How do I protest my property tax assessment in Douglas County?

File a written protest with the Douglas County Board of Equalization between June 1 and June 30. You can file online at boe.douglascounty-ne.gov, by mail, or in person. Big Red Value automates this entire process — from evidence gathering to generating your complete protest packet ready to submit.

What evidence do I need for a property tax protest?

You need comparable sales data showing similar homes sold for less than your assessed value, documentation of property condition issues (roof, HVAC, foundation), and proof of any assessment data errors such as incorrect square footage or bedroom count. Big Red Value's AI identifies which evidence matters most for your specific property and ranks questions by predicted impact.

How much can I save by protesting my property taxes?

In 2025, 47% of Douglas County protests resulted in a reduction, with a median assessed value reduction of roughly $30,600 for residential properties. Your savings depend on how much your property is over-assessed relative to comparable sales. Our AI prediction engine estimates your specific expected savings before you file.

Is it worth protesting property taxes?

Yes. In 2025, nearly half of all Douglas County protests resulted in some reduction. With Big Red Value, the process takes about 15 minutes instead of hours of manual research.

When is the deadline to protest property taxes in Nebraska?

The protest filing deadline for Douglas County is June 30 annually. Protests must be received by the Board of Equalization by this date. If you need to appeal further, appeals to the Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) must be postmarked by September 10.

What is unequal appraisal?

Under Nebraska Revised Statute 77-1502, if your property is assessed higher per square foot than comparable properties in your neighborhood, you have grounds for a protest based on unequal appraisal. Big Red Value automatically identifies lower-assessed neighbors and builds a percentile analysis showing exactly where your assessment ranks.

Do I need a lawyer to protest my property taxes?

No. Most homeowners successfully protest without legal representation. Big Red Value provides AI-generated hearing scripts with opening statements, evidence presentation guides, counter-argument rebuttals, and a three-tier settlement strategy — giving you professional-grade preparation without the cost of an attorney.

How does Big Red Value's AI work?

Our machine learning model (LightGBM) analyzes your property using 20+ features and scores comparable properties on 8 dimensions of similarity: square footage, lot size, age, quality grade, condition, style, sale recency, and distance. The system predicts your protest outcome, then generates personalized evidence collection questions ranked by impact and builds your complete protest packet.

Can I protest my property taxes online in Douglas County?

Yes. Douglas County allows online protest filing through the Board of Equalization website at boe.douglascounty-ne.gov. You can also file by mail or in person. Big Red Value generates your complete protest packet digitally so you can submit it through whichever channel you prefer.

What happens after I file my property tax protest?

After filing, you will receive a hearing date from the Board of Equalization, typically scheduled between mid-June and mid-August. At the hearing, you present your evidence to a BOE panel. The board will issue a decision, usually within a few weeks. If you disagree with the outcome, you can appeal to the Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) by September 10.

How is my property's assessed value determined in Nebraska?

The Douglas County Assessor uses a mass appraisal model that estimates market value based on property characteristics like square footage, year built, lot size, condition, and recent comparable sales. Nebraska law requires residential property to be assessed at 100% of actual market value. The assessor updates values annually based on market trends and sales data.

What is the difference between assessed value and market value?

Assessed value is the value assigned by the county assessor for tax purposes. Market value is what your home would sell for in an open market transaction. In Nebraska, these should be equal for residential property. If your assessed value exceeds what comparable homes are actually selling for, you have grounds for a protest.

Can I protest if my property taxes went up but my home value didn't change?

Property taxes can increase even without an assessment change if local tax levies (school district, city, etc.) increase. However, you can only protest the assessed value, not the tax rate. If your assessment did increase and you believe it exceeds market value, you should file a protest during the June 1-30 window.

What are comparable sales and why do they matter?

Comparable sales (comps) are recent sales of properties similar to yours in location, size, age, and condition. They are the strongest evidence in a property tax protest because they directly demonstrate market value. The Board of Equalization gives the most weight to comps that are recent (within 12 months), nearby (same neighborhood), and similar in characteristics.

How much does it cost to protest property taxes in Douglas County?

Filing a protest with the Douglas County Board of Equalization is free. There is no filing fee. If you hire a tax attorney or agent, they typically charge a contingency fee of 25-40% of first-year tax savings. Big Red Value provides free AI-powered analysis and protest packet generation.

What is Nebraska Form 422?

Nebraska Form 422 is the official protest form required to challenge your property tax assessment with the county Board of Equalization. It asks for your property information, the basis of your protest (overvaluation or unequal appraisal), your opinion of value, and a summary of supporting evidence. Big Red Value auto-fills this form for you based on your property data.

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Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 31, 2026

1. What We Collect

Big Red Value collects the following information when you use our platform:

Property address — entered by you to look up your assessment and generate a protest analysis.
Email address — provided when you sign up for our waitlist or create an account.
Name, phone number, and mailing address — collected when you generate a protest packet, as required by the Nebraska Form 422 filing.
Property photos, voice notes, and documents — uploaded or captured by you as evidence for your protest case. These are stored locally on your device first, then synced to our servers when you are online.
Property assessment data — retrieved from public Douglas County assessor records based on your property address or parcel number.
Account credentials — managed by our authentication provider (Clerk). We do not store your password directly.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Analyze your property assessment and identify comparable properties.
Generate AI-powered protest narratives, hearing preparation materials, and comparable analysis reports.
Auto-fill and produce your Nebraska Form 422 protest packet.
Predict protest outcomes using our machine learning model trained on Douglas County data.
Communicate with you about your account, analysis results, or service updates.
Improve our platform, develop new features, and conduct research using aggregated or de-identified data derived from user activity and property information.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your data for advertising or marketing purposes beyond direct communication about the Big Red Value service.

We may share aggregated, de-identified, or non-personally identifiable information with third parties for analytics, research, or commercial purposes. This may include property characteristics, condition data, and market trends that cannot reasonably be used to identify you. If we ever share personally identifiable information with third parties beyond what is described in this policy, we will obtain your consent first.

3. Third-Party Services

We use third-party service providers to operate the platform. Each provider receives only the minimum data necessary to perform its function:

Authentication — a third-party provider manages user accounts and login. It receives your email address and login credentials.
Data storage — your property data, protest cases, evidence files, and account information are stored in a hosted database in the United States.
AI processing— your property data and evidence may be sent to a third-party AI provider for analysis, narrative generation, and document extraction. That provider's data usage policies apply to this processing.
Geocoding and maps — a mapping provider receives property addresses to resolve locations and display maps.
Hosting — the Big Red Value website and application are hosted by a third-party cloud provider.

4. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored in a Supabase PostgreSQL database hosted in the United States. All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption. Database access is protected by row-level security policies that ensure you can only access your own data.

Evidence files (photos, voice notes, documents) are stored locally on your device using browser storage (IndexedDB) for offline access, and synced to encrypted cloud storage when you are connected to the internet.

5. Cookies and Browser Storage

Big Red Value uses the following browser storage mechanisms:

Authentication cookies — set by Clerk to maintain your login session.
IndexedDB — used to store evidence files locally on your device for offline access. This data remains on your device until synced.
Theme preference — stored locally to remember your light/dark mode setting.

We do not use third-party analytics cookies, tracking pixels, or advertising cookies.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

Access your data — request a copy of all personal information we hold about you.
Delete your data — request deletion of your account and all associated data.
Correct your data — update or correct inaccurate personal information.
Opt out of communications — unsubscribe from any non-essential emails at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the email address listed below.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. If you request deletion of your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it by law.

8. Children's Privacy

Big Red Value is not directed at individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, by email. Your continued use of the service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, contact us at: privacy@bigredvalue.com