Throughout the United States, property values have been declining. Even though this is upsetting for many individuals, this can be beneficial to you. The reason is you may be able to reduce your property tax bill by appealing their tax assessments.
Property tax is an ad valorem tax typically imposed on an annual basis or at the time of a transaction and is based on the specific value of property, in this case real property. The taxes are levied in order to fund budgets for schools, fire stations, police departments, and other municipal utilities.
The taxing authority, your local municipal or county government, is responsible for appraising the monetary value of the property and then levy a tax based on the assessed value of the property. When assessing a residence, the appraiser investigates the selling prices of all other similar houses in the county, the replacement costs, and what the house should sell for. The appraiser thenassigns a value based on theaforementioned calculation. .
Throughout the country (especially in areas such as Florida, Arizona, Michigan and California, where areas have been severely affected by the housing bust) home owners have a valuable opportunity to get their tax payments reduced by pushing their governments for revaluations and appealing their current assessments. With property values dropping, people ask this question, “Why am I paying the same taxes?” Most of the time, you shouldn’t be.
Not only are individual home owners trying to get reductions, they are also coming from condominium associations, companies that own commercial real-estate, industrial parks, and even shopping malls.
Home owners aren’t the only ones suffering however. Municipalities across the country are losing out on revenue. Towns are setting aside money to refund homeowners. In other parts of the country, appeals have gone up as much as four times. This means a large percentage of less revenue for the governments and then contributes to cuts or borrowing in the form of bonds. Officials are conceding that there will be much less tax revenue and are planning accordingly.
Can I win? Do I need a lawyer? And is it expensive? These are some common questions asked when filing a grievance or asking for your taxes to be reassessed . First off, the laws in most places support the homeowner when fighting the assessment. The chances of winning are very high, especially today with the real-estate markets the way they are. You do not need a lawyer to fight on your behalf but you certainly can get one. They usually will charge you the amount they save you, payable in two annual installments. This is an excellent option if you do not have the time to fill out the forms and do it yourself. Also a lawyer will know the deadlines for filing for your specific area which is important because after that deadline you will no longer be able to fight it for that year. If you chose not to get a lawyer, you still have the ability to win but you need to do your research ahead of time. There are a lot of websites out there that gives you an idea of what homes in a given area are selling for. Once you have an idea what the value is, you can go in and do it yourself. It’s worth a try, will not cost you much, and you could save a lot of money!
The Tax Club is committed to educating the public to the best of its abilities. If you would like to speak with one of our associates for a free consultation, please contact us at 866-840-1829 x5438
