Property Tax Appeal Fees: 8% to 20% Per Property
Contingency on realized savings, quoted in writing before you sign.
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Contingency only, nothing saved, nothing owed
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No retainers, no minimums
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Each property tiered on its own tax bill
The Initial Consultation carries no fee. Written answer within one week. Or email charlieyoung@svatax.com.
The rate falls as the tax bill grows
Six rows, each set by a property's original tax liability: the tax the notice of value produces at the latest certified rate, before any reduction. Every row sits below the flat 25% many firms charge.
SVA
From 20% down to 8% as the bill grows
Set per property by its own tax bill: under $200,000 pays 20%, and $2 million and up pays 8%.
Many firms
A flat 25%, on every property
One rate whatever the size of the bill.
The fee matrix
Each property's row is set by the original tax liability of the assessment under appeal, and its rate is written into the engagement letter.
Five or more properties get a written per-property schedule at or below the matrix. A national portfolio can carve one state out for one cycle: Single-State Pilot.
Estimate your savings| Original tax liability | SVA rate | Flat 25% | You keep more per $100K of tax savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $200K | 20% | 25% | +$5,000 |
| $200K to under $500K | 18% | 25% | +$7,000 |
| $500K to under $750K | 15% | 25% | +$10,000 |
| $750K to under $1M | 12% | 25% | +$13,000 |
| $1M to under $2M | 10% | 25% | +$15,000 |
| $2M and above | 8% | 25% | +$17,000 |
A $180,000 bill sits in the 20% row unless the new notice pushes it past $200,000.
The row uses the most recent tax rate. “You keep more” is the extra you retain per $100,000 of savings against a flat 25%.
Fee matrix last reviewed September 2, 2026.
Estimate your savings on your own tax bill
Enter the rate you pay now, the annual tax bill and an estimate of the over-assessment. The matrix row, our fee and what you keep update as you type.
From your current agreement. 25% is shown until you change it.
Each property is tiered on its own bill; bills are never added.
Estimate only. The Initial Consultation memo says whether an appeal is worth filing.
You keep, after our fee$24,600
| Estimated tax savings | $30,000 |
| Your SVA rate | 18% |
| Our fee | $5,400 |
At your current rate of 25%, the fee would be $7,500. With SVA, the fee is $2,100 less.
In Colorado, a reduced value usually holds for both years of the cycle, so the saving usually repeats in the second year: roughly $60,000 of tax over two years. Other states revalue on their own cycles.
One building, then six
Worked examples at a 10% over-assessment, with each building tiered on its own bill.
One building
A $215,000 tax bill over-assessed by 10% is $21,500 a year back. That bill sits in the 18% row, so the fee is $3,870 and you keep $17,630, and a Colorado reduction usually holds for the second year of the cycle as well.
$17,630
kept after the fee, against $16,125 at a flat 25%
Six buildings
An owner with six buildings, bills from $45,000 to $900,000, each over-assessed by 10%:
| Building | Annual tax bill | Matrix row | 10% recovers / yr | SVA fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A (retail strip) | $45,000 | 20% | $4,500 | $900 | $3,600 |
| B (retail strip) | $80,000 | 20% | $8,000 | $1,600 | $6,400 |
| C (flex building) | $150,000 | 20% | $15,000 | $3,000 | $12,000 |
| D (office) | $320,000 | 18% | $32,000 | $5,760 | $26,240 |
| E (warehouse) | $600,000 | 15% | $60,000 | $9,000 | $51,000 |
| F (hotel) | $900,000 | 12% | $90,000 | $10,800 | $79,200 |
| Six buildings | $2,095,000 | per property | $209,500 | $31,060 | $178,440 |
Each building sits in its own row; the bills are never added. Six is five or more, so this owner also gets a written per-property schedule at or below the rows shown. At a flat 25%, the same recoveries would carry $52,375 in fees.
