Gwinnett Tax Assessor’s office typically mails residential and commercial annual notices of assessment in early April but now will be mailed in the beginning of May. The Annual Notice of Assessment informs you of the value assessed on your residential or commercial real estate property as of January 1, 2020.
Property owners should be aware of their civic duties particularly in the payment of their Gwinnett County tax on their real estate assets. Keep in mind that failure to pay the right amount of tax at the right time can result in substantial legal and financial consequences.
But it must be emphasized that you also have the right and responsibility to protect your interests in terms of reducing your tax bill. Just remember that you cannot appeal your tax bill from the Tax Commissioner but you can appeal your annual assessment notice from the Tax Assessor. Here are the things that you must know about the annual notices of assessment issued by the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor, the office where your plan to reduce your tax payments should start.
The Annual Assessment Notice Is Not the Tax Bill
The Gwinnett County Board of Tax Assessors is mandated by law to provide taxpayers with an Annual Notice of Assessment on their property. The notice is not the tax bill because it only contains information about:
- The current fair market value of the property as appraised by the board and its appraisal staff;
- The assessed value of the property that, under the law, is equal to 40% of the current fair market value
- The estimated taxes based on the current year’s value and the previous year’s millage rate
Think of it this way: The Gwinnett County Tax Assessor can only assess the property value but cannot impose the property tax because it’s the job of the Tax Commissioner.
The Estimated Taxes Will Differ from the Actual Taxes
You should ideally not be in a combative mode when you believe that your estimated taxes are too high or too unreasonable because the figure is just an estimated tax amount. You may not be paying the amount in estimated taxes reflected on the annual notice of assessment for two reasons:
- The current millage rate will likely change, the rate of which will be set by the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners for the current year (The rate is usually decided in June or July while the actual tax bills are issued usually in August); and
- The estimated tax reflected on the Annual Notice of Assessment issued by the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor does not include all the eligible exemptions and fees applicable for the property, said fees of which can include solid waste, streetlights, and storm water, among others.
- The original estimated taxes can be lower or greater in comparison with the estimated taxes upon the completion of the appeals process.
In relation to the appeals process, you can file a written appeal disputing the current fair market and assessed values of your property. You will have opportunities to present your case to the Gwinnett County tax assessment staff and the Board of Equalization, if you choose, for a final decision.
You should be prepared for the hearing, thus, the importance of getting the experts of Fair Assessments, LLC on your side for a winning property tax appeal.
