Paying taxes can be daunting by itself. The world of real estate taxes can be even more of a challenge due to changing tax rates and often confusing factors that cause shifts in how much tax you have to pay. However, there is knowledge you can equip yourself with and real estate tax services that services Fulton County that can make a big difference and help give you a leg up on the tax process.
Tools to Help You Manage Your Real Estate Taxes
A real estate tax service has tools that can make the management of your real estate taxes easier and more straightforward. There are a lot of factors that come into play when dealing with real estate taxes, and it can be difficult to keep things in order. A real estate tax service in Fulton County can help you both organize your tax obligations and pay them in a timely manner.
While this is certainly a plus, real estate tax services also exist that can help you reduce the amount of money you have to pay in taxes. We all need a break every now and then, and a break on taxes is always welcome. The problem is you may not know how to go about finding tax break opportunities. The right real estate tax service in Fulton County is going to be able to find what you need in order to ease the tax burden.
Using Property Assessment to Reduce Your Taxes
The assessment process is a subjective one. Here’s how assessment works. A property assessor comes to your property and makes observations about it. This is recorded as data that is used to calculate how much the assessor thinks you should pay in taxes. If you have a home that is overall more desirable, its value is going to be assessed at a higher rate than a less desirable home. Also, if the area in which your home is has a good reputation, your home’s value will be assessed higher as well. You can even have a home that is relatively modest and small, but because it’s in a desirable neighborhood, it will be assessed at a higher value than a larger home in a less desirable area. It all comes down to what the assessor thinks should be the numerical label on your home.
However, this is somewhat subjective. There also exists a tricky conflict of interest on the part of the assessor. The job of the assessor is to ascertain the value of your home. However, he also has to assess it at a value high enough to make sure the municipality gets the money it feels it needs to run the town. When these two interests conflict, the assessor may choose to satisfy the latter rather than the former and assess your home at a value that’s higher than necessary. A real estate tax service in Fulton County can help you remedy this situation through the process of contesting the assessment.
Tax Assessment is Different from Real Estate Value Assessment
Some people may think that the value if a home in the realm of real estate sales and loans is the same as that which is determined by a tax assessor. This makes sense because they both claim to ascertain the “value” of the home. However, this is not the case. The real estate tax service can gather evidence that supports a different valuation of your property. This doesn’t mean your property is not as valuable on the real estate market, however. There is a clear distinction between the assessed value of your home that is used for tax purposes and how much your home will be worth if you decide to sell it. The assessors are two different people with two different jobs.
For instance, if your property gets assessed by the tax office as being worth $300,000, this will be the amount you pay taxes on. However, you can have another assessment of your property for the purposes of selling it. This could come in higher—or lower—than the amount the tax assessor decided was the right figure. The same goes for if you are trying to get a home loan or refinance. During these processes, there is also a valuation of your home or potential home. This valuation does not hinge on that which is done by the tax assessor—even if they use similar methods to decide how much your home is worth.
Getting Help Understanding Supplemental Taxes
When you move into a new home, the property is going to be reassessed. There are various reasons for this, not the least of which being the fact that what the old owner was paying may not have been based on the most up to date assessment. Either way, when you become the new owner and the deed has your name on it, you are going to have to pay an amount determined after your purchase of the property. If that amount is different from what was assessed before, you are going to get a supplemental tax.
This may come as a surprise—and an unwelcome one—so what can you do? It would be advisable to consult a real estate tax service in Fulton County in order to have them help you ascertain what you should be paying in real estate taxes. If this is done relatively soon after you purchase the property, you will have the ability to budget the approximate tax you may have to pay. Also, if you get a tax bill that is too high, you will have the data and evidence you need to contest it already in your hands.
Even though taxes are a constant in life, we don’t just have to sit back and accept them as they’re given to us. We have the right to contest them. Property assessment is a powerful tool to help with this. Reach out to a real estate tax service that provides property assessment and empower yourself to have more options when it comes to paying taxes.
