The Notice at a Glance
The state's Department of Revenue publishes the notice form, PR-301, on its list of state-prescribed assessment forms.(Wisconsin DOR) By law, every notice has to carry the changed value, the time, date and place of the Board of Review (or Madison's Board of Assessors), and how to object.(DOR guide)
Every Field Explained
Source for this section: DOR form PR-301, Notice of Changed Assessment
- The header. Your municipality, county and the assessment year. It's a notice of value, not a bill: the tax comes in December, when that value is multiplied by the rates the county, town and schools set in the fall. See your tax bill, line by line.
- Parcel information. The parcel number is the key to your property record. Type it into Madison's property lookup or AccessDane (everywhere else in Dane County) to see the details the value was built from.
- Property owner. Who the notice went to. If yours never came, the new value still counts: by law, not receiving the notice doesn't cancel the change.(Wis. Stat. 70.365)
- Open Book. The days the assessor sets aside to talk with you. It's informal, and the assessor can still fix the roll; once Open Book ends, changing your value takes the Board of Review.(DOR guide)
- Board of Review. The first meeting of the board that hears formal objections. Your deadlines count back from it: the 48-hour notice of intent, and the objection form by the first two hours of this meeting.
- Contact information. Call the assessor with questions about the value or the record. The clerk is who takes your 48-hour notice and your objection form.
- Assessment change. Last year's value and this year's, split into land and improvements (the buildings). If your parcel has a house, you object to the total, not to the land or the building alone.(DOR guide)
- PFC / MFL column. For land in DNR's forest programs (managed forest land).(DOR guide) On a house lot it's blank.
- Total assessment change. The difference between the two totals. It's the reason you got the notice, but on its own it isn't evidence: to lower a value you have to show it's above market value, using sales.(DOR guide)
- Reason for change. Up to three lines, each a code and a few words. DOR's sample shows "02 New construction completed." If the reason is vague, ask the assessor which sales or permits drove the change.
- General level of assessment. How your municipality's assessments compare with market value overall. The notice tells you to divide your assessment by this level to get the full value it implies. If that number is more than your home would sell for, recent sales are your argument.
- Assessment information. State law requires full value as of January 1, and a percentage of full value is fine if it's applied to everyone alike.
- The recent-sale statement. If you just bought the house: generally, the assessor can't change your assessment to your purchase price alone without also adjusting comparable homes in the same market area.
- How to appeal. Talk to the assessor first. For a formal appeal, contact the Board of Review clerk at least 48 hours before the board begins, then file the completed objection form by the first two hours of its first meeting. An incomplete form may not be reviewed.
- Conversion charge note. Only for farmland that changed use. If form PR-298 is in the envelope, a conversion charge is owed under state law.
When the notice comes, and whether it comes at all, is set by state law as DOR explains it: the assessor must notify you whenever your total assessment changes, by any amount, in writing, at least 15 days before the Board of Review meets, or 30 days in a revaluation year. Farmland that changed by $500 or less is the one exception. If your value didn't change, you may get no notice at all, except in Madison, which mails every owner every year.(City of Madison)
Your Town's Open Book and Board of Review Dates
All 60 Dane County cities, villages and towns. Madison and 14 nearby municipalities come from their own sites, the rest from what each reported to the state.(Wisconsin DOR) None had posted 2027 dates when we checked, so these are the 2026 dates, a guide to when yours will fall.
2027 dates: not posted yet. Below are the 2026 dates. Your notice will carry the 2027 ones.
- Open Book
- 2026 May 4–8. Objections to the Board of Assessors were due Fri., May 15, 4:30 pm(town)
- Board of Review
- 2026 First meeting Mon., May 18, 4:30 pm; then as needed into the fall, after the Board of Assessors(town)
- Clerk (48-hour notice and PA-115A)
- City Clerk's Office: 608-266-4601, clerk@cityofmadison.com(town)
- Assessor (Open Book, objections)
- openbook@cityofmadison.com, 608-266-4531(City Assessor)
- 2026 assessment work
- an interim market update, as reported to DOR(DOR)
We add 2027 dates as towns post them; your notice lists yours. The full table for every town is on the appeal dates page.
Your Next 30 Days
The notice can arrive as little as 15 days before the Board of Review.(DOR guide) In Madison, objections were due 14 days after the 2026 notices were mailed.(City of Madison) So start the week it comes.
- Run the free check. Our assessment check compares your new value with recent sales of similar homes nearby. It tells you whether your value is worth a closer look before you spend time on an appeal.
- Read your property record. It holds the physical description of your home and how the value was developed, and it's public.(DOR guide) Check bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, a finished or unfinished basement, and any permit marked finished that isn't. In Madison use the property lookup; elsewhere, AccessDane or your assessor (every assessor in Dane County).
