Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

Reassessment appeal could lower your tax bill

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Annual property reassessments can be used by government agencies to collect more in property tax each year, even if tax rates stay the same or even drop.

Cities, counties and school boards can “roll back” their millage rates to effectively negate a property tax increase. But historically, residents opposing budget increases have been unsuccessful in convincing local agencies to trim their budgets for a property tax decrease.

Yet there is a way you MAY be able to reduce your property tax bill this year, even if every taxing body in Fayette County raises its millage rate: by appealing the assessed value of your home.

Appealing property reassessments can be a long shot. But you can improve your chances for a reduction if the property in question needs costly repairs for roof damage, termite damage or some other significant problem, notes Ellen Mills, chief tax appraiser for Fayette County.

Other existing problems, such as trouble getting onto the road due to heavy traffic, can also work in a property owner’s favor.

Such reasons are considered by county tax appraisers when they physically evaluate an individual parcel, which typically occurs once every five or six years, Mills said.

“We look for anything that would deter a buyer,” Mills said.

Some homeowners have filed appeals and had their assessed value increased due to home improvements that occurred over the years, Mills added.

If a resident disagrees with the latest reassessment on his or her home, they have 45 days from receiving the notice to file an appeal, Mills said.

The first level of appeal is with the county’s Board of Tax Assessors, a three-member panel appointed by the Fayette County Commission.

If the Board of Tax Assessors lowers the assessed value, the homeowner must then decide whether to accept the new assessed value or appeal it to the next level, the Fayette County Board of Equalization, a 12-member body appointed by a Fayette Grand Jury that works in groups of three.

Appeals denied by the Board of Tax Assessors are automatically forwarded to the Board of Equalization, Mills said. Property values set by the Board of Equalization are frozen for three consecutive years, mainly to comply with a law passed by the Georgia Legislature several years ago, she noted.

After the Board of Equalization makes its decision on a given appeal, the only recourse left for the property owner is to file an appeal in the Superior Court of Fayette County.

A total of 617 property owners filed assessment appeals this year, Mills said. No data is available on what the outcome of those appeals were, because the tax assessors office doesn’t keep such statistics, Mills said.

“If somebody appeals and it’s lowered, it doesn’t make a difference to us,” Mills said.

Appeals may be filed on four grounds:

• Whether the assessed value represents what the property would sell for on the open market.

• Whether the property is taxable or should be exempt from paying property taxes.

• Whether the property has been valued with the same method as similar properties; and

• Whether a denied homestead exemption or conservation use covenant should be deemed valid.

Property owners can review public records kept by the county Tax Assessors office that can help determine whether or not to file an appeal. This year, tax assessments were mailed the beginning of May and appeals were accepted through June 16.

Tax appraisers extrapolate figures from about 3,000 annual home sales to determine the individual values of home characteristics. The system takes into account such factors as how many bedrooms and bathrooms the home has, and whether it has a screened-in porch, patio, pool or other similar amenity, Mills said.

The type of construction, such as brick or frame, is also considered in determining the final assessment of a particular home’s value, along with any exterior features, Mills said.

The assessors office eliminates home sales deemed not to have occurred at fair market value, Mills said, defining such sales as “what a knowledgeable buyer would pay and what a willing seller would accept.”

Some sales, for example, are between family members, adjacent property owners or others who might sell the parcel for less than it might get on the open market, Mills said.

Although county tax appraisers don’t physically observe every home each year, they do visit every subdivision to survey conditions and determine if there is any reason the value of those homes should increase or decrease due to certain factors, Mills added.

The overwhelming majority of the county’s roughly 39,500 taxable parcels is residential, Mills said. There are only 1,700 commercial parcels, she added.

Although just 4 percent of the county’s parcels are commercial, they account for between 15 and 17 percent of the entire tax digest, Mills said.