Wayne County homeowners pay a median of $2,486 a year in property tax on a median home value of $221,600, an effective rate of 1.20%, the 33rd highest of 93 Nebraska counties. Your home's value is set by the Wayne County Assessor. Protests go to the Wayne County Board of Equalization: you file them with the county clerk.
Closed for 2026Closed for 2026. The next protest window is June 1 to June 30, 2027.
File a protest with the county clerk from June 1 through June 30 (next business day if June 30 falls on a weekend). Mailed protests count as filed on the postmark date. Protests filed before June 1 are not accepted. Separate 30-day deadlines apply to notices about omitted property or a denied exemption. Example: Sarpy County accepts protests online, by mail or in person June 1-30 and will not accept forms received before June 1 or postmarked after June 30.
Phone: 402-375-1979
County Assessor: Dawn Duffy
Official website: waynecountyne.org
Sets your home's value and mails a Notice of Valuation Change by June 1 if it changed. File the protest itself with the county clerk.
If your value changed, the assessor mails a Notice of Valuation Change on or before June 1. If your value did not change, you get no notice, but you can still protest.
Look up your home on the Wayne County Assessor website and check square footage, bathrooms, condition and features. Mistakes are the easiest wins. Use our record card checklist.
File Form 422 (one per parcel) with the Wayne County clerk between June 1 and June 30. State the value you think is right and why, or the protest can be dismissed.
Recent sales of similar homes in your area (the assessor's sales file is public); A recent appraisal or your purchase price if you bought recently in an arm's-length sale; Assessed values of comparable neighboring homes to show unequal treatment; Photos and repair estimates showing condition problems.
At the county board you must back up the value you ask for with evidence. At TERC the county board is presumed to have acted correctly; you must show by clear and convincing evidence that its value was unreasonable or arbitrary, and you must offer competent evidence of your home's actual value.
Next step: Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC). For 2026 valuation protests: August 24, 2026 in most counties; September 10, 2026 in Douglas and Lancaster counties (counties that extended hearings). Other appeals: usually 30 days after the decision. Mail or hand-deliver the TERC appeal form, a copy of the county board's decision, and the filing fee to TERC in Lincoln. No email, fax or online filing. Fee by assessed value: $40 under $250,000; $50 for $250,000-$499,999; $60 for $500,000-$999,999; $85 for $1 million and up. Do not send evidence with the appeal; TERC tells you how in the hearing notice. Hearings are informal unless you ask for a formal one; homeowner cases are often heard by a single commissioner. TERC decisions can be appealed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals.
The official appeal form is 422: Property Valuation Protest.
Open Form 422Enter the market value on your assessment notice and what you think the home would really sell for. We estimate the yearly saving if the board agrees with you.
Some states cap how fast the taxable value of a home can rise (California, Florida, Michigan and Texas homesteads, for example). If your taxable value is already held below market value by a cap, a lower market value may not lower this year's bill.
Fill in your details and download a written appeal statement as a PDF or Word file. Most boards also require their own appeal form: file the form and attach this letter and your evidence to it.
Tax Appeal Map is a free information site, not a law firm or appraiser. The letter is a template, not legal advice.
File a protest with the county clerk from June 1 through June 30 (next business day if June 30 falls on a weekend). Mailed protests count as filed on the postmark date. Protests filed before June 1 are not accepted. Separate 30-day deadlines apply to notices about omitted property or a denied exemption. Example: Sarpy County accepts protests online, by mail or in person June 1-30 and will not accept forms received before June 1 or postmarked after June 30.
With the Wayne County clerk, on Form 422, between June 1 and June 30. The county Board of Equalization decides.
Phone 402-375-1979. Website: waynecountyne.org.
No fee.
Contact details change; call or check the office website before you visit.