Appealing the Decision of the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor

Posted by Daniel Jones on Jan 18, 2019 8:25:00 PM

Gwinnett County Tax AssessmentIf you are like most people out there, you want to save money wherever you can. Getting through this life is expensive, so you want to make sure that you are not overspending. This certainly includes overspending on your taxes. If you believe that the Gwinnett County tax assessor has incorrectly valued your home and your property taxes are too high, you will want to make sure that you are taking care of the matter sooner rather than later. In many cases, this will mean that you need to file for an appeal.

The following are some of the elements that you will need to consider when you are considering whether you should appeal the findings of the Gwinnett County tax assessor or not. You will find that working with a professional in this field can help you immensely.

Is the Assessment Truly Wrong?

You will want to make sure that your taxes are actually too high before you file an appeal. The bill that you receive will include the assessed value of your property. Because of the way the market works and because assessors will often use mass appraisals and ratios to help equalize assessments, it means that it can often be difficult to determine whether the assessment is actually wrong or not. It could be that changes in the market conditions in the area have changed the property taxes for homes that are located there. You will often have trouble determining whether the ratio used could have caused issues with your assessment. This tends to be easier when you work with a professional who has experience in providing valuation for real estate.

What Are Comparable Properties Selling For?

One of the tools that the Gwinnett County tax assessor utilizes to help determine the value of properties is the value of comparable properties in the area and how much they are valued at and have sold for recently. They will look at properties that are very similar to your own property in terms of the size, the location, and the features that it offers. They will then use the information to help determine the taxable value for your property.

You might also want to look at comps in your area if you believe the assessor was wrong with the properties they chose. However, you have to be sure that the comps you choose use information from the same timeframe when the assessor was assessing your property. This is because the value of the comp properties could have changed over the months that have passed since that time. If you are using comps that are not true comps, they will not be useful as evidence.

Does It Really Matter?

There are some people out there who are apathetic about a lot of things, especially if it will cause them to have to do any extra work. They might feel that if the property tax they are paying is not too high that they don’t need to worry about appealing. They don‘t want to go through the hassle of a hearing, and they feel that it won’t really matter too much in the end. However, this could be a huge mistake that you are making. If you are not appealing your tax bill when it is too high, you could end up spending thousands of extra dollars. Even if you are only spending a couple hundred extra each year, this money will add up. You don’t want to let it go to waste on taxes that you do not really owe.

How Are the Mistakes Made?

Human error and clerical errors happen, even though the tax office might have the best of intentions. There could be errors in the math that goes into the calculation, errors on the number of rooms in the home, errors on the square footage or the size of the property. These things happen, and sometimes, they can go unnoticed for years by the Gwinnett County tax assessor and you. When you believe that there is an error, even if you are not correct, you should examine it and consider filing an appeal.

Remember, if you are planning to file an appeal, you will have a limited amount of time in which to do so. This will be noted on the information that you receive from the tax assessor’s office. Do not miss the date for the appeal, or you will have to wait until the next year.

Why Work With Professionals to Help with the Appeal?

Could you file an appeal on your own? Of course, it is entirely possible for you to file an appeal with the office so you can set up your hearing. If you do, you will need to start gathering evidence that will show that the Gwinnett County tax assessor was incorrect with their assessment. This might include property paperwork, blueprints, contractor’s reports, your own comp properties, and similar types of evidence. The goal of this type of paperwork is to make sure that you can show how and why the assessors made a mistake with their assessment.

Although it is possible for you to take care of the appeal on your own, you will find that it tends to be a better idea to work with a processional who can help you along each step of the appeal journey. They can file the appeal for you and they can then go about the often time-consuming task of gathering the evidence that is needed. They can look at the worksheet or property card and more easily find where the mistakes were made, that can send them in the direction of the needed evidence.

If you believe that the Gwinnett County tax assessor was incorrect when it comes to your property taxes this year, be sure to contact Fair Assessments, LLC. With decades of experience in the field, and with experience as a tax assessor, the company can provide you with the help and guidance you need.

 

Topics: gwinnett county tax assessor

property tax appeals

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