Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Sadly, much of what I see written in this thread is just way wrong. Somehow, many of you equate property taxes with free cell phones, section 8 housing subsidies, food and energy assistance and the like.
Most don't really understand what LOCAL taxes, such as property taxes are used to pay for. They don't go to the state (possibly a little, but not much usually) and they certainly don't go to the Feds. Your property taxes go to support the budget of your local county, municipality, township, etc. It goes for (up north) snow plowing and local road salting, it pays for police departments, sewer and water departments, fire departments, possibly operating a senior center, and the basic expenses of running a local government, paying building leases, power bills, gasoline in vehicles, insurance, and one of the largest expenses in any operation, public or private, the payroll.
The process of appeals (or whatever a particular state calls them) vary from one state to another, but generally the procedures are set by state law, and local governments cannot deviate from them.
In Georgia, tomorrow marks the first day to file a return of your property to your county Assessors. You are required by law to file this return. Should you fail to do so, it will be assumed that you are "filing" the return at the same value as last year. There are exceptions, if you purchased a property last year, or added on to your house or built a garage, you must file the return, that is the law, though it is often ignored. Values are based on the condition of a property on January 1. If you built a garage on Dec 31, you owe for this year. If you have a house half finished on Jan 1, then you will probably be assessed on whatever it is worth at this point in the construction.
Several comments were made about "the description being put in the computer and this is what came out" which is, part of the Mass Appraisal process. It differs from Fee Apprasial, such as what you had done when you bought your house. Generally, tables of construction costs, adjusted for local areas, are produced by Marshall & Swift, and many assessors/appraisers offices use these tables of construction cost to determine the value.
Essentially, the appraiser measures and "writes up" all of the structures on the property, and houses and attached garages are entered into the computer and M&S tells us what it costs to build that house. Data such as type of exterior, square footage, foundation type (crawlspace or slab, or basement), number of rooms, bathrooms, plumbing fixtures, fireplaces, etc are all entered. The house is given a ranking as to quality of construction, such as a house with many complicated wall and roof "cuts" rates a lot higher than a simple rectangular box, and the house is also given a grade on its condition, which combined with age, depreciates the value off of its new construction costs. An older house, with a complete renovation, will have its age reset, giving it an "effective age" that is newer than it actually is, and all of this information, plus information such as whether it is located on a paved or dirt road, has a well, septic, etc causes the computer to establish a value.
There are many good reasons why your place may be an exception to this standardized process, and in those cases, properly presented information will sway the appraiser to adjust the values. Many times this can be done informally by simply going in and sitting down and talking with them about the property. Sometimes an appeal will be needed, but you must provide some concrete reasons why your value is wrong, or you will be peeing upwind.
We had a case year before last, a woman appealed her value, it came to the Board of Assessors and was sent back to her with no change in value, so she appealed it to the Board of Equalization (who hears appeals after the BOA). She presented a recent appraisal which she had paid to have done, but apparently did not look at, because when the BOE opened it and looked, it was for a HIGHER value than the value that the appraisers had placed on the property in the beginning. Needless to say, they suggested she take her appraisal and drop the appeal, or they might just adjust the value upward.
Its all about value.
Georgia Boards of Assessors are county wide. Thus there are 159 BOA's in Georgia, and they provide the tax digest to every taxing authority in the county, such as municipalities, school districts, fire districts, water authorities, who all levy their taxes independently of each other.
Here is a list of EVERY taxing jurisdiction in Georgia and its millage rate levy for 2012. Last time I counted, there were 68 incorporated municipalities that DID NOT levy any taxes. The owners in those areas would, however have to pay county taxes, which vary from county to county, and even within the county, but they would not be paying city taxes on top of that. Many of these cities "make their money" by operating and charging for sewer and water, garbage, power, cable TV, etc, at rates that make enough money to pay for all other government services.
In Georgia, Jan 1 to April 1 is the time to file returns for real property (buildings and land) and also returns for personal property (airplanes, boats, non-farm motorized equipment, and other items of value other than standard household furniture, clothes, appliances, etc, which are not taxed)
Jan 1 to April 1 is also time to file for a homestead exemption if you do not already have one, or if your age warrants the additional exemptions or if you are a 100% service connected disabled veteran.
