Property Assessment

You May Qualify for Lower Property Taxes

What You Don't Know May Cost You

Taking a few minutes to understand if you qualify for property tax abatements or exemptions could save you money.  It's as simple as knowing what to look for on your local assessor's website and maybe a phone call to clarify whether you qualify.

Most people don't enjoy paying property taxes.  Realizing this many states have taken steps to reduce the burden of property taxes.  While you may think this is a modern political maneuver, property tax exmeptions go back at least to 1290 when qualifications for exemptions were imposed in England.

Awareness

In order to take advantage of potential ways of lowering your property taxes you have to be aware that such programs exist.  Some assessors do a good job of informing taxpayers of these programs, but assessment office staffing and their ability to distribute this information is not always adequate.

Often the availability of these programs are briefly mentioned on assessment notices or tax bills that are already crowded with information and requirements.  Because local governments have tight budgets the assessor can't make a separate mailing just to notify taxpayers of available ways to get tax reductions.

One of the other difficulties is the fact that methods of property tax abatements or exemptions vary from state to state, and even from community to community within a state.  So it's important to know what your local taxing district offers.  A partial list of the different types of tax reductions include:

• Abatements (usually the result of an application for exemption or outcome of appeal)
• Appeals (informal first level review process or formal challenge to an appeal board)
• Classification (corrections to property classification type can result in reductions)
• Credits (typically the result of a corrected assessment or tax refund)
• Deferral (delayed payment of taxes until the property is sold or title passes)
• Exemptions (qualifying for full or partial tax exemption, like the homestead exemption on a primary residence)
• Incentives (where assessments or taxes are lower as an incentive to certain property owners; also see use assessments)
• Rebates (see rent abatement)
• Refunds (return of a portion of property taxes paid either through the local or state income tax system)
• Relief (tax relief to people who meet certain qualifications like age, disability, or service in the armed forces)
• Rent abatement or rebate (usually a state program that provides for a personal income tax credit to renters)
• Tax incentive zones (specially designated commercial, industrial, retail, or similar areas that qualify as enterprise zones)
• Use assessments (lower assessments and taxes that reflect the continued use of a property for a specified purpose like farmland or open space)

Of course your taxing district may not have all of the programs listed above.  For example most states have homestead exemptions on the primary residence of qualifying owners, but some do not.

In some states the League of Women Voters or AARP chapter may do a good job of informing people of the reductions they may qualify for in their state.  But tax laws can change each year as a result of legislative actions at the state or local level.

A Word of Caution

Every year scams are reported where taxpayers, especially senior citizens, are the victims of individuals or companies claiming that they will represent them or get a tax reduction on their behalf.  There are, of course, reputable individuals, attorneys, and companies that assist property owners with these programs, especially with complex appeals and exemption applications.

Always ask for a written list of services that are being performed.  And always call your local county or city assessors office to ask what is required to file an application or to challenge an assessment.  Generally all applications for deferral, exemption, and rent rebates can be filed at no cost, except your time to complete the form.  Most applications for informal and formal appeals can be filed without cost or for a nominal filing fee.

Recommended Action

Make a visit to your local assessor's website and search for the terms listed above.  If after visiting the website it's unclear what tax reduction methods are available, or you need more information, call the assessor's office.

Most modern assessment offices have public relations and citizen outreach programs.  Take the first step toward understanding what is available to you as a property taxpayer in your community.  Who knows, you may just qualify for lower property taxes in the process.

And please send this e-mail to a family member or friend as they may also qualify to save money on their property taxes.

Who Says Assessors Are Always the Bad Guys

A Service to Those Serving Overseas

Senior Property Tax Consultant Richard Sanderson is offering free consultations for American Foreign Service Officers at the U.S. Tri-Mission in Rome, Italy, who own real estate in the U.S.  The Tri-Mission is made up of the U.S. Embassy to Italy, the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations of Rome.

According to Sanderson many states will begin notifying property owners of 2013 assessed values in the months ahead.  Property owner’s rarely have the time to understand why real estate assessments have changed, but this rings even truer for American Foreign Service Officers who are busy serving overseas and have likely lost touch with local real estate market conditions.

U.S. Foreign Service Officers include diplomatic positions with U.S. government agencies that serve overseas, including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Internal Revenue Service, and others.

Sanderson had been working in Rome since July 2012, when his wife, Christine Sloop, began serving a three year assignment as the Agricultural Counselor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service. 

A senior property tax consultant with Local Government Services International, Sanderson has more than 30 years’ experience in assessment administration.  He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

New White Paper Lists More Than 80 Property Assessment Organizations

Local Government Services International has just released a new white paper entitled “Selected Internet Websites for Property Assessment Organizations in the United States and Canada.”  The websites were collected over the last four years as part of other research but has now been compiled into a 12 page document that includes about 87 websites of interest to appraisers, assessors, real estate attorneys, tax officials, and others interested in property tax administration and policy.

