What just happened to Franklin County home values in 2026?
Franklin County is in the middle of its 2026 triennial update, the state-required check on property values that happens three years after each full reappraisal. Auditor Michael Stinziano's office began mailing and posting tentative values on June 9, 2026.
The average residential increase is around 9 to 10 percent countywide. Some communities are seeing more: tentative values rose about 14 percent in Grandview Heights and Bexley, and about 12 percent in Upper Arlington and Westerville.
This lands on top of the 2023 reappraisal, when Franklin County residential values jumped a record 41 percent on average. The next full reappraisal does not arrive until 2029, so the value set this year will shape your tax bills for the next three years.
When can you appeal your Franklin County assessment?
You get two chances to challenge the new value. The first is the informal review of tentative values that the auditor's office runs during summer 2026. It is free, there is no hearing, and it is the fastest way to fix an obvious error. Check the auditor's site for the exact dates and instructions.
The second is the formal route: a complaint to the Franklin County Board of Revision on DTE Form 1, the state's Complaint Against the Valuation of Real Property. The filing window runs January 1 to March 31 every year, which means the first chance to contest the new 2026 tax-year value is January 1 to March 31, 2027.
Franklin County accepts e-filing through the auditor's online portal, which is the fastest option, plus mail with a USPS postmark of March 31 or in-person filing by 11:59 PM on March 31. There are no extensions.
One more reason to prepare carefully: Ohio generally allows one complaint per property in each three year valuation cycle unless an exception applies, such as a sale, new construction, or casualty damage. Make the filing count.
Why a 10 percent value increase is not a 10 percent tax increase
Two numbers matter on an Ohio value notice. The appraised market value is the auditor's estimate of what your home would sell for, and the assessed or taxable value is exactly 35 percent of that figure. Tax rates apply to the assessed value.
Ohio's House Bill 920 then steps in. Voted levies are designed to collect roughly the same dollars when values rise, so a countywide value jump does not translate into a matching tax jump.
The catch is fairness between neighbors. If your value rose more than comparable homes nearby, HB 920 does not protect you, because you now carry more than your share of the levy. That relative over-assessment is exactly what an appeal fixes.
It is also worth knowing where the money goes. Roughly 60 to 65 percent of Ohio real property tax revenue funds public schools, which is why school districts historically paid such close attention to appeals. More on why that matters less now in a moment.
How does the Board of Revision process work?
Here is the path from the notice in your mailbox to a final decision.
- Check your tentative value now on the auditor's site, and use the informal review in summer 2026 if the number looks high.
- If the final value is still too high, file DTE Form 1 with the Board of Revision between January 1 and March 31, 2027, online, by mail, or in person.
- Gather your evidence and watch for a hearing notice from the board.
- Attend a short hearing before the three member board, which includes the auditor, the treasurer, and the county commissioners' representative or their designees, and walk through your evidence.
- Receive a written decision by certified mail. If you disagree, you have 30 days to appeal to the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals or the county court of common pleas.
What evidence wins at the Franklin County Board of Revision?
The burden of proof is on you, the owner, and boards weigh some evidence far more heavily than others. Print everything, organize it around one number, the value you believe is correct as of January 1, and point every exhibit at that number. In rough order of strength:
- A recent arm's length sale of your own home, which is the strongest evidence there is.
- An independent fee appraisal that values the home as of January 1 of the tax year.
- Comparable sales of similar nearby homes that closed close to that January 1 date.
- Certified repair estimates with dated photos if the home has condition problems the auditor could not see.
How much money is at stake?
Per county tax data, the median Franklin County home is worth $241,800, the median effective tax rate is 1.69 percent, and the median annual bill is about $4,138.
The math is simple. Cutting that median home's market value by 10 percent removes roughly $24,000 of value, and at a 1.69 percent effective rate that saves about $410 every year.
Because the value set in 2026 generally holds until the 2029 reappraisal, a successful appeal can pay off three years in a row before values change again.
One caution: refinance appraisals are typically rejected by Ohio boards, so do not build your case around one.
Is it worth appealing in Franklin County?
Filing is free, and the informal review costs nothing but a few minutes. Since House Bill 126 took effect, school boards can no longer freely fight homeowner reductions, so a routine residential appeal is far less likely to turn adversarial than it was a few years ago.
It also pays to check the exemption side of the ledger. The owner occupancy credit trims 2.5 percent off qualified levies on a home you live in, and the homestead exemption shields a slice of market value for homeowners 65 and older or disabled homeowners with qualifying income. Check the auditor's site for the current amounts.
If you would rather not track deadlines, build a comparable sales grid, and sit through a hearing, a service like Homespring handles the entire process, from the DTE Form 1 filing to the evidence, with no upfront fee. Either way, look up your tentative value now so January does not sneak up on you.