The Fulton County tax assessors have begun work on the 2013 property tax appeals. Some Fulton County property owners have received no change letters from the tax assessors regarding their 2013 appeals while some have been offered reductions in what is called a 30 day letter. After you receive a reduction offer from the tax assessors you have 30 days to either accept the reduced value or appeal to the second level of appeal, which is the Fulton County Board of Equalization.
Recently, some of the 2013 property tax appeals have been scheduled to be heard by the Fulton County Board of Equalization. As recently as last month, the Board of Equalization was continuing to work on 2012 property tax appeal hearings and even a few 2011 property tax appeal hearings were being heard. They are not done with 2012 hearings, however. It appears that the Fulton County Tax Assessors staff is frequently using the board of equalization hearing as a tool to gain access to properties.
Occasionally, while at the Board of Equalization for a 2012 hearing the County appraiser has claimed that they cannot make a judgment on the value without inspecting the property. Here we are in the fall of 2013 and during a 2012 Board of Equalization hearing the County appraisers are asking to check the property description. Will the 2012 appeals ever be done? It remains to be seen.
Now that we know that the Fulton County tax assessor staff is working on the 2013 appeals it may be a good time to approach the appropriate appraiser about working out a value reduction. There is an advantage to waiting for a Board of Equalization hearing however. A Board of Equalization value decision is subject to what is called the 299c section of the Georgia property tax code, which states that any value decision made by a Board of Equalization or the Superior Court shall be held for a period of three years.
If you're concerned that values may be rising over the next few years it's a good idea to have your value settled at the Board of Equalization. However, you may want your appeal settled as quickly as possible so that you can also have your tax bill settled as quickly as possible. In that case it may be in your best interest to negotiate with the County appraiser and try to work out a reduction prior to a formal hearing.
If you appealed your taxable value because your neighbor said you should but you're not sure about whether or not you have a solid case for a reduction now might be a good time to actually take a look at your value. Take a look at some of the sales in your neighborhood that are similar to your house. Consider some assessment data on similar houses as well to see if your tax assessment is fair and make a decision about whether or not you think you can really get a reduction.
It's a good idea to get a copy of your property record card from the County just to see what their property description looks like and whether or not it's accurate. If they haven't been by your property in many years there's a chance they don't have some addition that you put on the house in their records. Something like a new porch or basement finish which might increase the value may have been missed. So if your value is reasonable and you don't want any County appraisers poking around your house, it might be in your best interest to just withdraw your appeal.
If you do have a case for an appeal, and the subject property is a house, you might want to check out our guide to how the tax assessors use the cost approach to value properties. If you have an income producing property, or commercial property, you may want to check out our guide to how the tax assessors use the income approach to value on properties. If you'd like to have a professional to handle your property tax appeal, just contact us directly and we will be happy to help you.