The white paper is currently only available to subscribers to the blog Property Assessment.  However, the good news is that you can subscribe to the Property Assessment blog for free (and unsubscribe at any time – really).  And don’t worry about getting too many e-mails.  You will typically get one e-mail six to eight weeks apart giving you the highlights of assessment advice, suggestions, and tips that were posted on our Property Assessment blog and a new subscriber-only publication.  To subscribe just click here.

Other subscriber-only publications during 2010 included:

"12 Common Mistakes People Make When Challenging Their Real Estate Assessments"

“Primary Data Sources for Valuation of Commercial & Industrial Properties"

"Starting a Business: What You Need to Know About Property Assessments & Taxes" 

"What Every Real Estate Agent Should Know About Real Estate Assessments and Taxes”

See what you are missing out on by not being a subscriber?

International Association of Assessing Officers Announces 2010 Award Winners

Recognizing Leadership and Innovation in Property Tax Administration

The International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) recognized outstanding achievements in property assessment administration for 2010 as part of their 76th annual conference in Orlando, Florida.

Each year the IAAO recognizes assessment jurisdictions, authors, chapter or affiliate organizations, education agencies, journalists, private-sector firms, public officials, public agencies, and others who have made significant contributions to their association or enhanced media coverage, original research, public relations activities, technical innovations, and other improvements in assessment administration and property tax systems.

This year the award winners are:

Bernard L. Barnard Outstanding Technical Essay Award: 2009 IAAO Research Committee (August Dettbarn; William Wadsworth; Scott Winter, RES; Gary McCabe, CAE) and Alan Dornfest, AAS
Clifford B. Allen Most Valuable Member Award: Marion R. Johnson, CAE
Distinguished Assessment Jurisdiction Award: Beaufort County, South Carolina
Distinguished Research and Development Award: Cook County Assessor’s Office, Illinois
Donehoo Essay Award: Daniel Simpson and Brooke Cholvin, Assessing Mortgage Fraud and Peter C. Weissenfluh, Foreclosure Sales: What’s an Assessor to Do?
Instructor of the Year: Marion R. Johnson, CAE
International Award: Richard R. Almy
Member of the Year Award: Richard Petree
Outstanding Chapter/Affiliate Award: Utah Chapter of IAAO
Public Information Award: Doña Ana County Assessor’s Office, new Mexico and El Paso Central Appraisal District, Texas 
Zangerle Award: Magazine: Appraising the Plains, Kansas County Appraisers Association; Newsletter: Oklahoma Ad Valorem Forum, Oklahoma Tax Commission

For a complete list of all award winners click here.

 

76th International Conference of the IAAO a Winner

Building Strong Communities Locally and Reaching Out Internationally

Ever attend a conference that has great sounding educational sessions and training opportunities and afterwards you felt like the sponsor didn’t deliver on their promises?  I have and I’m guessing many of you have too.  Fortunately I just returned from a great 3-day conference sponsored by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) where everything progressed like a finely-tuned clock and the educational sessions were exceptional.  My test of a successful conference is coming home having learned several important things that I can put into practice in my job right way.

The three most important things that I learned during this conference were:

1. Property assessment offices around the world are sharing innovative ways that they have implemented and achieved through the use of aerial photography, street view   images, geographic information systems (GIS), and electronic data collection techniques.  Several emerging countries have leaped from no assessment records to a complete set of electronic records in a matter of months using these new technologies that reduce the number of assessment office staff needed to collect and process such data.

2. Property assessment offices are finding statistically proven ways to deal with the large number of foreclosure-related sales that have occurred in their jurisdictions.  While it has not been easy, and increased numbers of assessment appeals have generally been experienced, property assessors who have experienced the cycle from foreclosure to bank-owned property sale to second sale after the initial foreclosure can advise those who are experiencing challenges in the earlier parts of this cycle.

3. Through the use of new technologies appraisal staff in many assessment offices are now better able to concentrate on valuation techniques and problem properties where typical data collection and valuation models are not proving adequate.  As a result local governments are able to do more with less, working smarter so that scarce resources continue to be used wisely.

Other attendees are encouraged to share what they learned or how they felt about this year’s conference.

The IAAO completed their 76th international conference on September 1 in Orlando, Florida.  As one of nearly a thousand attendees at the 3-day event I was very satisfied with the quality of this year’s conference.  I’m hoping that all of this year’s attendees came way having learned practical things that will make them more successful and efficient in the work they do as local property assessors and tax administrators.

Here is a great big thank you to the IAAO staff, all the conference sponsors, host committee members, and the educational session presenters and moderators.