Clayton County Property Tax Appeal: The Board of Equalization

Posted by Daniel Jones on Feb 12, 2020 8:48:00 AM

When your Clayton County property tax appeal is certified or forwarded to the Board of Equalization, the body schedules a hearing to establish your property’s value. The Board of Equalization members are appointed for three-year terms by the Grand Jury with the body placed under the oversight and supervision of the Clerk of Court. The members are also property owners in Clayton County, at least high school graduates, and have no conflicts of interest, such as being a member of a governing authority of a county, consolidate ed government, and municipality as well as a member or employee of county tax assessors or appraisers. 

Under the Official Code of Georgia, the Board of Equalization should set a date for your Clayton County property tax appeal hearing within 15 days of its receipt of the notice of appeal. The board shall set the hearing within 30 days of the notice date but not earlier than 20 days from said date. The hearing will obviously be conducted to determine the property-related issues presented by both sides – the Clayton County assessors and appraisers on one side and the property owner and his tax advisor on the other side. 

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You should receive a notice of hearing from the Board of Equalization. If not, you must follow up the matter in case there was a mix-up in the Clayton County property tax appeal process, an event that can happen considering the number of appeals being handled. There are no additional costs (e.g., government-mandated fees) for the Board of Equalization hearing.  You will pay for the professional fees of a qualified appraiser and tax advisor. 

During the hearing, both sides will present evidence about their valuation of the property, such as market conditions, recent sales, and comparative data. The county’s appraiser and your hired qualified appraiser will present their respective cases to the members of the Board of Equalization who will then establish a value for your property. 

At the end of the hearing, both sides can stay for the board members’ deliberations but both parties are strongly advised to provide more evidence and to interrupt the proceedings. The board members, however, will arrive at their final decision in private.  The Board of Equalization members will render their collective decision at the conclusion of the hearing.  The decision is expressed in writing and signed by all members of the board.

Within 10 days of the hearing, you should receive the formal Decision Letter by certified or registered mail via the United States Postal Service or by statutory overnight delivery.  The Board of Assessors will also be notified of the decision made by the Board of Equalization. 

After 30 days of the Decision Letter, the property value established by the Board of Equalization will be used in updating the Clayton County property records. But the new property value will not be reflected if and when you want to appeal to the Superior Court. For a winning Clayton County property tax appeal, call Fair Assessments, LLC now!

Topics: Clayton County Property Tax Appeal

property tax appeals

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