State Guide

How to Appeal Your Property Taxes in Louisiana (2026 Guide)

Published July 12, 2026

If you own a home in Louisiana, your parish assessor sets its fair market value — what it would sell for — and that number, not the smaller assessed figure, is the one you challenge. Every year you have a window to contest it, and in Louisiana that window is tied to the public-inspection period.

The Louisiana deadline: the public-inspection window

Louisiana's appeal starts during your parish's public-inspection ("open book") period, when the assessor exposes the tax rolls for review — generally about 15 days between August 15 and September 15 in most parishes (Orleans Parish runs a separate 32-day window, roughly July 15–August 15, and Jefferson Parish has its own schedule). You must contest your value during that window and then appeal to your parish Board of Review (La. R.S. 47:1992). There's no single statewide date, so confirm your parish's exact open-book dates with the assessor.

If the Board of Review doesn't lower your value, you can appeal to the Louisiana Tax Commission (La. R.S. 47:1989), and from there to district court.

How Louisiana assesses your home

Louisiana does not tax your home at 100% of its value. Residential property is assessed at 10% of its fair market value (La. Const. Art. VII §18(B)), so a home worth $300,000 carries a $30,000 assessment, and your millage is applied to that $30,000. That fraction changes how you read your notice, but not how you win: your appeal contests the fair market value — the 100% figure — and if you get it lowered, your 10% assessment falls right along with it.

Category	Louisiana
Assessment basis	Residential assessed at 10% of fair market value (La. Const. Art. VII §18(B))
Appeal deadline	During the parish public-inspection window (~Aug 15–Sep 15; Orleans ~Jul 15–Aug 15), then Board of Review (R.S. 47:1992)
Where you file	Parish Board of Review → Louisiana Tax Commission → district court
Assessment freeze	Special Assessment Level freezes value for qualifying seniors/disabled (Art. VII §18(G))
Can the board raise your value?	Yes — the Board of Review can increase or decrease (R.S. 47:1992)

Louisiana also offers a Special Assessment Level (SAL) — if you're 65 or older (or permanently disabled, or a disabled veteran) and under the state income limit, your assessment can be "frozen" at the level from the year you first qualified (La. Const. Art. VII §18(G)). That's a freeze for qualifying owners, not a general growth cap.

One more Louisiana-specific point: it's a non-disclosure state, so sale prices aren't part of the public record. That makes recent comparable sales harder to find on your own — which is exactly why access to licensed sales data matters when you build a case here.

Building your case

Because the question is your home's fair market value, the winning evidence is recent, nearby comparable sales — homes like yours in size, age, and condition — not listing prices or online estimates. Three or four solid comps with clear adjustments carry far more weight than a complaint that the number "feels high."

One Louisiana-specific caution: the parish Board of Review can "increase or decrease" your assessment on your own appeal (La. R.S. 47:1992), and the Louisiana Tax Commission can modify it further. File only when your comparable sales clearly support a lower fair market value.

Filing at the parish level

Louisiana runs assessments parish by parish — all 64 parishes have their own assessor, Board of Review, and open-book schedule (Orleans Parish runs its own calendar). We're building out parish-specific guides with the exact filing office and dates for each. In the meantime, use PROppeal to pull licensed comparable sales for your address and confirm your parish's public-inspection window with the assessor.

Get your case built

You don't need to wait on a parish-specific guide to start. PROppeal pulls licensed comparable sales for your address — especially valuable in a non-disclosure state — works from your home's fair market value (then applies the 10% ratio), and gives you a straight answer on whether your assessment is out of line before your parish's open-book window closes.

Property tax rules and deadlines vary by jurisdiction and can change — verify with your county before relying on this.