If you think your property tax assessment is too high, you can appeal the value of your home assessed by the taxing district. A property tax assessment is what the taxing district thinks your home is worth, based on mass computerized data models. It’s just their opinion and it subject to challenge. Challenging their opinion through an appeal process is your right.
Computer Models Determine Appraised Value of a Home
Simply stated, tax assessors use mass valuation models to determine the tax assessment value for each home in a taxing district. These models use huge amounts of data from various sources to derive an assessed value for each property. This data may include the number of bedrooms, size of the lot, and number of garage spaces and the size of the home. Different taxing districts have different procedures for appealing your property tax assessment.
Who Should Appeal their Property Taxes?
So you’re not quite sure if you should protest (appeal) your property tax assessment? In my opinion, you should seriously consider filing an appeal:
- If your home’s assessed value is inconsistent from the others in the neighborhood, you may have a better chance for your appeal.
- If you think that other homes in your neighborhood also have tax values that appear to be way too high, it may be time to speak with your neighbors about appealing their values, too.
- If your neighbors accept the year-over-year increases without protest, it can get harder to appeal your own home’s value because it may be compared to the other highly assessed homes in the neighborhood.
- If the values of homes selling are lower than your assessed value.
- If the condition of your home is inferior to the condition of homes that are selling for the same or less assessed value than your home.
Appealing Your Property Taxes: Play By the Rules
Remember, the Tax Assessment District makes the rules, so be mindful of the rules and procedures. Here are some general suggestions for improving your chances of a successful appeal:
Know Your Rights
When you received your tax valuation letter, it should include information about your rights as a property owner and instructions for appealing your property tax valuation. It is very important that you follow these instructions exactly.
File Your Protest on Time – Time Deadline Must Be Respected
Make sure you file your protest on time, in the format required. You will most likely need to do this before you have had a chance to gather most of the data you will need.
Appealing Your Property Taxes: Help is Available
Do Your Research. You will need accurate, verifiable sales data to support you position. We can provide and help you obtain pertinent sales data to use in your appeal. There is no charge for this service. It’s free. Give us a call at (512) 827-8323 or drop us an email at info@11OaksRealty.com and we’ll try to help.
However, please understand we do not and cannot give legal or tax advice. We are simply providing information that may not be available to you to facilitate your tax assessment appeal. Only an attorney can give legal advice and counsel.
