Property taxes have been around as long as taxes themselves. Taxes date back to thousands of years ago. It’s the methods governments have used to make money for millennia. It’s no surprise, then, that we are still facing them today. However, in Gwinnett County, and all over the United States, property owners are finding out there are ways to lessen the burden of property taxes. Better yet, you don’t have to comb through the paperwork yourself. There are services set up to do the work for you. First, we will look at some of the taxes that are common here in the United States to help gain a better understanding of why we get taxed and why it makes sense to use an appeal service to lighten your property taxes.
How Taxes Work in the United States
There are a lot of different kinds of taxes in this country. They are all designed to help get the government money. This can be the local government, state government or federal government. As people, we have the right to live without paying taxes. However, we don’t have the right to work without paying taxes—not unless we make a relatively small amount of money each year. We also, in many areas, including Gwinnett County, don’t have the right to buy certain things without paying taxes.
In Gwinnett County, citizens have to pay a sin tax on certain items. The thinking behind this is it accomplishes two things: it gets money for the government and it discourages people from consuming things the government feels they shouldn’t be consuming anyway. For example, you will pay $3.79 for each gallon of liquor you buy. There is also tax on wine and beer and all tobacco products. This kind of tax cannot be prevented using a property tax service or any sort of tax appeal service because it is essentially a sales tax. You’re stuck with it.
The sales tax in Gwinnett County also cannot be prevented. It is relatively low compared to some areas of the country at 4%, but it is unavoidable. You do not have the right to buy something and then negotiate how much sales tax you pay on it. As we will see later, with a property tax appeal service, this restriction is lifted.
The hotel tax is similar. You cannot avoid paying tax when you stay in a hotel, and there’s no way to appeal this fee, regardless of how much it ends up costing you. There are other things that are taxed in Gwinnett County as well, but you get the point. Most taxes are static and non-negotiable.
How Taxes Are Used
There are some very nice things accomplished with our tax money. In Gwinnett County, and in the U.S. in general, people typically do a good job of paying their taxes. This results in relatively strong infrastructure and goods and services that lift our overall quality of life. Some of these things we use every day. These include roads, sidewalks, street lights, and other conveniences that make our lives easier.
However, they can also include things we may only use from time to time such as public parks. All of these things also help improve the overall “value” of the area in which you live. Projects such as new schools, police barracks and municipal building upgrades and maintenance are also paid for using your tax money. While all of these things add value to the area and therefore to your home as well, you shouldn’t feel obligated to just pay them, no questions asked. A property tax appeal service understands this and is ready to stand up in your behalf to help you pay less in taxes.
Your home essentially has two values: the assessed value for tax purposes and the value its assessed at for market purposes. The two are very different in nature, and they can differ significantly in amount as well. The value your home is assessed at for the purposes of selling it is determined by how much people are willing to pay for it given present market conditions. It is based on the area, the selling prices of similar homes that are nearby, the size of the home, and the configuration of bedrooms and bathrooms, among other things. The assessment made by the tax assessor takes some of the same factors into consideration. However, the purpose of this assessment is not to figure out a reasonable price at which the home will sell on the open market. It is to decide on a reasonable value on which to tax the home. Because of this difference, there can be significant discrepancies.
Also, because the assessor works for the municipality, his values are not aligned with yours or even those of a realtor trying to sell a home. If the assessed value is higher than what you feel is necessary, you can contest it. This is where property taxes differ from all the other taxes you pay. Unlike cigarettes, alcohol, a hotel room, or a pair of sneakers, you can work to get your property tax lower. In Gwinnett County, a property tax appeal service can help you do this.
How a Property Tax Appeal Helps You Pay Less in Taxes
There are things that the assessor may have missed in his assessment. In other words, they can make honest mistakes. For instance, if there are structural issues with your home, these would significantly drop the value of your home. Inherent in the value is the amount it would cost to make the home comfortably livable. If it’s going to cost several thousand dollars to make the home a truly viable living space, this can be deducted from the assessed value of the home.
Also, if your home is across from or next to something that makes it less desirable, a tax appeal service in Gwinnett County can use that to argue a lower value for your home. The advantage you have when you use a tax appeal service is they fight for you and work hard to save you money.
