If you're appealing an Indiana property tax assessment, comparable sales evidence is almost always your best lever. Indiana property is assessed at market value-in-use under IC 6-1.1-1-3.5, and recent arm's-length sales of comparable properties are the most direct evidence of what that value is.
But PTABOA hearing officers across Indiana apply specific — and sometimes strict — rules about what qualifies as a comparable sale. An appeal that includes "comp sales" but uses sales the board considers non-comparable will lose. This is the granular guide to what works.
The starting principle: arm's-length, recent, similar
Three core criteria for a comparable sale to be considered by PTABOA:
- Arm's-length — between unrelated parties at market terms
- Recent — within 18 months of the January 1 assessment date
- Similar — same neighborhood, similar property type, similar size, age, and condition
Sales that fail any of the three are heavily discounted or excluded.
What counts as "arm's-length"
Indiana PTABOAs apply the standard definition: a transaction between unrelated parties, each acting in their own self-interest, with reasonable exposure to the market, and neither party under duress.
Counts as arm's-length:
- MLS-listed sale to an unrelated buyer
- Sale through a Realtor in normal marketing
- Sale to an investor through normal listing channels
- Auction sale with multiple bidders
Does NOT count as arm's-length:
- Sale between family members (parent to child, sibling to sibling)
- Sale between related entities (LLC to its owner, trust to grantor)
- Bank foreclosure / REO sale
- Sheriff's auction
- Short sale (lender approval required)
- Quitclaim transfers
- Estate disposition to heirs at non-market price
- Distressed seller (relocation under duress, divorce-forced sale)
For most appeals, the rule of thumb: if the sale appears on the MLS and closed in normal conditions, it's arm's-length. If it required special documentation (foreclosure, short sale, estate), assume it doesn't qualify and exclude it unless you can affirmatively show otherwise.
What counts as "recent"
The standard is within 18 months of the assessment date. For a 2026 appeal (assessment date January 1, 2026), comparable sales should be from July 2024 onward.
Within that window, more recent is better:
- Sales within 6 months: excellent, weighted heavily
- Sales within 6–12 months: good, weighted normally
- Sales 12–18 months: acceptable, weighted somewhat less
- Sales beyond 18 months: rejected absent exceptional justification
Exceptional justification might include: extremely thin market (e.g., a unique commercial property where comp sales are rare), specific market-cycle stability (e.g., showing prices haven't moved in 2+ years), or no other available evidence.
Warning
Stale comps are the #1 reason appeals fail. Many appellants pull sales from 2 or 3 years ago because they're easier to find. PTABOA hearing officers will exclude these, sometimes summarily. Confirm every comp sale closed within 18 months of January 1 of the appeal year.
What counts as "similar"
Similarity is the most judgment-heavy criterion. PTABOAs look at:
Geographic proximity
- Same neighborhood code: ideal
- Same township: acceptable
- Same county, different township: weaker, requires explanation
- Different county: generally rejected
For Marion County specifically, the neighborhood code structure is granular — neighborhood codes don't cross township boundaries, and within a township you may have many distinct neighborhood codes. The closer your comps to your parcel's neighborhood code, the stronger your evidence.
Property type
- Same property type: required (single-family to single-family, condo to condo, etc.)
- Mixed property types: rejected (you can't use a condo sale to comp a single-family, or industrial to comp commercial)
Size
- Within 15% of subject's square footage: strong comparable
- Within 25%: acceptable with adjustments
- Beyond 25%: generally too dissimilar
For a 2,000 sq ft subject, comps in the 1,700–2,300 sq ft range are ideal; 1,500–2,500 is acceptable; beyond that is weak.
Age
- Within 10 years of subject's construction year: strong
- Within 20 years: acceptable with grade/condition adjustments
- Beyond 20 years: difficult; requires significant adjustment
A 1990s home and a 2020s home aren't directly comparable without adjusting for the era's typical features (2-car garage standard, finished basements, layout).
Grade and condition
If your subject is a grade-C-2 average-condition home, your comps should be grade-C-1 to grade-C-3, average to good condition. Comping a grade-D fixer-upper to a grade-C-2 home (or vice versa) requires substantial adjustment.