- Talk to the assessor at Open Book. Wrong records get fixed here, with no hearing. Ask which sales the assessor used. If the value is still wrong after that, the formal route starts.(DOR guide)
- If sales support a lower value, give the 48-hour notice. Tell the Board of Review clerk, in writing or by phone, at least 48 hours before the board's first meeting that you intend to object. There's no form for this, but put it in writing.(DOR guide) In Madison, this step is the objection to the Board of Assessors, by the city's deadline.(City Assessor)
- File the objection form, PA-115A. Completed and signed, with the clerk, before the board's first meeting or within its first two hours. It asks for your purchase price, recent changes, listings and appraisals, and your own opinion of value and what it's based on.(DOR guide)(PA-115A)
- Go to the Board of Review. It works like a court: sworn testimony, and the assessor's value is presumed correct until you show otherwise.(Wis. Stat. 70.47) What to bring, how the hearing runs and what comes after are in the appeal guide.
What Doesn't Work
Source for this section: DOR Guide for Property Owners (2026)
- Comparing your assessment with your neighbors' assessments. DOR calls it a mistake. To get a reduction you have to prove your home is over-assessed compared with sales.
- The size of the increase. A big jump is why you're reading this, but the board's question is only whether the value is above market. And a bigger assessment isn't automatically a bigger tax: if assessed values rise and the levy stays the same, the tax rate goes down.
- "My taxes are too high." The board hears evidence about value only, and won't act on the tax amount.
- What you spent. A remodel's cost isn't automatically its market value, and normal repairs and maintenance usually don't change an assessment.
What Does
Source for this section: DOR Guide for Property Owners (2026)
- Your own recent purchase price. If you bought recently, it's usually the best evidence of market value.
- Sales of comparable homes. The next best evidence: similar homes, nearby, sold recently between unrelated parties.
- A professional appraisal. A reliable estimate of market value.
- Record errors. A wrong square footage or bathroom count is the easiest fix, at Open Book.
- Your ratio against the town's. Divide your assessed value by your home's current market value. If that's close to your municipality's level of assessment, your assessment is equitable; if it's well above, that's your case.
Madison Is Different
Madison mails a notice to every owner every year, changed or not.(City of Madison) Open Book in Madison is for fixing records; if the details are right but you think the value is wrong, you file an objection with the Board of Assessors, the assessor's own staff, who appraise your home individually.(City Assessor) That deadline comes fast:
| Year | Notices mailed | Open Book | Objections due | Days | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fri., May 1 | May 4–8 | Fri., May 15, 4:30 pm | 14 | (City of Madison) |
| 2025 | Fri., May 16 | May 19–23 | Mon., June 2, 4:30 pm | 17 | (City of Madison) |
- To object or reach your appraiser: openbook@cityofmadison.com or 608-266-4531. The deadline covers the objection form or a notice of intent.(City of Madison)
- After the Board of Assessors decides, you have 15 days to tell the city assessor in writing that you want the Board of Review.(DOR guide)(Wis. Stat. 70.075)
- Miss the deadline and you have to ask the Board of Review for a waiver.(City Assessor)
- The city's own advice: the best evidence is your recent sale price or the sale prices of comparable properties.(City of Madison)
Madison doesn't post a sample of its notice, so its layout may differ from the state form above. More on the city's process in the Madison property tax guide.
Where to Go Next
- Free assessment check: your value against recent sales of similar homes.
- Appealing your assessment: every town's dates, the hearing, and the routes after it.
- Dane County assessors: who assesses your town and how to reach them.
- AccessDane, step by step: your assessment history and past tax bills.
- Your tax bill, line by line: what the value turns into in December.
Questions
When Do Madison Assessment Notices Come Out?
Madison mailed its 2026 notices on Friday, May 1, 2026 and its 2025 notices on Friday, May 16, 2025. Every owner gets one, even if the value didn't change. Objections were due 14 days after the 2026 mailing and 17 days after the 2025 one.
I Didn't Get a Notice. Does That Mean My Value Didn't Change?
Outside Madison, usually yes: the law requires a notice when your total assessment changes. But a lost notice doesn't cancel a change, so look up your record to be sure.
My Assessment Went Up a Lot. Should I Appeal?
Only if recent sales of similar homes show it's above what your home would sell for. The size of the increase isn't evidence, and a higher value doesn't always mean a higher tax: if values rise and the levy stays the same, the rate falls.
Is the Assessment Notice a Tax Bill?
No. It sets the value your tax will be figured on. The bill comes in December.
What Is the 48-Hour Notice?
Before you can object at the Board of Review, you tell the board's clerk you intend to, in writing or by phone, at least 48 hours before its first meeting. There's no special form for it, but writing leaves a record. Then you file the objection form, PA-115A.
What If I Miss the Board of Review?
The board can waive the 48-hour notice for good cause if you file the form in the first two hours of its first meeting, and for extraordinary circumstances through the fifth day. After that, the year's value is usually set.