Our Commitment to an Accessible Site
propertytaxusa.org/ is committed to making the site usable by everyone, including people who use screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, magnification, and other assistive technologies. We target WCAG 2.1 Level AA and align with ADA Title III, Section 508 and applicable state accessibility laws.
What’s on this page
1. Our Commitment
Property tax information often arrives at the worst possible time — a notice of value with a 30-day appeal window, a delinquency letter, a homestead exemption deadline. None of that should depend on what device you use, what assistive technology is on it, or what motor ability you have on a given morning. We treat accessibility as an editorial standard alongside accuracy and currency, not an afterthought.
2. Standards We Apply
We target the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA, published by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. WCAG 2.1 AA is the recognized international benchmark for digital accessibility and is the standard that most US federal courts, the U.S. Department of Justice, and accessibility regulators look to when assessing whether a website meets ADA Title III obligations.
3. US Legal Framework
| Law / standard | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III | The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by places of public accommodation. The U.S. Department of Justice has stated, and federal courts have widely held, that Title III’s reach extends to commercial websites. WCAG 2.1 AA is the consistent benchmark used to evaluate compliance. |
| Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act | Section 508 sets accessibility requirements for federal agency electronic and information technology. The Section 508 standards are aligned to WCAG 2.0 AA and serve as a useful federal benchmark for private-sector sites. |
| State web accessibility laws | Several states impose additional accessibility obligations through state civil rights statutes. California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act has been applied to inaccessible commercial websites. New York State Human Rights Law provides parallel protection. We aim to meet the most protective applicable standard. |
| U.S. Department of Justice guidance | DOJ guidance on web accessibility for state and local governments and public accommodations confirms WCAG 2.1 AA as the practical compliance benchmark. |
4. Accessibility Features Built Into the Site
Semantic HTML
Proper heading hierarchy, landmarks, lists and tables with appropriate roles for screen readers
Color contrast
Body text and key UI elements meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA contrast ratios (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text)
Keyboard navigation
All interactive elements are reachable and usable with the keyboard alone
Visible focus
Clear focus indicators on links, buttons and form controls
Alt text
Descriptive alt text on meaningful images; decorative images marked as such
Descriptive links
Link text describes the destination; no “click here” or “read more” without context
200% zoom
Layouts work at 200% browser zoom and at increased text sizes
No autoplay
No autoplay video or audio; no flashing content above the WCAG threshold
Resizable text
Text can be resized without loss of content or function
Form labels
Every form input has an explicit label; errors are programmatically associated
Declared language
The page language is declared (en-US) so screen readers use the right pronunciation
Reduced motion
The site respects the prefers-reduced-motion setting in your operating system
5. Assistive Technology Compatibility
The site is built and tested to work with mainstream assistive technologies, including:
| Technology | Status |
|---|---|
| NVDA (Windows screen reader) | Tested with current and previous major versions |
| JAWS (Windows screen reader) | Tested with current and previous major versions |
| VoiceOver (macOS & iOS) | Tested with current macOS and iOS |
| TalkBack (Android) | Tested with current Android |
| Narrator (Windows) | Compatible |
| Browser zoom and OS magnification | Up to 200% with no loss of content; usable to 400% with reflow |
| Voice control (Dragon, Voice Control on macOS/iOS) | Compatible with semantic landmarks and labelled controls |
| Keyboard-only operation | Full site usable without a mouse or pointing device |
6. Supported Browsers
We support the current and one previous major version of:
- Google Chrome (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android)
- Mozilla Firefox (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android)
- Apple Safari (macOS, iOS, iPadOS)
- Microsoft Edge (Windows, macOS)
- Samsung Internet (Android)
Older browsers may load the site, but accessibility features depending on modern web standards may not work consistently. If you can, please use a current version.
7. Keyboard Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Tab | Move forward through interactive elements |
| Shift + Tab | Move backward through interactive elements |
| Enter | Activate links and submit buttons |
| Space | Activate buttons; scroll the page |
| Arrow keys | Move within form controls and menus |
| Esc | Close modal dialogs and pop-ups |
If you find a place where keyboard focus gets stuck, where a control isn’t reachable, or where an element activates without a clear focus indicator, please tell us — that’s a bug we want to fix.
8. Known Limitations
- Older content — pages published before our current accessibility standard was adopted may not yet meet WCAG 2.1 AA in every detail. We work through them in the quarterly review cycle.
- Embedded Google Maps — when consented and loaded (used to show assessor and tax collector office locations), Maps inherits Google’s accessibility implementation, which is good but outside our direct control.
- External PDFs from state DORs and county assessors — many state revenue authorities and county assessors publish forms as PDF (Form 50-114, BOE-266, DR-501, etc.). The accessibility of those PDFs depends on the issuing authority. Where a PDF appears not to have a tagged structure, we link to it with that caveat noted.
- Auto-generated content — for the largest counties we publish across many subpages; if a subpage hasn’t been through the manual accessibility review yet, it may have minor issues we will catch in the next review pass.
If you encounter an accessibility barrier, please report it (Section 12) so we can address it directly and ahead of the next scheduled review.
9. Third-Party Content
The site includes content we don’t directly control:
- Display advertising — accessibility is determined by the ad creative supplied by the advertiser through the ad network
- Embedded Google Maps — accessibility per Google’s implementation
- Outbound links to state DORs, county assessors and tax collectors — accessibility per each authority’s own site
We make reasonable efforts to choose vendors and partners that take accessibility seriously, but we cannot guarantee third-party content the way we can for our own pages.
10. Alternative Formats
If you cannot access content on the site for accessibility reasons, please email us with the page URL and a description of the barrier. We will aim to provide the same information in an alternative format — typically plain text or a tagged PDF — within five business days.
11. Testing and Review
Our accessibility approach combines:
- Automated testing — Axe, WAVE and Lighthouse accessibility audits run on representative pages
- Manual screen-reader testing — NVDA on Windows and VoiceOver on macOS/iOS, focused on navigation, headings, link purpose and form labels
- Keyboard-only walkthroughs on every new page template
- Zoom and magnification testing at 100% / 150% / 200% / 400%
- Color-contrast checking against WCAG 2.1 AA thresholds
- Reduced-motion check with prefers-reduced-motion enabled
- Quarterly review of representative pages alongside the editorial review
12. Reporting an Accessibility Issue
Please email info@propertytaxusa.org with subject line “Accessibility issue.”
To help us fix the issue quickly, please include:
- The URL of the page where you encountered the problem
- A short description of what happened and what you expected
- The browser, version, operating system and any assistive technology you were using (if you know)
We acknowledge accessibility reports within one to three business days and prioritize fixes ahead of routine editorial work.
13. External Escalation
If you believe we haven’t addressed an accessibility concern adequately, you can also raise it through the following routes:
| Body | Scope | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Justice (Civil Rights Division) | ADA Title III enforcement; accepts complaints about inaccessible websites | ada.gov |
| U.S. Access Board | Federal agency on accessibility standards including Section 508 | access-board.gov |
| State attorneys general | State-level civil rights enforcement (such as California Unruh Civil Rights Act, New York State Human Rights Law) | Through your state’s official AG website |
| Section508.gov | Federal accessibility resources and Section 508 guidance | section508.gov |
14. Standards References
- WCAG 2.1 quick reference: w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref
- U.S. Department of Justice ADA information: ada.gov
- U.S. Access Board: access-board.gov
- Section 508 official site: section508.gov
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative: w3.org/WAI
Tell Us If Something Isn’t Accessible
Accessibility reports are our priority queue. We acknowledge within one to three business days and fix ahead of routine editorial work.
📧 info@propertytaxusa.org