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If you own property in Georgia, then you have a connection with the GA Tax Assessors’ Offices. When you have any kind of connection to something, it’s good to have some familiarity with whatever it is. In this case, it’s the GA Tax Assessors.
Unless you’re a brand new property owner, you‘ve likely been receiving your annual property valuation assessment in the mail. When you get your assessment notice in the mail, you should go through what’s on it to make sure that your property has been valued at the amount it should’ve been. Don’t just cast the notice aside without looking at it.
How Many Georgia Assessors Offices are There?
Your property valuation assessment doesn’t just come from one overall tax assessment office for the whole State of Georgia. You’ll see that the notice that is mailed to you comes from the county assessor’s office for the county where your property is located. There are as many assessors’ offices as there are different counties in Georgia. The assessment you get will depend on your property’s location and tax laws for your county.
What Exactly Do the GA Tax Assessors Offices Do?
A tax assessor makes a determination on the value of your property based criteria that have been laid out in laws that govern the taxation of property for your location. The assessor is to find the fair market value for your real estate property. Once you have a home or other kind of real estate property built, or you do some renovations to the one you already have, the GA Tax Assessor’s Offices have one of their assessors do the assessment of your property. The assessor will either make a determination from an appraisal provided by you through a third party or do the appraisal him or herself. Then, in the years after that valuation has been determined, the tax assessor’s office will modify your valuation, as needed.
Once your property has been given a valuation amount, your property taxes can be figured. The amount you owe for the year will be included in your annual assessment notice that you receive in the mail.
Assessors can be responsible for collecting property taxes sometimes too. Your actual property tax bill will be mailed to you by the beginning of the year, in most cases. You’ll have to option to pay it all at once, or you can pay it in multiple, lower payments. If your tax payments should fall behind, the GA Tax Assessors have the right to push for foreclosure and can have the property sold in a tax sale.
If you should disagree with the valuation amount that was given to your property by the GA Tax Assessor’s Office, you have the right to appeal the amount. You’ll have to be able to support your claim though, saying that your property is worth less than what the assessor valued it at. The tax assessor will then take a look at what you’re claiming the value is, and why, and proceed forward accordingly.
How Do You Make Your Objection to the Assessment Valuation Amount Known?
It’s inevitable that sometimes you are not going to agree with what the assessor says is the value for your piece of real estate property. In that case, you’ll want to object to what you see on the annual notice. To do that, you will have to file an appeal with the GA Tax Assessor’s Office. Your appeal will go through your county’s local tax assessor’s office. There will be paperwork for you to fill out and submit, and the paperwork will need to be accompanied with all of the necessary documents and other items to support the claim that you are making. You can usually submit everything online, mail it into the office, or hand deliver it. It’s important to know that there is a time period that you have to get your appeal filed within. For many offices, the time limit is 45 days. If you do not have your appeal within the specified timeframe, you will not be able to appeal until the following year.
There is Help
If you’re reading this and thinking that this all sounds a little overwhelming, don’t worry. There is help for anyone who wants to file an appeal with the GA Tax Assessor’s Office.
Preparing to submit an appeal takes some time and effort. You want to make sure you have all of the documentation you need to back up your claim, and you need to be vigilant when you’re filling out your paperwork so that everything is correct. Any error on your part or misrepresentation of the facts could result in your appeal being rejected.
This is why it’s good to have a professional on your side, working for you to help you succeed with your appeal. An expert who has been working on property assessment appeals will be able to answer any questions you have about the process or your property value. Experts can also prepare you for what will happen throughout the entire appeal process. They’ll know what you should know about the GA Tax Assessor’s Office, so that you have the greatest possibility of coming out successfully on the other side with some money savings, and maybe some corrections to the data in your property’s file with the assessor’s office.
Contact a Professional if You Feel You Might Need to File an Appeal
If you take a look at your property tax assessment valuation notice, and you decide that the value is incorrect that the GA Tax Assessor’s Office recorded for your property, then you should reach out to a professional. The experts at Fair Assessments, LLC have years of experience to pull from, so they can give you all the help you need and answer all of your questions. Choosing to work with these professionals in the property tax appeals business means you’ll have experts in your corner that will do all the heavyweight work for you. You can feel at peace that your appeal is sitting the hands of very able professionals who will work hard to get you the success you’re looking for.