Charles
Most don't really understand what LOCAL taxes, such as property taxes are used to pay for. They don't go to the state (possibly a little, but not much usually) and they certainly don't go to the Feds. Your property taxes go to support the budget of your local county, municipality, township, etc. It goes for (up north) snow plowing and local road salting, it pays for police departments, sewer and water departments, fire departments, possibly operating a senior center, and the basic expenses of running a local government, paying building leases, power bills, gasoline in vehicles, insurance, and one of the largest expenses in any operation, public or private, the payroll.
The process of appeals (or whatever a particular state calls them) vary from one state to another, but generally the procedures are set by state law, and local governments cannot deviate from them.
In Georgia, tomorrow marks the first day to file a return of your property to your county Assessors. You are required by law to file this return. Should you fail to do so, it will be assumed that you are "filing" the return at the same value as last year. There are exceptions, if you purchased a property last year, or added on to your house or built a garage, you must file the return, that is the law, though it is often ignored. Values are based on the condition of a property on January 1. If you built a garage on Dec 31, you owe for this year. If you have a house half finished on Jan 1, then you will probably be assessed on whatever it is worth at this point in the construction.
Several comments were made about "the description being put in the computer and this is what came out" which is, part of the Mass Appraisal process. It differs from Fee Apprasial, such as what you had done when you bought your house. Generally, tables of construction costs, adjusted for local areas, are produced by Marshall & Swift, and many assessors/appraisers offices use these tables of construction cost to determine the value.
Essentially, the appraiser measures and "writes up" all of the structures on the property, and houses and attached garages are entered into the computer and M&S tells us what it costs to build that house. Data such as type of exterior, square footage, foundation type (crawlspace or slab, or basement), number of rooms, bathrooms, plumbing fixtures, fireplaces, etc are all entered. The house is given a ranking as to quality of construction, such as a house with many complicated wall and roof "cuts" rates a lot higher than a simple rectangular box, and the house is also given a grade on its condition, which combined with age, depreciates the value off of its new construction costs. An older house, with a complete renovation, will have its age reset, giving it an "effective age" that is newer than it actually is, and all of this information, plus information such as whether it is located on a paved or dirt road, has a well, septic, etc causes the computer to establish a value.
There are many good reasons why your place may be an exception to this standardized process, and in those cases, properly presented information will sway the appraiser to adjust the values. Many times this can be done informally by simply going in and sitting down and talking with them about the property. Sometimes an appeal will be needed, but you must provide some concrete reasons why your value is wrong, or you will be peeing upwind.
We had a case year before last, a woman appealed her value, it came to the Board of Assessors and was sent back to her with no change in value, so she appealed it to the Board of Equalization (who hears appeals after the BOA). She presented a recent appraisal which she had paid to have done, but apparently did not look at, because when the BOE opened it and looked, it was for a HIGHER value than the value that the appraisers had placed on the property in the beginning. Needless to say, they suggested she take her appraisal and drop the appeal, or they might just adjust the value upward.
Its all about value.
Georgia Boards of Assessors are county wide. Thus there are 159 BOA's in Georgia, and they provide the tax digest to every taxing authority in the county, such as municipalities, school districts, fire districts, water authorities, who all levy their taxes independently of each other.
Here is a list of EVERY taxing jurisdiction in Georgia and its millage rate levy for 2012. Last time I counted, there were 68 incorporated municipalities that DID NOT levy any taxes. The owners in those areas would, however have to pay county taxes, which vary from county to county, and even within the county, but they would not be paying city taxes on top of that. Many of these cities "make their money" by operating and charging for sewer and water, garbage, power, cable TV, etc, at rates that make enough money to pay for all other government services.
In Georgia, Jan 1 to April 1 is the time to file returns for real property (buildings and land) and also returns for personal property (airplanes, boats, non-farm motorized equipment, and other items of value other than standard household furniture, clothes, appliances, etc, which are not taxed)
Jan 1 to April 1 is also time to file for a homestead exemption if you do not already have one, or if your age warrants the additional exemptions or if you are a 100% service connected disabled veteran.
Charles
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You must be standing on the wrong side!
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