and signs decisions

Auditor (read-only)

Views case files, decisions and the audit trail, with no ability to change them

Assessment system (CAMA)

Parcel details and assessed values from your computer-assisted mass appraisal system, imported for each appeal cycle.

GIS parcel layer

Parcel maps and locations from your GIS, so staff and board members can see where appealed parcels sit.

Tax billing and treasurer systems

Revised values passed to the systems that produce tax bills and refunds, by file or API.

Payment processor

Where your jurisdiction charges a filing fee, payment is taken through your existing processor. Moraph does not hold funds.

Video conferencing

Remote hearings use the conferencing tool you already have; meeting links are included in notices and recordings linked to the case.

Records management

Closed case files and decisions transferred to your records management or archive system under your retention schedule.

Single sign-on

Board, clerk and assessor staff sign in through your identity provider (SAML or OpenID Connect).

Work API

Appeal, docket and decision data available to your data warehouse and reporting tools through the Moraph Work API.

Single sign-on

Staff sign in through your identity provider, so your password and multi-factor policies apply.

Role-based access

What each person can see and do follows their role and conflicts; appellants see only their own appeals.

Encryption and keys

Client data is encrypted, with keys Moraph staff cannot use without explicit, time-bound authorization.

Complete audit trail

Every filing, upload, view of a case file, vote, signature and publication is logged with the person and time, and cannot be edited.

US hosting

Government data is hosted in the United States region only.

Tested releases

Security testing gates every release, and a software bill of materials is maintained for the product.

Moraph cloud

Hosted and operated by Moraph in the United States region, the only region used for government data.

Dedicated environment

A single-tenant environment for jurisdictions whose policies require isolation, scoped in the proposal.

With a managed service

Optionally run alongside a Moraph managed service for configuration changes between appeal cycles and support during filing season.

Rules and forms

We configure filing windows, grounds for appeal, required documents, agent authorization and notice wording to your state statutes and board rules, which your counsel confirms.

Parcel data

We map parcel and value data from your assessment system and agree the import schedule for each appeal cycle. We need an extract and a contact from your assessor's or IT office.

Board structure

Panels, members, alternates, conflict rules and decision signing are set up to match how your board operates.

Public portal

The filing pages and status page are set up with your jurisdiction's name, contact details and accessibility statement, and tested with screen readers.

Outputs

Value exports to your billing systems, records transfers and the public decisions page are configured and tested.

Training and go-live

Clerks, assessor staff and board members are trained on their own workflows, ideally before a filing window opens. Appeals already open on paper can be entered or finished in the old process by agreement.

• The Tribunal does not set assessed values. Decisions are made by your board or hearing officers; the product records and issues them.
• It does not replace your computer-assisted mass appraisal system; it reads parcel and value data from it and returns values set by decisions.
• Filing rules, deadlines and notice wording are configured to your statutes and board rules; your jurisdiction and its counsel are responsible for confirming them.
• Appeals beyond the local board, such as to a state tax tribunal or court, are not managed in the product, though case files can be exported for them.
• It does not produce tax bills or issue refunds. Revised values are passed to the systems that do.
• Filing fees, where charged, are taken by your payment processor. Moraph does not hold funds.
• Remote hearings run on your own video conferencing tool; the product links to hearings and recordings rather than hosting them.
• Appellants who cannot file online still need a paper or in-person route, which clerks enter into the product.

• File a sample appeal as a property owner and as an agent, and check the form against your rules
• Ask a clerk to take an appeal from filing to a scheduled hearing
• Have the assessor's office upload evidence and propose a stipulated value
• Walk a board member through a case file and a signed decision
• Check that decisions and notices carry the wording your counsel requires
• Confirm the conflict and role rules: who can vote, sign and publish