Many taxpayers believe that the Hall County tax assessment values and market values for real property are one and the same thing. This is far from the truth, a misconception that can adversely affect a misinformed taxpayer’s efforts to reduce property taxes.
Basics on Property Taxes
To understand the difference between tax assessment values and market values, you must first understand the composition of property taxes. Keep in mind that property taxes consist of several components as determined by several bodies including Hall County, local school districts, and sanitation agencies, among other special entities.
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The tax rate is partly determined by ascertaining the types of services that each entity will provide and the amount of revenue necessary to support these services. The tax assessor will then provide the property values of all the taxable real property within its jurisdiction. Using the total taxable value the tax authorities will establish a tax rate to raise the necessary tax dollars for funding the budget for these services.
The Hall County tax assessment values will be used in the determination of the values for all the real property within the county. The tax authorities can then determine the current year millage rate that can meet the current year budget. Taxpayers should inquire about the current year millage rate as it can change from one taxable year to the next.
Basics on Assessment Process
The Tax Assessor’s Office usually sets the Hall County tax assessment values for all taxable real property. When the tax assessor and his staff of appraisers evaluate the property values in January, they usually use several different sources to come up with the appraised values. These sources include saleratio studies, public records including deeds, and property inspections.The tax assessor can raise property values by a percentage each year if the sales data (sale ratio study) support it.
The Hall County tax assessment values are affected by the appraisal inspection performed by the authorized appraisers. The appraisers will only make an educated guess about the property value based on its exterior as well as its location (i.e., neighborhood reputation, lot premium) but not on its interior; homeowners can refuse entry into the house.
The bottom line: The Hall County tax assessment value for a certain property does not reflect its total estimated value. The appraisers can only make educated guesses based on the abovementioned sources particularly on a partial (i.e., exteriors only) property inspection.
In contrast, the market value for real property will usually reflect the estimated monetary value of both the interior and exteriorcharacteristics. Real estate agents are more likely to use property market values instead of relying on the Hall County tax assessment values for similar real property.
The lesson: Tax assessor’s attempt to estimate fair market value. What they do is called mass appraisal. It is different from what fee appraisers do because the assessors use statistics to make decisions about value in large market areas. An independent fee appraiser concentrates on one property at a time.
The tax assessor may have seen the interior of your property when it was new and still under construction, before it was “closed up” and sold. The only way that the assessor will know if there are any changes to the interior of your property is if they get copies of building permits that you or your contractor obtain.
Your county may have hundreds of thousands of properties and the tax assessor may have few resources. They may not have seen the exterior of your property for many years. Combine this with limited knowledge of the interior of your property and you can imagine how your assessment may differ from true market value. Take the time to determine your property’s fair market value before you appeal a tax assessment that is actually low.
