Appealing Your Property Taxes; how when why you should do it
Thousands of Metro Atlanta homeowners got a nasty shock recently when property tax appraisals arrived in the mail. If you are a homeowner who disagrees with the assessment, here are some ideas for appealing your property taxes; how when why you should do it.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes that “(Property) values rose 20 percent or more in Decatur, Stone Mountain, Palmetto and other communities, the newspaper found. Cities from Dacula to Alpharetta to Jonesboro also saw double-digit increases.
Some can’t believe their homes are worth what assessors say.
“I don’t think my house has gone up 58 percent in one year,” said Kathy Kirk of Brookhaven. Her assessment rose from $590,400 to $933,500, and her tax bill is projected to rise from $7,879 to $11,184.
Homeowners who disagree with their assessed values have 45 days from the date on their assessment notice to appeal. In some counties, like Gwinnett, that deadline has already passed.
If you’re interested in getting an assessment review, you really should contact your local county’s assessor or auditor office and ask what the process is for getting your property taxes lowered.
Gather your facts. Get a list from a realtor of property sales in your area that compare to your house: the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and size of house, for example. Then you may want to hire an inspector for an appraisal. This can cost somewhere between $100 and $1,000. You have to decide if it is worth it to pay $500 to save $500 in taxes. In the case of Kathy Kirk of Brookhaven, whose tax bill would increase over $3,000, getting an appraisal for $1,000 to save $3,000 would be worth it.
HGTV recommends that you “Ask for a copy of the assessor’s worksheet, so you can see what they based their assessments on. They may have said you have four bathrooms when you actually have two and a half. Or they might say you have a finished basement. There are a number of things that potentially they might have wrong that could help you in the appeal process.”
Remember, you must file an appeal within 45 days from the time you receive the assessment. If you miss the deadline you will have to pay this year and appeal next year’s assessment.
What if your appeal is denied? Kiplinger’s newletter says, “If you don’t get a reduction in your assessment – or you think the reduction isn’t large enough — the next step is to bring the case before an independent local appeals board. Here you’ll have the advantage of making your case in person. You can use any visual aids, such as photographs, that could help you, and you may pass out copies of your important points in writing to each member of the board.”
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