| Because homeowners who protest their assessments, | | | | In years after the revaluation year the homeowner |
| with a knowledge of how the property tax | | | | should find out what the assessment to sales ratio for |
| assessment system works, often recieve $500 to | | | | his or her taxing district is in New Jersey. This ratio is |
| $1000 tax deduction, if not more annually on their | | | | announced each year and is available from the local |
| property tax bill. Simply stated the property tax bill is | | | | tax assessor's office. It represents the average at |
| calculated by multiplying the homeowner's assessment | | | | which the assessed value for all properties that sold in |
| times the local property tax rate and subtracting any | | | | the past year was compared to their sales value in |
| tax deductions for which the homeowner is eligible. | | | | the municipality. Why is it important? It may provides a |
| The property tax doctor can show you how to lower | | | | key factor in proving that you have received an |
| your assessment and thereby reduced your property | | | | unequal assessment and are entitled to file a |
| tax bill! The property tax doctor is a former tax | | | | discrimination challenge to your property assessment |
| assessor who knows first hand how difficult it is for | | | | to win a tax reduction. |
| the average person to penetrate the tax assessor's | | | | An unequal assessment is one made at a higher |
| bureaucratic jungle comprised of arcane terms and | | | | proportion of market value than an average of the |
| practices. No government document does this for the | | | | other parcels on the roll. A year or so after a |
| homeowners. | | | | revaluation housing inflation often makes the |
| Just like going to a medical doctor's office the first | | | | assessment your tax assessor placed on your home |
| thing that you need to do is to gather the necessary | | | | look low compared to sales prices of comparable sold |
| information with which to do the paperwork. The | | | | homes in your neighborhood. But watch out! |
| primary sources for that information is the | | | | A low assessment to sale ratio in a municipality can |
| homeowner's property record card obtained at the | | | | fool some taxpayers into thinking that they are being |
| assessor's office and comparable home sales. Most | | | | assessed below market value and are therefore |
| homeowners armed with one or both of these | | | | getting a break. However, if all assessments are set |
| information items get their assessment reduced the | | | | below market value then the tax rate must be |
| majority of the time without going beyond their local | | | | increased in order to collect the necessary amount of |
| tax assessor's office. | | | | tax revenue. The same amount of tax is collected, but |
| Just as you ask your medical doctor informed | | | | the taxpayers are fooled into thinking they've gotten a |
| questions to get some pain relief, so also you must ask | | | | break and do not search for malassessments. |
| your tax assessor (with the help of the property tax | | | | Now, do not forget that the assessment to sales ratio |
| doctor) some informed questions in order to win some | | | | (or common level ratio) is a key factor in getting you |
| property tax relief. The best advice the property tax | | | | property tax relief. Let me explain. An important test |
| doctor can offer is to go to your local tax assessor's | | | | for fairness of your assessment is not just its |
| office and check your property record card for | | | | relationship to market value. It is also whether or not it |
| mistakes of fact! Clerical errors and plain mistakes do | | | | is fair in relation to assessments on other properties in |
| occur during the valuation process. Here is a partial list | | | | your town. For example, if you have a home with a |
| of common mistakes you should check up on. | | | | market value of $800,000, but it is assessed at |
| 1. The dimensions of your home or the dimensions of | | | | $600,000, you may think you are getting off cheaply. |
| your land are wrong. | | | | However, if your neighbor's house which is comparable |
| 2. Failure to note depreciation on adverse-onsite | | | | to yours is assessed at only $200,000, you are paying |
| conditions or no depreciation or minimal deprecation | | | | three times as much real property tax as you should! |
| shown for an older home. | | | | When your property is under appeal the County Board |
| 3. The dimensions of your land are wrong. | | | | of Taxation can adjust your home's value to the |
| 4. Check all computations, whether or not you | | | | common level. The taxpayer should know the average |
| understand where the factors came from. | | | | ratio in the municipality where the property under |
| 5. Failure to note depreciating off-site influences --- a | | | | appeal is located before filing a tax appeal. Remember |
| factory or landfill producing toxic fumes. | | | | the ratio changes annually on October 1, for use in the |
| 6. The quality of improvements are wrong --- you | | | | subsequent tax year. Also, remember this adjustment |
| have a stone not a macadam driveway, or --- you | | | | to the common level is not used in the year of |
| have the low priced whirlpool tub not the big name | | | | revaluation or reassessment when all properties have |
| expensive whirlpool tub. | | | | been brought to 100% of market value. |
| 7 Finished areas are listed incorrectly --- basement is | | | | Once the County Tax Board determines the true |
| shown as finished and it is not. | | | | market value of a property they are required to |
| 8. The age of the home is listed incorrectly or the | | | | automatically compare that true market value to its |
| number of stories is wrong. | | | | assessment value. If the ratio of the assessment to |
| My father would not let the local tax assessor, who | | | | the true value exceeds the average ratio by 15%, then |
| was also his best friend, go past the kitchen table at | | | | the assessment is automatically reduced to the |
| our farmhouse. My father was afraid he would see | | | | common level. The homeowner gets his property tax |
| certain interior home improvements and he would | | | | relief. But watch out! If the assessment to true value |
| increase our assessment. My father mistakenly | | | | ratio falls below the common level, the County Tax |
| believed that improvements he had made inside the | | | | Board is obligated to increase the assessment to the |
| farmhouse like a new bathroom sink, plaster repairs, | | | | common level. The homeowner would then get his |
| wallpapering, new ceilings, new light fixtures would add | | | | property tax increased. If the assessment falls within |
| to our assessed value. Likewise he put off making | | | | the common level range no adjustment is made. |
| outside repairs until after the next revaluation because | | | | Each year on October 1 of the pre-tax year the |
| of fear of an increased assessment. Surprisingly, he | | | | assessor establishes a value for each of the |
| was wrong. Outside repairs like roof replacement, | | | | properties in the municipality for the following tax year. |
| repairing masonry, repair of porch, steps, stairs, etc. do | | | | The annual assessment value is considered tentative |
| not increase the homeowner's assessment. Neither | | | | during the period of public inspection of the new tax list |
| does replacing garage doors, or sheds, sidewalks, etc | | | | from January 1 to January 10th. The purposes of the |
| Often establishing the proper combined property value | | | | inspection period is to enable the taxpayer to ascertain |
| for your home and the land under it is the key to your | | | | what assessments have been made against him or |
| property tax appeal. To win your appeal the | | | | her and to confer informally with the assessor as to |
| homeowner must establish his or her property's value | | | | the correctness of the assessments. |
| at a level lower than the one the assessor used. | | | | At this point your approach can be informal and will not |
| To establish market value the homeowner can go to | | | | require a formal, written appeal. Taxpayers have an |
| the web site to get a rough estimate of the value of | | | | opportunity only once each year to file a formal |
| his home. The site uses some basic variables like | | | | property tax appeal. Get your tax form for property |
| square footage, number of baths, acreage and | | | | tax appeal purposes from your County Board of |
| number of bedrooms to calculate a market value for | | | | Taxation web site. Generally, it must be received by |
| the home based on a formula that is driven by other | | | | the County Board of Taxation on or before April 1 of |
| home sales in the neighborhood. Where zillow has the | | | | the tax year. If the taxpayer misses the deadline for |
| sales data this is a good first step to see if your home | | | | filing a formal appeal the taxpayer must wait until the |
| is assessed way too high. | | | | following year to make a challenge for any tax relief. |