Editorial Policy

1. Our Editorial Mission

US property tax is administered by 50 different states, the District of Columbia, and more than 3,000 counties (or, in some New England states, by towns and townships). Each level publishes its rules, but the rules are spread across thousands of websites in inconsistent formats, often with the most important deadlines buried several clicks deep.

Our editorial mission is to consolidate that information into one consistent format — in plain English, kept up to date, and always linked back to the state DOR or county office so readers can verify and act. We are not a substitute for those offices; we are an editorial layer that makes their information easier to find and use.

2. Quality Standards Every State and County Page Meets

• The state agency name matches the state DOR / Tax Commission / Comptroller / Board of Equalization that actually has property-tax oversight in that state
• The county or local assessor name matches the official directory the state DOR publishes
• Statutory references cite the actual state code section (e.g., Tex. Tax Code §11.13, Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §218, Fla. Stat. §196.031, N.Y. RPTL §425)
• Exemption forms link to the current version published by the state DOR or the county assessor
• Appeal deadlines match either state statute or the value notice the county sends
• Property search portal URLs are verified live and point to the actual search tool
• Tax collector / treasurer is listed separately from the assessor — billing and collection are not the same office
• The “Last reviewed” date is set on every page
• Federal context (SALT cap, IRS Publication 530 references) is clearly marked as federal where it appears

3. Source Hierarchy

Not all sources are equal. We rank them by authority and start at the top:

Full hierarchy with named sources, URLs, and how each is used is on the Sources & Methodology page.

4. Verification — Our Seven-Step Process

1. Identify the right state DOR page. We use the state’s property-tax landing page or division page as the entry point — not a generic homepage that may have moved.
2. Confirm the state agency. Some states reorganize property-tax oversight (Florida, Indiana, and Pennsylvania have all moved property-tax functions in recent years) — we cross-check against current state government org charts.
3. Read the source page in full. Quick scans miss exceptions. We read the actual page, including any “Important,” “Notice,” or “Update” banners.
4. Cross-check statutes. Where we describe a rule, we cite the actual state code section and confirm the section is current and not amended out from under the description.
5. Test every URL live. Every link is clicked and confirmed before publication.
6. Verify forms against the state DOR’s published current version. Form numbers (e.g., 50-114 in Texas, BOE-266 in California, DR-501 in Florida) are confirmed against the state’s current form library.
7. Editor sign-off. A second editor reviews end-to-end before the page goes live.

5. Update Cycles

“Last reviewed” date is on every page.

6. Corrections Process

1. You report it. Email info@propertytaxusa.org with subject “Correction” and the page URL.
2. We acknowledge. Within seven business days we confirm receipt.
3. We verify. An editor goes back to the state DOR or county source and confirms the current position.
4. We correct. If confirmed, the page is updated. Substantive corrections — wrong deadline, wrong form, wrong contact — trigger a published correction note dated and described in plain English.
5. We tell you. The reporter is notified once the correction is live.

7. AI Tools and Authorship

We use AI tools as part of our content-production workflow. We don’t hide that and don’t use AI as a substitute for human editorial judgment:

• AI may be used for first drafts, summarization of state DOR pages, formatting consistency, and language polish
• Every state and county page is reviewed line by line by a human editor before publication
• Deadlines, statute citations, form numbers, and link destinations are confirmed by a human against the official source — never trusted to an AI summary
• AI-generated text that misstates a state or county rule is corrected through the standard corrections process
• We do not allow AI to invent statute citations, fabricate links, or describe procedures that aren’t in the source

8. Editorial Independence

We don’t accept payment from any state, county, or federal agency in exchange for editorial coverage. We don’t accept payment from property-tax-protest companies, consultants, or law firms in exchange for being mentioned, recommended, or omitted on state or county pages. The site is funded by display advertising on the principle that advertising and editorial are separate.

9. Advertising and Disclosure

Advertising on the site is clearly labeled, consistent with FTC endorsement guidelines:

• Display ads are visually distinct from editorial content and labeled where required
• Affiliate links — where we earn a commission for a referral — are disclosed in context
• Sponsored content, if it ever appears, is clearly identified as paid-for
• We don’t insert affiliate links into the editorial portion of state or county pages; the official link always comes first

FTC endorsement guidance: ftc.gov.

10. Conflicts of Interest

• The editorial team is not employed by, contracted to, or financially connected to any state DOR, county assessor, or county tax collector
• The editorial team is not employed by, contracted to, or financially connected to any property-tax-protest firm or consultant
• We don’t accept gifts, hospitality, or considerations from tax authorities or property-tax service providers in exchange for coverage

If a future situation creates a potential conflict — for example, a contributor with prior employment at a state DOR or consulting firm — that contributor will not be assigned to write or edit pages relating to that organization, and the connection is disclosed.

11. Sensitive Topics

Property tax intersects with sensitive issues — homeowner financial hardship, elderly homestead protections, disabled-veteran exemptions, agricultural-valuation disputes, tax-sale and lien proceedings, and gentrification-driven valuation increases. We handle these procedurally, not politically:

• Where over-65, disabled person, or disabled-veteran exemptions apply, we explain them in plain language and link the application form
• Where deferred-collection options exist for elderly or low-income homeowners, we link the procedure
• We don’t frame appeals in adversarial terms — appealing is a statutory right
• Tax-sale coverage focuses on procedure and links to advice resources; we don’t provide tax-sale “investing” guides

12. Reader Feedback

We treat reader feedback as a quality input, not a marketing channel. Substantive feedback — corrections, suggestions, broken-link reports — is logged and addressed within seven business days. Feedback that is abusive, threatening, or harassing toward our team or other readers is not engaged with and may be reported under our Terms of Service or to relevant authorities.

13. Language, Tone, and Accessibility

• State and county pages are written in plain English, accessible to a general adult audience
• We spell out acronyms (BOE, DOR, ARB, BAR, BAA, USPAP, IAAO, NCSL, SALT, TCJA) on first use
• We use the state DOR’s own form numbers consistently
• We avoid sector jargon where possible
• Where Spanish is the dominant language for a substantial portion of a state’s population, we link the state DOR’s Spanish-language pages where they exist; we don’t translate state pages ourselves
• We follow our Accessibility Statement, including WCAG 2.1 AA targets