Lots of different terms for the same thing. Fair Market Value, True Value, 100% Value. All of these mean the value your house is worth on the open market.
Assessed value varies from state to state. Some, like Georgia, use 40% of Fair Market Value for the Assessed value. Some use some other percentage, others simply use the full value (Fair Market, 100%, etc).
The Governing authority that levys taxes such as municipalities, Counties, Townships, School boards, library boards, mosquito control districts, water authorities, etc, all take the total assessed value as determined by the assessors, for the area in question, say, a county, and divide that number into their budget, and arrive at a millage rate to calculate your taxes on. (thats how its
supposed to work anyhow).
Some states offer very little training for assessors, others have programs set up to help standardize the assessments. Many Assessors belong to professional organizations, either in their state (for example, in Georgia it is the Georgia Association of Assessing Officials, GAAO) or a national/international organization such as the International Association of Assessing Officials, IAAO). These organizations, esp the IAAO offer training and classes to help assessors do their job properly and fairly.
In Georgia we are rather lucky to have a very through training program which is mandated by the legislature and conducted by the Ga Dept of Revenue. It consists of numerous courses on various aspects of assessing, and also testing and certification. The goal is to make the process as fair as possible and consistent throughout the state.
Here is how one Georgia county has it posted on their web site.
Mathematics of Property Tax
To determine the amount of your property taxes, several values are needed. These values are the Fair Market Value (FMV), Assessed Value (ASV), and the Millage Rate. The Millage rate is determined by the proposed budget divided by the tax digest. The Millage Rate is defined as dollars per $1,000.00 of assessed value. Example: 2009 unincorporated rate is .026977 which equals $26.98 per $1000.00 of assess value.The Millage Rates for Columbia County are listed below.
Fair Market Value (FMV) X 40%=Assessed Value
Assessed Value (ASV) X Millage = Tax
Tax digest = Total of all Assessments
Millage Rate = Proposed Budget divided by Tax digest
Millage is usually expressed as dollars per $1,000.00 of Assessed Value
Example: In 2009, the County millage rate was set at .026977. The ASV of property with a FMV of $100,000 would be 40%, or $40,000. Multiply the ASV of $40,000 by the millage rate of .026977 to get a close estimate of the property tax amount. In this example, property tax would be approximately $1,079.08.
Also remember that homestead exemptions are usually taken off the assessed value. Thus in the example above, the $40,000 assessed value if homesteaded would be reduced another $2,000 to $38,000. Elderly get more exemptions, and 100% service connected disabled veterans get a huge $50,000+ exemption, so in the example above, the 100% service connected disabled veteran would pay no taxes at all.
The millage rate for all the various taxing authorities that you have to pay to, are added together to determine your total millage rate. Many cities do their own billing, some pay the county to collect it for them. Remember, the schools represent the largest single portion of your taxes in almost every circumstance.
HERE IS A LIST OF ALL TAXING AUTHORITIES IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA FOR YEAR 2013 AND THEIR MILLAGE RATES, BY COUNTY Not all of these may apply to any one individual as some of the tax districts do not cover an entire county or city. If you go through this list, you will find some 60 some odd incorporated municipalities that DO NOT levy taxes (the City of LaGrange is probably the largest of these). Most of these "make their money" by charging rather high rates for basic services such as garbage and water and sewer. In some cases, the cities own the electric system for the town (Newnan for example) and also the cable TV systems. Lots of ways to make money, including aggressive enforcement by police.
Charles
