Ala. Code
Code of Alabama

Ala. Code § 40-7-25 (2026)

Estimation of Fair Market Value; Assessment List; Notice; Objections.

✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, laws through the 2026 Regular Session
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(a)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) or as otherwise provided by law, the assessing official, from information entered on the tax return list and from all other information known to him or her or which he or she may procure, shall proceed to ascertain what, in his or her best judgment, is a fair and reasonable market value of each item of property returned by or listed to any taxpayer.

(2) The assessed value of any real estate or improvements as fixed for taxation for the year next preceding the then current tax year shall be prima facie the basis of the value of the property for assessment for the current tax year, and the property shall not be assessed for taxation at a less valuation unless, upon evidence submitted to the county board of equalization, as provided for herein, it is found that the assessed valuation of the property reviewed should be reduced.

(b) The assessing official shall in separate columns enter on the list the amount and value and the deduction for exemption to which the taxpayer is entitled. The assessing official shall also add to the list any item of property subject to taxation owned by the taxpayer, or in which he or she has any interest whatever and which he or she had failed or omitted to place on the list; and the taxpayer shall be given notice by the assessing official, by mail or in person, of the items of property added to his or her assessment list or items claimed as exempt which are disallowed by the assessing official after the list has been filed and before the assessing official has completed his or her assessment, and the assessing official, upon demand, shall furnish the taxpayer with a certified copy of his or her assessment list so amended.

(c) If the value of real or personal property of any taxpayer is increased by the county board of equalization, herein created, over the assessed value thereof for the next preceding year, the taxpayer shall be furnished by mail or in person, by the secretary of the county board of equalization, with a statement showing separately the value of his or her personal property and his or her real property, and improvements thereon, no later than July 1, unless otherwise provided by the Department of Revenue. The statement shall be signed by the chair of the county board of equalization.

(d) The taxpayer may file in writing, with the secretary of the county board of equalization, within 30 calendar days of the date of the statement, objections to any assessed valuation fixed as herein provided. Failure to give or receive the notices required in this section shall not invalidate the assessment. The taxpayer shall have the right any time before the taxes become delinquent to appear before the county board of equalization and have the assessment of his or her property reopened, if satisfactory proof is made that the taxpayer or his or her agent did not receive notice of the increase.

(e) The expense of postage incurred in carrying out this section shall be paid in equal proportions by the county and state, upon a certified statement thereof by the secretary of the county board of equalization, filed with the court of county commissioners, or the board or court of like jurisdiction and with the Department of Finance.

(f) The Department of Revenue may adopt rules for the implementation and administration of this act.

(Acts 1935, No. 194, p. 256; Code 1940, T. 51, §55; Acts 1978, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 135, p. 1868, §3; Act 2007-381, p. 757, §1; Act 2023-499, §§ 1, 2.)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1987–2025 · leading case: Gordon, Dana, Still, Knight & Gilmore, LLC v. Jefferson Cnty., 44 So. 3d 491 (Ala. Civ. App. 2009).
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Gordon, Dana, Still, Knight & Gilmore, LLC v. Jefferson Cnty., 44 So. 3d 491 (Ala. Civ. App. 2009). · cites it 20× “' Code of Alabama (1975), § 40-7-25. The taxpayer has the right to appeal the final assessment rendered by the Tax Assessor to Circuit Court.”
Gordon, Dana, Still, Knight & Gilmore, LLC v. Jefferson Cnty., 44 So. 3d 502 (Ala. 2010). · cites it 6× “is of taxation from the actual "fair market value" of the property to merely the tax assessor's "best judgment as to the fair market value of the property" is explicitly borne out by the following statement in the Court of Civil Appeals' opinion: "[The Gordon firm] argues that…”
Blackston v. Alabama Dep't of Revenue, 51 So. 3d 360 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010). · cites it 8× “The first is that he has a statutory right to reopen the assessment of his property at any time before the taxes become delinquent under Ala. Code 1975, § 40-7-25. That statute, however, applies only to taxpayers whose taxes have increased in the year in which the taxpayer files…”
Ensminger v. White, 507 So. 2d 527 (Ala. Civ. App. 1987). · cites it 2× “Each supporting affidavit dealt solely with the issue of whether the landowner was entitled to current use valuation pursuant to Ala.Code (1975), § 40-7-25. Pertinently, the taxing officials’ affidavit was that the landowner did not apply for current use valuation of his…”
Bd. of Equalization v. Shelby 39, LLC, 140 So. 3d 941 (Ala. 2013). “” § 40-7-25. A taxpayer may file an objection to the valuation of the property with the Board “within 30 calendar days of the date of the statement.”
Southampton 100, LLC v. Alabama Dep't of Revenue, No. SC-2025-0227 (Ala. Nov. 26, 2025). “See § 40-7-25, Ala. Code 1975. The assessor then certifies all valuations to the local board of equalization, which reviews, revises, and fixes the valuations as listed by the assessor.”
Jefferson Cnty. Bd. of Equalization & Adjustments v. Chichester, 586 So. 2d 921 (Ala. Civ. App. 1991). “3 provides that when a property’s “current use” is converted, “the tax assessor shall thereupon appraise such property in accordance with the provisions of section 40-7-15 and section 40-7-25, as amended, and shall compute the amount of additional taxes payable with respect to…”
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