How do I go about contesting a hike in my property taxes?

Question

My house was assessed in the spring, and my property taxes went up $200 more a year, again! This last hike makes my taxes almost double what they were when we bought the house less than 5 years ago.

Do I need to bring any papers with me? Will they have records of my taxes there? What do I say to them? I don't want to look like a huge ignorant idiot in the Assessor's Office.

Answer 1

You will file an appeal and be assigned a date for a hearing. At the hearing, you will be expected to show why you think the assessment is out of line. "It keeps going up" isn't going to cut it as a reason.

As long as possible before the hearing, go to the assessor's office and find out what the assessments are on similar properties in your neighborhood - if yours is higher, then you have a reasonable chance of getting it reduced. Also check very carefully the description of your property - if it has errors like the lot or house size shows bigger than it actually is, or maybe it shows a swimming pool that you don't have, that will be a pretty automatic reduction when they correct the errors.

If there are parts of your house in poor condition, like basement water damage or something that badly needs repair, take pictures and take them with you to your hearing.

Answer 2

Each year, you are notified of propsed property taxes several months before the taxes are actually assessed.

You are given the opportunity to contest the new taxes, and you are told where to send your complaint. Many counties also have public meetings to discuss tax increases and the time and address of that meeting is also sent along with the "Proposed tax rates" at the same time.

If you didn't deal with it at that time, then there is probably nothing you can do until you recieve a notice next year.

A property tax increase of $200 a year is a very small increase. The national average is $31 per $1,000 of assessed value. If your property is worth $100,000, then the national average property tax would be $3,100/year. If it went up by $200, that would only be about a half of one percent increase over the prior year.

Answer 3

Ignore the amount of the tax increase, it just follows your assessment. The assessed value times the tax rate is what you pay. You need to determine if the assessed value is overstated. It will be some percentage of the fair market value. If your local assessor has overvalued your property, you can ask that the assessment be reduced (I did that successfully once).

Answer 4

The biggest thing is to go to your local auditors office or who ever locally does the assessment and see what there requirements are. In most large cities there are legal firms that have expertise in the process and can provide you with the services and documentation that will help you.

Answer 5

Call your city councilman. They should be able to help you with the problem. I mean that is one reason we elect them.