Read the agreement, not just the rate
Large firms rarely publish their commercial rates, and the rate is only one term. One consulting contract that reached court charged a third of the savings for each year appealed and the following year, and kept the commission owed on work already started after the owner ended the agreement. These are the terms to check in your own agreement, with SVA’s answer to each.
| What to check in your agreement | SVA’s terms |
|---|---|
| Whether the rate falls as the bill grows, or stays one percentage on every property | Falls from 20% to 8%, set per property by its own tax bill |
| Whether fees continue after you end the agreement | Nothing is owed on any appeal not yet filed; either side can end the engagement on 30 days’ written notice, with no exit fee |
| Whether the consultant’s authority renews every year until you revoke it | Each filing needs your written go-ahead, unless you give standing authority for assessor-level protests on named parcels |
| Minimums, retainers, filing fees or administrative fees | None |
| A higher percentage, or added appraisal and attorney costs, at the state board or in court | One matrix rate from the assessor through the state board; court filing fees and outside experts only if you choose to litigate, at cost with your prior approval |
| Whether each property’s rate is in writing before you sign | Yes, in the Initial Consultation memo and again in the engagement letter |
Court records: Property Assessment Review, Inc. v. Greater Missouri Builders, Inc., 260 S.W.3d 841 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008): a commission of 33⅓% of the tax savings for each year appealed and the immediately following year, still owed after termination on properties already under appeal; the court ruled for the consultant. Fisher v. Holtzapple Neal Properties Group, LLC, No. 01-23-00305-CV (Tex. App. 2025): a 30% contingent fee on property tax savings, which the consultant sued to collect.
SVA’s terms are written into the engagement letter before you sign. What the engagement letter contains.
Fee questions with direct answers
How the matrix is applied, what is never charged, and how a switch from another firm works.
What does a property tax consultant cost?
At SVA, nothing up front and nothing unless your taxes go down. Our fee is 8% to 20% of realized savings, per property, quoted in writing before anything is signed. Many firms charge a flat 25%.
What happens if my appeal is unsuccessful?
You owe nothing. SVA charges no consultation fee, no retainer and no filing fee at the assessor or board level. Court filing fees and third-party experts, only if you choose to litigate, pass through at cost with your prior approval.
How is the matrix tier determined, and which year's bill sets it?
The year appealed. The tier is set by the original tax liability of the assessment under appeal, as defined under the matrix above, not by the prior year's bill and not by the savings achieved. The rate is written into the engagement letter.
How does switching from my current firm work, and when do I need to decide?
It takes one signature on a new agent authorization, and SVA handles the transition with the county from there. Colorado's 2027 notices mail about May 1, with protests due June 1; Denver's full calendar is on the Denver commercial property tax page, and other states' dates are on the deadlines page.
How do fees work if the Initial Consultation memo finds money?
The Initial Consultation carries no fee, and the memo is yours whichever way you use it: file it yourself, hand it to your firm of record, or file nothing. A fee exists only if you ask SVA to recover the money, and only from dollars actually saved or recovered, prior-year abatements included.
How are business personal property fees charged?
They come from the same matrix. The property is the equipment declared on one county schedule, and that schedule's own tax sets its row. The fee applies only to dollars saved or recovered through a protest, abatement or amended schedule filed on your instruction; the declaration review carries no fee.
Is there a minimum fee or retainer?
No. The matrix rate applied to the savings actually realized is the entire fee.
Are there any other fees or expenses?
There are no hidden fees, and the matrix fee is the entire fee. Court filing fees and third-party experts, only if you choose to litigate, pass through at cost with your prior approval.
Do you offer reduced rates for portfolios?
Yes, with one rule: every property is tiered on its own original tax liability. Five or more properties get a written schedule, still per property, at or below the published matrix.
How do I know what I'd pay before signing an engagement?
The Initial Consultation names the exact matrix rate in the memo, and the engagement letter repeats it, with any pass-through expenses, before you sign. Nothing is filed without your written instruction.
Start with an Initial Consultation
Send the property address. The request is acknowledged within one business day, and the signed memo names the matrix rate for that property.
The Initial Consultation carries no fee. Written answer within one week.