Tax values
March 08, 2019
6 steps to appealing your property tax bill.
It’s possible to trim your property tax bill by appealing the value the taxman assigned to your home. That “assessed value” is what’s used to calculate how much tax you owe. One way to lower your property tax is to show that your home is worth less than its assessed value. You can do the initial research online in just a few minutes or by making a quick call to your real estate agent.
1.Read Your Assessment Letter-Local governments periodically assess all the real estate they tax. When your new assessment comes in the mail, it’ll list information about your property, such as lot size or a legal description, as well as the assessed value of your house and land.Your property tax bill will usually be calculated by multiplying your home’s assessed value by the local tax rate, which can vary from town to town.
2. Decide If a Property Tax Appeal Is Worth Your Time-How much effort you decide to put into a challenge depends on the stakes. The median property tax paid in 2015 was about $1,500 per capita (the most recent numbers available from the Tax Foundation, a tax policy nonprofit). That’s a little less than 1% of the $222,400 median-value home that year
3. Check the Data-Make sure the information about your home is correct. Is the number of bathrooms accurate? Number of fireplaces?
4. Get the “Comps”-Ask a REALTOR® to find three to five comparable properties — comps in real estate jargon — that have sold recently. Alternatively, check a website likerealtor.com to find approximate values of comparable properties that are very similar to your own in terms of size, style, condition, and location
5. Present Your Case-Armed with your research, call your local assessor’s office. Most assessors are willing to discuss your assessment informally by phone
6. Appeal If You Don’t Like the Review-If the review is unsuccessful, you can usually appeal the decision to an independent board, with or without the help of a lawyer. You may have to pay a modest filing fee, perhaps $10 to $25. If you end up before an appeals board, your challenge could stretch as long as a year, especially in large jurisdictions that have a high number of appeals.
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