Can my taxes go up if I appeal?

For most homeowners in most states, appealing cannot raise your assessed value — the board can only lower it or leave it unchanged. The fear that filing will "flag" you for a higher assessment is, in the majority of jurisdictions, unfounded. But the answer is genuinely state-dependent, and a handful of states are real exceptions you must account for before filing.

Why most states can't raise it. A homeowner-initiated appeal asks the board to reduce an over-assessment. In most states the board's authority on that appeal runs in one direction — down or no-change. Texas is a clear example: the Texas Comptroller describes the protest as a process to lower or confirm value, and the ARB does not raise a homeowner's value as a penalty for protesting.

The states where it CAN go up (see the per-state notes below): Washington, Georgia under certain methods, California at the Assessment Appeals Board, and some New York jurisdictions. In these states the board determines the property's correct value from the evidence, which can come out higher than the assessor's original figure.

Separate this from your tax bill. Even where your assessed value is safe, your tax bill can still rise for unrelated reasons — a higher millage/tax rate, the expiration of an exemption, or a reassessment of the whole jurisdiction. Winning an appeal lowers your value relative to that rate; it does not freeze the rate itself.

Bottom line: in most states the downside of appealing is just the time you spend. In the exception states, weigh the strength of your evidence — a weak case in Washington or California carries a real risk the board concludes you were under-assessed. When in doubt, confirm your state's rule on its tax authority site before filing.