A General Understanding Of Property Taxes For Everyone
Paying property taxes is inevitable for commercial and residential property owners. If a decision is made to ignore property tax payment notifications, there is a risk of property loss. This can mean that a property gets sold by the local government for the property tax owed on the property. Properties can be sold for significantly less than their value, and the process is legal.
Property tax assessments are complex and difficult for some individuals to understand even if they are given the formula for calculation and the percentage of tax for their location. This can be further complicated when adjacent counties or cities have different property tax rates. The following points will help you have a basic understanding of property taxes.
Tax Rates
No matter how much you dislike the amount that is determined to be owed in property taxes, one of the determining factors that you cannot change is the tax rate. These rates are assigned by jurisdiction. The location of your home or property has the same rate as others nearby, but you could still be paying more than them if other factors involving the calculation are incorrect or if your property is deemed worth more than theirs. Tax rates may fluctuate, but when they do, all properties in the designated zones are affected by the rates, and the same changes will reflect.
Erroneous Assessments
It is possible for your property to have been valued at a higher assessment than it is worth. The property value may have gone down, or when the valuation was performed, it may have been wrong. This could mean that you are paying more in property taxes than you should.
Re-Assessment Cycles
Assessments are completed in cycles, which usually mean that they are performed every few years. This does not mean that you have to wait until the next cycle to challenge an assessed property value that you feel is incorrect. You can opt to appeal the existing assessment in what is referred to as an out-of-cycle appeal. If the property value is changed before the next assessment due to an appeal winning, the remaining time in the current cycle will be changed to the new valuation. This could mean lower property taxes.
Representation for Appeal
There are a few options when it comes to representation to appeal property taxes. Individuals may pursue it on their own understanding that there are risks and complicated matters and potential errors that could occur. Sometimes, a group of individuals may want to appeal in a situation such as a condominium association. The group may choose one individual to represent the concerns of all. It is wise to use a property tax attorney for appeals. This is because they have the legal knowledge and location-specific information that could help with appeals and out-of-cycle requests. Property tax attorneys can represent individuals or groups.
Share