Putnam County homeowners pay a median of $1,943 a year in property tax on a median home value of $201,100, an effective rate of 0.92%, the 64th highest of 88 Ohio counties. Your home's value is set by the Putnam County Auditor, and complaints about it are heard by the county Board of Revision (BOR): the county auditor, treasurer and a county commissioner, or their deputies.
Opens soonOpens January 1, 2027. Complaints for the 2026 tax year are due March 31, 2027 (or the first-half tax due date, if later).
File the complaint (Form DTE 1) with the county auditor between January 1 and March 31 for the prior tax year's value, or by the first-half tax due date if that is later. Mailed complaints must be postmarked by the deadline. You may file only once in each three-year reappraisal/update period unless something changed (recent arm's-length sale, casualty loss, substantial improvement, or a big occupancy change). Example: Franklin County accepted 2025 complaints through March 31, 2026.
Phone: 419-523-6686
Email: [email protected]
Address: 245 E. Main Street, Suite 201, Ottawa, OH 45875
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30-4:30
County Auditor: Robert Benroth
Official website: co.putnam.oh.us
Appraises homes, keeps the property record card and accepts Board of Revision complaints (Form DTE 1).
In reappraisal and update years the auditor mails or publishes new values, usually in the late summer or fall before bills go out. Your value also appears on the tax bill and the auditor's website every year.
Look up your home on the Putnam County Auditor website and check square footage, bathrooms, condition and features. Mistakes are the easiest wins. Use our record card checklist.
Get Form DTE 1 from the Putnam County Auditor (many auditors accept it online too), fill it in with the value you think is right, attach your evidence and file it between January 1 and March 31. Mailed complaints must be postmarked by the deadline.
A recent arm's-length sale of your own home: settlement statement, purchase contract, deed and conveyance fee statement; A full appraisal as of January 1 of the tax year - the appraiser should attend to testify; Sales of comparable homes near the tax lien date (January 1); Photos and repair estimates for condition problems.
You must prove your value is wrong and show what the right value is. The BOR can keep the auditor's value if your evidence is not convincing.
Next step: Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) or county Court of Common Pleas. Within 30 days after the BOR mails its decision. File a notice of appeal with the BTA (or the common pleas court) and also with the Board of Revision. BTA decisions can be appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court. Consider a lawyer at this stage.
The official appeal form is DTE 1: Complaint Against the Valuation of Real Property.
Open Form DTE 1Enter 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 the complaint (Form DTE 1) with the county auditor between January 1 and March 31 for the prior tax year's value, or by the first-half tax due date if that is later. Mailed complaints must be postmarked by the deadline. You may file only once in each three-year reappraisal/update period unless something changed (recent arm's-length sale, casualty loss, substantial improvement, or a big occupancy change). Example: Franklin County accepted 2025 complaints through March 31, 2026.
With the Putnam County Auditor, which runs the county Board of Revision. File Form DTE 1 in person, by mail or, in many counties, online.
Phone 419-523-6686. Website: co.putnam.oh.us.
No fee.
Contact details change; call or check the office website before you visit.