Who let the dogs out? Once again the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor has taken the lead in the 2014 assessment notice releases (the dogs). Gwinnett was first out in 2013 also and only waits a few days after the property tax return deadline date of April 1 to send out the tax assessment notices. The Gwinnett County Tax Assessor website stated that the taxpayers return of real property is not required and I do not disagree with that.
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"Fluffy" The Property Tax Enforcer
An assessment notice date of April 4 gives you an assessment appeal deadline of May 19, 2014. Georgia property tax law affords all taxpayers a 45 day appeal period. The Gwinnett County Tax Assessor is projecting a 10% increase in the 2014 tax digest over tax year 2013 as reported by the Gwinnett Daily Post. The Tax Assessor anticipates that will be the percentage increase after the appeals process, which leads me to believe the current increase in values is over 10% as some value is always "given back" during the appeals process.
Although Senate Bill 346 removed the requirement that a county's value in dispute be less than 5% of the digest during a reappraisal year and less than 3% of the digest during a non-reappraisal year, it is my experience that the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor works those high value in dispute property appeals before others. This means generally that commercial property appeals are pushed through first. That doesn't mean that there is no opportunity for home owners to get their appeals resolved early in the year, you just have to be proactive.
During the Great Recession the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor's office eliminated county employees and upgraded their technology to provide the same, or better, level of service even in the face of declining tax revenue and service options. They have one of the best websites in the Atlanta metro area and their online appeal option is convenient and recommended. If you need help with any of this give them a call, or contact us at Fair Assessments.
I have been appealing property tax assessments in Gwinnett County for ten years and I have had great success working with the county appraisers and the Boards of Equalization. If you would like additional information on preparing a property tax appeal download our free guide below, or check out some of our property tax appeal videos, available by clicking the link on the left of these articles. Good luck in 2014 and let's save some money!