How to make adjustments
Adjustments are the math layer that makes imperfect comps useful. A typical adjustment grid:
| Adjustment | Direction | Approximate amount |
|---|---|---|
| Comp has finished basement, subject doesn't | Subtract from comp value | $15K–$25K |
| Comp has 2-car attached garage, subject has 1-car | Subtract | $8K–$15K |
| Comp has 0.5 acre lot, subject has 0.25 acre | Subtract | $5K–$15K (varies by area) |
| Comp is updated, subject is original | Subtract | $10K–$30K |
| Comp is 200 sq ft smaller than subject | Add | $20K–$40K (depending on per-sq-ft rate) |
| Sale was 12 months ago, market has risen 5% | Add 5% | varies |
Adjustments should be:
- Documented with a per-line explanation
- Sourced to a market data point where possible (typical garage adjustment of $10K, etc.)
- Consistent across comps — don't adjust differently for the same feature
PTABOAs prefer bracketing: showing comps that adjust both upward and downward toward your subject's value, with a tight range of adjusted values. If three comps adjust to $278K, $282K, and $285K, that's strong evidence the subject is worth ~$282K.
How to present comps at the hearing
The summary grid
One-page grid format. Columns: subject + comps. Rows: address, distance, sale date, sale price, square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, year built, garage, basement, lot size, condition, gross adjustments, adjusted sale price.
The board can scan a clean grid in 30 seconds. Make sure your grid:
- Lists the subject in column 1
- Lists each comp's adjusted sale price prominently
- Shows the average and median of adjusted sale prices at the bottom
- Indicates your opinion of value as a specific dollar figure tied to the grid
The supporting documents
For each comp:
- Property record card from the assessor (one page)
- Recorded transfer / sales disclosure form
- MLS sheet if available
- Photo of the property if obtainable
A binder with the grid first, then comp-by-comp documentation, is the standard format.
The presentation
You walk the board through the grid in 5–7 minutes:
- Subject overview — describe your property
- Comp 1 — describe, walk through adjustments, show adjusted value
- Comps 2 and 3 — same, briefer
- Conclusion — adjusted values average ~$X, so your opinion of value is $X
- Specific request — "I respectfully request the board reduce the AV from $Y to $X"
What PTABOAs reject
Zillow / Redfin / Realtor.com estimates
Algorithmic valuations are not comparable sales evidence. They may be background, but never primary.
Sales from outside the 18-month window
Stale comps are dismissed. Don't include them unless you have specific market-stability evidence.
Cross-neighborhood comps without explanation
A Washington Township comp for a Wayne Township subject without strong justification is treated as weak evidence.
Comps from outside the property class
A residential comp for a commercial subject (or vice versa) is rejected.
Sales with non-arm's-length characteristics
Foreclosures, short sales, family transfers are excluded.
"My neighbor's house is assessed at $X"
Neighbor AVs are not comparable sales. The board needs what the neighbor sold for, not what they're assessed at.
Unadjusted comps
A list of comp sales without adjustments tells the board nothing useful. Adjustments are the work.
Too many comps
More than 8–10 comps becomes noise. Pick your 3–6 best. Quality > quantity.
How many comps you need
The sweet spot is 3 to 6. Three is the minimum; six is rich. More than six dilutes attention. The board's mental model: 3 strong comps adjusted carefully > 10 mediocre comps thrown at the wall.
Some hearing officers explicitly say "give me your three best." A presentation that starts with "I have three comps to walk through" demonstrates focus.
Where to find Indiana comp sales
- County assessor portals — most counties publish sales data alongside parcel records
- Indiana property lookup — aggregated comparable sales tool
- MLS — if you have a Realtor relationship
- County recorder — recorded transfers are public
- DLGF transparency portal — sales data with the new SB 1 portal
For a Marion County appeal, the property lookup is the fastest way to identify comp sales within a specific neighborhood code.
What to do
- Pull 8–12 candidate comps from your neighborhood code or township within the past 18 months.
- Filter to 3–6 strongest based on the criteria above.
- Build the adjustment grid with per-comp adjustments documented.
- Calculate adjusted values and identify your opinion of value.
- Prepare the presentation — 5–7 minutes, focused on the grid.
- Bring 5 printed copies of the full binder to the hearing.
Related reading
- Marion County PTABOA hearing evidence guide
- Indiana property tax appeal guide 2026
- Marion County's June 15 deadline: Form 130 filing checklist
- PTABOA vs. Indiana Board of Tax Review: escalation
- Indiana farmland base rate 2026: appeal tactics
- How Indiana property tax assessments work
- Indiana property lookup tool