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Whether you are having your property taxes paid as part of your monthly mortgage payment, or you pay them yourself, it can be easy to overlook details of the latest assessment. For many, they realize there is a glitch in that figure only when the tax bill comes and seems higher or lower than it used to be. Your property tax is based on the tax rate in your county and the assessed value given to the property by the local tax assessor's office. They use a long list of figures to determine the value, and though GA tax assessors are experts, they can mistakes. The good news is that you can appeal.
Appealing Your GA Tax Assessor's Calculation
The bad news (you knew there had to be some) is that you cannot do it at just any time. It can only be done between 30 and 45 days of the new assessment. For many, it means waiting for the next time around and then appealing it if it still seems off. This is a very wise plan of action because estimates say that most property owners (residential and commercial) in the U.S. can see as much as 19% taken off their assessment when they appeal.
So, whether you just got a bill that surprised you or you want to do something about the last assessment, you can start to take steps right away. If the bill is brand new, you must take steps immediately and file that appeal before you run out of time.
Now, as that title said, GA tax assessors make mistakes too. They are human like the rest of us, so if you are going to make an appeal, do not do so with anger or upset. That is not the way to approach this situation. The way that GA tax assessors reach their calculations leave a few spaces for human error to step in and mess up the works. For example, the criteria they use include:
- Paying a visit to the property (this is not at all that common and most use data rather than physical evaluations)
- The amount of land
- The square footage of the building
- The known conditions of the building(s)
- The presence of a swimming pool or finished basement in a residence
- The number of baths (in a residence), and more
- The assessment value of comparable properties. These are properties identical in size and other characteristics, and what they are valued or sold for versus what your property was valued or purchased for originally
This represents a lot of varying data, and then there is that human error we just mentioned. Let's say that your property is 1,200 square feet. Someone can easily type 11,200 mistakenly. They might get acreage wrong and enter a figure like 12 acres rather than 1.2 acres. This is why you need to pay attention to your assessment and take steps if you see mistakes.
How to Begin Appealing Your GA Tax Assessor's Figures
If you have a tax assessment you disagree with, the first step is to ask your GA tax assessors' office for the worksheet used to reach that figure. This is where you might see the mistakes like those just mentioned above. Check every figure used. Even if there are no errors, you can still proceed with the appeal. After all, your property might have some issues that need the help of a contractor, and which cause the value of the property to be sharply less than the assessor tabulated. Getting a formal report showing the costs of those repairs can often help with the appeal.
What else can be submitted to GA tax assessors during the appeal process? The most common documents include:
- A formal appraisal. A neutral third-party appraisal may be one of your strongest tools as they take into consideration many of the factors that the assessor may have missed by using only data over an actual visit.
- A survey. If the property is not as useful or at the size the assessment says it is, the formal survey map is a great tool.
- Architectural renderings. Maybe they have your home as having 4.5 baths and it has only 3? No matter what interior issues are causing the inaccurate assessment, the use of formal, signed drawings can be invaluable
- Comps of your own. Though the GA tax assessors use comps for their assessment, you can also do the same. Look at the actual prices of real estate sales in your neighborhood and surrounding areas and find at least five properties similar to yours and gather data about their taxable values. Again, if you find that these are over or under valuated, it may help.
- Photos of features (like pools) that are not functional or worth the amount on the valuation
- Contractor reports. As we said, GA tax assessors may not know that something is amiss with a residential or commercial property. Having a contractor's official report of the issues can be tremendously helpful.
Do GA tax assessors require all of this? No. It is actually up to you to build the strongest case. Unfortunately, not many of us have the kind of skills, time or resources to put together the most effective appeals. The good news is that we don't have to. Instead, there are experts in real estate valuation and property tax reductions who are ready to help if GA tax assessors got it a bit wrong.
Fair Assessments, LLC offers those throughout Georgia full access to a dedicate team of professionals with over two decades of experience helping commercial and residential property owners file comprehensive appeals for their property valuation and tax bills. With services for both home and commercial owners, they emphasize the Atlanta metro area as well as helping commercial property owners in GA and FL. If you wish to appeal the amount your property was assessed, don't hesitate to get in touch and get the process started!
