property tax refund?

Question

has anyone bought a house that costs less than the previous owner paid?

does the tax assessor automatically reassess your property to a lower value? if the house is reassessed lower, does the county give prorated refunds?

is it safe to assume the county wont send out a supplemental tax bill?

thanks for the answers. i see i should have mentioned that meant california. ive only ever seen that the tax bills are based on the purchase price...and until recently its always been going up.

Answer 1

The purchase price in most states has nothing to do with the assessed tax value. (California is a noted exception thanks to Prop. 13)

I live in Wisconsin, and tax assessments are adjusted by law every ten years to insure that all assessments are based 'upon the same basis'. There are no prorated refunds of any type.

Answer 2

The MARKET value and TAX value of a home is 100% unrelated.

I have seen areas where the tax value was less than the market value, and where the tax value was substantially more.

People are fooling themselves if they think they can get a reduction....the city/state assesses the property for the PURPOSE of taxes to support the budget for the local/state gov't.

That is why the assessments don't go down...and if someone undersold a property or it's a foreclosure, nope, they don't get a refund....the assessment stands as is.

Answer 3

You need to apply for a reassessment. Be careful, though; just because it sold for less doesn't necessarily mean it will be assessed for less.

The assessment doesn't show market value, but the amount it would cost to rebuild; it's possible it could be higher.

Go to your county assessor's web page for further info.