subject: The Good And The Bad About Property Tax [print this page] The Good And The Bad About Property Tax The Good And The Bad About Property Tax
Now, do not forget that the assessment to sales ratio (or common level ratio) is a key factor in getting you property tax relief. Let me explain. An important test for fairness of your assessment is not just its relationship to market value. It is also whether or not it is fair in relation to assessments on other properties in your town. For example, if you have a home with a market value of $800,000, but it is assessed at $600,000, you may think you are getting off cheaply. However, if your neighbor's house which is comparable to yours is assessed at only $200,000, you are paying three times as much real property tax as you should!
Property owners have the option of requesting a notice of assessed value for their property annually. Section 25.19g of the Texas Property Tax Code provides the owner the option to request a written notice of the assessed value from the chief appraiser. Owners benefit from requesting and receiving a written notice of assessed value for each property because it ensures they have an opportunity to review the assessed value. This notice should be sent on an annual basis. The appraisal district does not have to send a notice of assessed value if the value increases by less than $1,000. However, if an owner was not satisfied with a prior year's value and the value remained the same, the appraisal district probably will not send a notice of the assessed value for the current year. In this situation, the owner might forget to protest since a notice of assessed value for the property was not received.
You should also review the information in the appraisal district's House Bill 201 packet on an unequal appraisal. In many cases, the appraisal districts unequal appraisal analysis will document a reduction in your assessed value! If the appraisal districts unequal appraisal analysis documents a reduction, either the informal appraiser or the ARB should make the adjustment in assessed value for you. Having the opportunity to get an assessed value reduced automatically based on the appraisal districts unequal appraisal analysis is one of the reasons to appeal every property every year.
The majority of protests are resolved during the informal and formal hearings. However, in a small portion of protests the property owner believes the assessed value can be cut further by filing a judicial appeal. Although few owners pursue the final opportunity to reduce their taxes, owners have the option to file a lawsuit to contest the assessed value. It is probably financially feasible to file suit if the judicial appeal will reduce the assessed value by at least $200,000 to $300,000. This rule of thumb is for Texas; it may be higher or lower in other areas. In Harris County (Texas), for example, about 500 to 800 property owners annually determine there is still enough discrepancy after completing the informal and formal hearings to further pursue an adjustment in the assessed value by filing suit. Litigation in Texas must be filed within 45 days of receiving written notification of the value set at the formal hearing. This process can result in additional reductions in the assessed value; however, it typically takes 12 to 24 months and requires services from both an attorney and an appraiser. Although relatively few owners under-stand how to pursue judicial appeals, they can be a very effective tool in lowering property taxes.
You may wish to pay your property taxes in December of 2007 so you can claim it on your income taxes to reduce the tax liability for 2007. Other reasons to wait or pay your taxes may also include other deductions you may or may not have in a given year.
Everyone has different circumstances for needing to pay property taxes in a given year. If you usually pay your property taxes with an income tax return, you need to make sure that you receive the money before the deadline established by your community.
Real estate appraisers can assess property values on comparative sales reports of other properties in the area which have sold within the previous six months. Other factors may include the historical value of the real estate or potential value if the property is used to generate income through house flipping, rental, lease-to-own, or seller carry back trust deeds.
If the property tax rate in your area is 9 percent, and your home is assessed at 250,000 dollars, your yearly property tax would be 22,500 dollars. If your neighbor's home were only assessed at 235,000 dollars, he or she would pay 21,150 dollars in taxes per year. Many areas have specified periods of time required for a new assessment. Most places require a new assessment every five to seven years. This means that your taxes could go up or down as your property value changes.
Since most homeowners are not familiar with House Bill 201, you may be wondering what it is and when it became available. House Bill 201 is the term used by property tax consultants and appraisal district staff to describe provision 41.461 of the Texas Property Tax Code."at least 14 days before hearing on a protest, the chief appraiser shall: inform the property owner that the owner or the agent of the owner may inspect and may obtain a copy of the data, schedules, formulas, and all other information the chief appraiser plans to introduce at the hearing to establish any matter at issue."
The tax rate is also known as a millage rate and is the actual rate that property owners pay in their given town. Like the assessment ratio the tax rate varies from town to town and also from property types. For example a commercial property will be taxed at a different rate than a single family home. In addition, a single family home used as a rental property will normally be taxed at a high rate than a single family home that is occupied by the owner.
If you apply for a mortgage, lenders will include the estimated property tax in your loan. They will set aside a fund that will be held in an escrow. When tax payments are due, the funds in escrow will be used to pay the county tax collector. The lender will submit the payments in your behalf.
