The Property Tax Appeal Project is a free legal service provided by Street Democracy and the Coalition for Property Tax Justice. The Project's trained legal advocates can help you understand the property tax appeal process and file an appeal.

Every year, the City of Detroit determines the "assessed value" of your home. Your home's assessed value is used to calculate your property tax bill. This means that if your assessed value is too high, your property tax bill will also probably be too high!

State law says that your home's assessed value should be no higher than 50% of your home's market value. Market value is how much your home could sell for. For example, if your home is worth (i.e. has a market value) $20,000, then it should be assessed at no more than $10,000 (i.e. half of the market value).

Protesting your property taxes with our Project is completely FREE. Our team does most of the work for you and supports you during the whole process!
If you want to learn more about the City's over assessment of property taxes, you can click on the blue hyperlinks below for further reading:

• Between 2009-2015, the City of Detroit illegally inflated the “Assessed Value” for 55% to 85% of its properties.
• In 2019, the problem continued. The City illegally inflated the “Assessed Value” for 84% of the lowest valued homes.
• As a result, the City has over taxed Detroit homeowners by at least $600 million and one out of every 3 homes went through property tax foreclosure.
• 25% of the property tax foreclosures of the lowest-valued homes would not have happened without these illegally inflated property tax assessments.

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Yes. The City of Detroit has the following programs that can help lower your property tax bill or adjust your property tax payment schedule.

If you want to learn more about the City's over assessment of property taxes, you can click on the blue hyperlinks below for further reading:

1. The Homeowners Property Exemption (HOPE), formerly the Poverty Tax Exemption. If you qualify, this exemption can completely or partially exempt you from having to pay property taxes. You can get more information about applying for this exemption here.
2. The Senior Property Tax Deferred Payment Program. This program allows eligible seniors to defer paying their property tax bill until February 14. You can get more information about this program here.
3. The Solid Waste Discount. Every year, you pay a solid waste fee of $240 on your property tax bill. Eligible seniors can apply for a 50% discount of this fee, meaning the fee is reduced from $240 to $120. You can get more information about this program here.
4. The Disabled Veterans Exemption. This program completely exempts honorably-charged disabled veterans and their surviving unremarried spouses from paying property taxes on their principal residence. You can get more information about this program here and a copy of the application here.
5. The Principal Residence Exemption. This program exempts owner-occupants from paying the local school operating fees on their property tax bill. You can get more about the exemption here and a copy of the application here.
6. The Neighborhood Enterprise Zone Homestead Abatement. Eligible homeowners usually save 15 to 20 percent a year on their tax bill through this program. The program reduces the amount of City and County operating taxes you have to pay on your property tax bill. To be eligible your home must be located in zones designated by the City Council. You can get more information about this program here.

You can get applications and more information about these programs from the Citizen Tax Help Center in Room 136 of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center (2 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226). You can also sign up for an appointment at Wayne Metro for help completing an application here.

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Michigan law allows taxpayers to receive a lower property tax rate on their primary residence. Specifically, it reduces the millage rate by 18 mills on eligible and exempt properties. To qualify for the PRE, the taxpayer must own and occupy the property as their home. That is, if you are a landlord, you cannot obtain this exemption. You can get more about the exemption here and a copy of the application here.

The Pay As You Stay (PAYS) program is a payment plan that can help you pay off any delinquent property taxes that you owe to the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office. You can enroll in PAYS if you have the Homeowners Property Exemption (HOPE). For information on applying for that exemption, read the answer to Does the City of Detroit have any programs to help citizens save money on their property taxes? above.

After enrolling in PAYS, you can also sign up for the Detroit Tax Relief Fund (DTRF) administered by Wayne Metro. The Fund will help you pay off your property tax balance.

You can learn more about enrolling in PAYS and DTRF here. You can also call the DTRF hotline at (313) 244-0274. You can also sign up for an appointment at Wayne Metro for help completing an application here.

The Michigan Homeowners Assistance Fund (MiHAF) is a program that grants up to $25,000 per eligible household. To be eligible a homeowner must make less than 150% of the Area Median Income (AMI), must own and occupy their house as their primary residence, and must have experienced a financial hardship directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic on or after January 21, 2020.

Eligible homeowners can use money from MiHAF to pay any of the following delinquent expenses:

• Mortgage and other housing expenses, including property tax and insurance escrow shortages;
• Land contract payments, mobile home consumer loan payments, or mobile home park lot payments;
• Property taxes;
• Condominium and/or homeowners’ association fees;
• Homeowner’s insurance;
• Utilities, gas, water, electric, and sewer; and,
• Internet broadband services.

You can learn more about MiHAF and how to apply for the grant here. You can also sign up for an appointment at Wayne Metro for help completing an application here.

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