Where can I learn more about appealing my property taxes?

So you are in the process of trying to sell your home and have found a number of heavily interested prospective homebuyers. However, there are a couple of homebuyers that are worried about the nature of property taxes. Although your home is located within a nice neighborhood and the property value is increasing, some prospective homebuyers are worried about how this will affect the amount of property taxes that they will have to pay. Property taxes are government levies that are applied on homes based on the property’s market value. Consequently, these prospective homebuyers have valid concerns about how property taxes will affect them financially.

However, as a homeowner, you will be able to answer their questions regarding property taxes and in particular the question, “Where can I learn more about appealing my property taxes?” If you or somebody that you know is concerned about the large amount of their property taxes, they should understand that the bulk of property tax is based on the assessed value of property. Although local taxes play a role in determining property tax, the tax rate applies for the entire locality, and differences among the amount of property tax will then fully hinge on the assessed value of the property within the locality.

Therefore, if you want to receive more information about how to appeal your property taxes, the place to go would be your local tax assessor’s office. When contacting your local tax assessor’s office, you will learn the deadline for appealing your property tax assessment. The amount of time permitted for an appeal varies from locality to locality and can range from 30 days to 120 days.

If you are able to have your appeal heard within the deadline, it is then important to build up a case for appeal. Assessment appeals can only be filed on two grounds: a mistake was made in the assessment of the home or the assessment of your home is at a higher rate compared to similar homes in your area. Although this formal process may be intimidating for you, understand that assessors are humans as well and are prone to mistakes. In some cases, they make their assessments based on written descriptions of your home compared with neighboring homes.

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