If you feel your local tax assessor has put the value of your property considerably higher than it’s worth in the current marketplace, you can resign yourself to paying, or you could gather evidence to attempt to demonstrate your assessment is wrong. Unless you discover a factual error in your assessment, there’s no guarantee you’ll convince the county to lower it, but there’s no cost to allure, and should you win, you’ll see your property taxes reduced.
Research your local filing procedures. The exact procedures, and the opportunity to file an appeal, will differ from county to county throughout the country, the Chicago Tribune states; should you miss the local appeals period, you’ll reduce your chance until next year. In San Francisco County, for example, you have to file an appeal, along with a $60 fee, between July 2 and Sept. 15 to be considered. The Assessment Appeals Board will then schedule a hearing where both you and the assessor will have a chance to make your case. You may download application forms from the web site of the board.
Read over your assessment and look for factual errors. All it requires is a clerical error misstating your house’s square footage or the era of the house to result in a confused assessment.
Find out more about the industry. If there aren’t any obvious errors, you’ll need to show your house is worth less than the assessor maintained. If you can find homes of a comparable size, style and age that are appraised for less or sold for significantly less –the Consumer Affairs site recommends finding at least three–you still have a chance to make your own case.
Check for change. If your neighborhood has been rezoned lately or when there has been a new development that contributes to a lot of visitors, Consumer Affairs states, you may have the ability to make a case your land has dropped in value.